Chapter 1

"When she goes into labor, she most likely won't survive."

I stood outside the room, listening to the nurses discuss my case.

I had two hearts inside my body.

One was my baby.

The other was a cloned heart that growing inside me for another woman.

And my husband had approved this himself.

**********

Nine months pregnant. My last ultrasound before delivery.

"Both heartbeats sound are strong and healthy." The doctor said.

I was confused because every single prenatal checkup showed a single fetus.

Outside the exam room, I grabbed my husband Alexander's hand.

"The doctor said there were two heartbeats. How could it be? The previous checkups showed it was one."

He paused for a split second, then laughed and patted my shoulder.

"That's impossible. You misheard. He meant your heartbeat and the baby's are both healthy." He smiled.

"Don't overthink it. Once the baby's here, I'll take you to see the Northern Lights. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

I believed him. Just a mix-up.

Until that night, when I got up to use the bathroom and passed the nurses' station. Low voices drifted out.

"Mrs. Sinclair's organs are starting to fail. Carrying the baby and incubating the cloned heart at the same time—her body can't handle both. "

"When she goes into labor, she most likely won't survive."

"What about the cloned heart?"

"It's perfect. Mr. Sinclair's investment in chimera organ technology paid off. His childhood sweetheart's heart failure finally has a cure."

A nurse gasped.

"So Mr. Sinclair knows the mother will probably die?"

"Of course. He approved this protocol himself."

Ice flooded my veins. I didn't storm in to confront them.

I clamped my hand over my mouth and shuffled back to my room, step by step.

Alexander was still asleep. Moonlight fell across his handsome face.

That face had stayed by my side, eyes red from sleepless nights, when my parents died.

That face had wept when I was so dehydrated from morning sickness I needed an IV.

He'd said, "Natalie, you're the only family I have in this world. I'd give my life to take care of you."

I'd believed his words for eight years.

The next morning, Alexander brought me a glass of warm milk and a handful of colorful pills, same as always.

"Natalie, sweetheart. Take your prenatal vitamins."

His eyes were gentle. He kissed my forehead.

I looked at those pills.

They weren't prenatal vitamins.

They were something to keep my body from rejecting the heart growing inside me. For the woman he actually loved.

I reached out and took them. I looked him in the eye and tested him.

"Alexander, I've been having chest pains lately. The doctor said I might have a difficult labor. If something happens—"

He pressed his hand over my mouth and pulled me into his arms, his voice shaking.

"Don't say that."

"I hired the best medical team. They've assessed everything. The risk is less than one percent."

"You and the baby are going to be fine. Just take your medicine. After the birth, we'll be a family of three. We'll never be apart again."

He believed I wouldn't die.

So to save that woman, he'd put me on a one-percent gamble without a second thought.

I lowered my eyes, swallowing the nausea rising in my throat.

"Okay. I'll take them." I swallowed the pills in front of him.

He smiled, satisfied, and tucked the blanket around me.

"I need to run to the office. I'll be back later to stay with you."

The door clicked shut.

I rushed to the bathroom and shoved my fingers down my throat, purging every last pill.

I stared at the bloody mess in the sink and pulled out my phone.

I need to find a underground clinic.