Saved Second: My Husband's True Colors

While pregnant with twins, I'm abducted three days before I'm due to give birth.

My husband, Sheldon Jackson, refuses to deliver the ransom money himself. Instead, he wants to save Madison Smith, his sister-in-law, who was also taken at the same time.

In order to guarantee Madison's safety, he leaves the task of saving me to someone else.

"I have to protect my brother's unborn child. Harry is my most trusted subordinate. He'll definitely bring you back home safely!"

However, Sheldon doesn't know that Harry Smith wants me dead. "The children she's carrying are bastards!" he says to the abductors. "We can't let them liveboth the twins and the woman."

I beg the abductors to let me talk to Sheldon one more time to reveal the truth, but he hangs up on me because of Madison. When he finally remembers me, he receives a phone call from the abductors.

"We've dealt with your wife for you, Mr. Jackson."

Chapter 1

I was pregnant with twins when I was abducted three days before I was due to give birth.

The perpetrators wanted 100 million dollars as ransom and demanded that my husband, Sheldon Jackson, personally deliver the money to them. However, he rejected them because of Madison Smith, his sister-in-law. She was pregnant with his elder brother, Scott Jackson's child, and had also been taken.

To protect Madison, Sheldon was going to personally deliver the ransom money to her abductors to save her. His voice was wracked with guilt when it echoed from the receiver.

"Scott died saving me. So, I must protect his unborn child. I've already sent Harry to save you. He'll definitely bring you back home safe and sound!"

He then hung up in a rush.

As I looked at the fierce and terrifying captors, I could only pin all my hopes on Harry Smith. The door to the warehouse was pushed open some time later. A man carrying a briefcase strolled in, the light illuminating him from behind.

Hope sparked in my heart as I yelled at him while struggling against my bindings. "Harry!"

Harry swept his gaze across his surroundings before a condescending smile stretched across his face. "The person whom Mr. Jackson cares about the most is his sister-in-law. You've taken the wrong person. This woman isn't worth 100 million dollars."

He glanced at me with contempt in his eyes. "Mr. Jackson wouldn't even bat an eye even if she died."

I felt like I had been plunged into a pool of freezing water upon hearing his words. As I gazed at Harry's face, his features slowly began to overlap with Madison's in my mind. I was struck with a realizationHarry was actually Madison's brother, and he was planning to betray Sheldon!

Harry wanted me dead to completely wipe out Sheldon's future generations. That way, Madison could use her child to inherit the Jackson family's fortune.

Sheldon had been caught in a car accident that left him impotent three months ago, after all. He could no longer have children, so the twins in my belly were going to be his last offspring.

Harry opened the briefcase in front of everyone. It was filled with gold, dazzling everyone in the vicinity. He scoffed as he took in the greedy expressions of my abductors.

"Mr. Jackson only found out recently that she has been cheating on him. The twins in her stomach aren't his children at all!"

My temper exploded as I yelled, "You're spouting nonsense and slandering me! You just want to possess the Jackson family's fortune for yourself!"

Harry ignored my outburst and patted the briefcase full of gold. "There isn't 100 million dollars here, but the gold should be worth ten million dollars. If you're unwilling to accept it, you won't get even a single penny!

"Mr. Jackson wants you to deal with her. You need to get rid of the children in her belly and silence her with clean and precise methods. The ten million dollars will be payment for your silence and services."

I shook my head wildly as tears streamed down my face. "No! He's lying! The children are Sheldon's. He loves me the most!"

Harry burst into laughter as if he had just heard a funny joke. "He loves you? If he loves you, why would he abandon you to face the perpetrators alone to save another woman?"

I cradled my swollen belly as I stared pleadingly at my abductors. "I'm begging you. Please let me call Sheldon. I swear that he loves me and our children. If anything happens to me, he definitely won't let you off the hook!"

The leader of the abductors seemed conflicted while Harry laughed mockingly before he handed his phone to me.

I screamed into the receiver when the call connected. "Honey! Harry has betrayed you! He wants to kill me and our children! Please come and save me!"

Sheldon's shocked voice echoed from the other end of the line. "What? Harry wants to kill you? How can that be?"

"Harry has been with you through thick and thin," Madison said comfortingly. "Why would he betray you? I'm guessing that Beatrice is feeling scared, so she's thinking of all sorts of ways to get you to go to her."

Sheldon sighed before he spoke in a softened voice. "Don't be scared, Beatrice. Protect our children. I'll come get you as soon as possible."

Madison's pained cry suddenly echoed from the phone's receiver. "My stomach hurts so much, Sheldon Am I going to lose my baby?"

"Don't move, Madison. The doctor will be here any second now!" was Jackson's panicked response as he tried to comfort her.

Sheldon only spoke again once he was done comforting Madison. He sounded helpless as he said, "I can't come and get you, Beatrice. Listen to Harry. He'll bring you home!"

He disconnected the call before I could say another word. To stay by Madison's side, he wasn't willing to listen to what I had to say.

I stared at the darkened screen of the phone in a daze. It was as if I could see Sheldon hugging Madison to comfort her. He had personally pushed me and my children into the depths of hell.

Chapter 2

Harry snatched his phone out of my hands and laughed at me mockingly. "Mr. Jackson doesn't want to come get you and wants you to listen to me. It's obvious that he wants you dead."

The leader of the people who had taken me kicked my shoulder while rubbing his hands together and smiling wickedly. "We'll have to do as Harry wants and properly deal with this bitch then!

"Mr. Jackson is so generous for paying us ten million dollars for our services. We have to make sure we give Mrs. Jackson the best treatment that we can!"

Harry approached me, his expression fierce. He moved his lips close to my ear and lowered his voice to barely above a whisper, so that only the two of us could hear his next words. "Stop struggling. Once you're dead, Sheldon and the Jackson family will belong to my sister."

My heart throbbed in pain as tears continued to roll down my cheeks. "Sheldon will avenge me once he finds out the truth. He definitely won't let you off the hook!"

"It's fine. I can pin the blame on the abductors when the time comes."

Harry shot to his feet suddenly. He then raised his leg and delivered a powerful kick to my stomach.

"No!"

Excruciating pain exploded from my stomach as something warm and sticky flowed down between my legs. I barely had time to think about my two children before I was assaulted with even more powerful kicks and punches.

I shrieked and curled myself into a tiny ball, collapsing onto the ground in a boneless heap. Fresh blood began to pool around me, staining the ground a vivid red. I could feel the two tiny lives within me being extinguished completely.

A young captor seemed to be unable to stomach the horrifying sight before him any longer. Hesitantly, he said, "Harry, she's going to die if we keep beating her!"

Harry kicked him aside, his eyes red. "Our goal is to kill her!"

The tears and blood mixed together to create a mess on my face. Harry nodded in satisfaction as he took in my pitiful appearance. He then pulled his phone out and started a video call. Madison's face appeared on the screen. She wore a triumphant smile.

"Why do you look so pathetic? How pitiful. Do you still think that Sheldon will avenge you once he finds out the truth? Stop dreaming. He'll definitely marry me once you're dead, and the child in my stomach will become the sole heir of the Jackson family!"

"You're lying," I retorted. "The one that Sheldon loves the most is me. His feelings for me have never changed despite how many years have passed. I believe in him! There's no way that he's having an affair with you!

"He only treats you well because you're Scott's widow and pregnant with his child. Everything that he does is for Scott's sake, yet you believe that he'll marry you. What a joke!"

In a corner, the young abductor discreetly retrieved his phone and called Sheldon while Harry was distracted. He lowered his voice and whispered, "Mr. Jackson, you have to come here now!"

Sheldon's impatient voice echoed from the other end of the line. "I can't go there right now. Tell Harry to come to the phone."

Realizing what the young man was up to, Harry strode over to him and slapped him hard across the face. "Stop meddling!"

He then grabbed the phone, smiled, and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Jackson. Mrs. Jackson is fine."

Harry kicked the young abductor a few more times after he disconnected the call. He then turned his sights on me once again. He looked around and spotted a bucket sitting in the corner that was filled with foul-smelling water.

"Pour that bucket of water on her," he ordered coldly. "Let's help her regain her senses."

I shivered uncontrollably when they poured the freezing water on me. Harry threw open all the windows and doors, letting the howling wind billow into the building. I was chilled to the bone, to the point that I nearly lost consciousness.

The cold temperature increased the speed of my blood loss. My consciousness began to turn hazy, and I thought that I could see two small figures waving at me.

They were saying, "Goodbye, Mommy."

I realized that they were my children, and they were bidding me farewell.

Harry walked over to me and placed a finger under my nose to check if I was still breathing. He smiled in satisfaction when he took in the huge pool of blood I was lying in. He then pulled out a lighter and set the old cardboard boxes that were stacked in the corner of the warehouse on fire.

"Farewell, Mrs. Jackson."

The flames roared to life as black smoke filled the air. The warehouse was locked from the outside. They were planning to burn me alive to cover up their crimes. My consciousness began to fade as I watched their retreating backs that were illuminated by the light of the fire.

Just as I thought I was doomed to die, the warehouse's door was kicked open from the outside. It was the young abductor who tried to save me earlier. The light of the flames was reflected on his terrified face.

He looked at me for a long time. "Run," he whispered before he disappeared into the night.

Chapter 3

My survival instincts made me ignore the burning flames as I struggled to crawl toward the open door. Every move that I made felt like torture. I finally made it to the door, but I had exhausted all my strength by then and ended up collapsing on the threshold.

The columns of thick smoke quickly attracted the attention of passersby.

"The building is on fire! Call the police! It seems that there are still people inside!"

The ear-splitting sounds of police sirens wailed in the distance. I lost consciousness completely when I was hauled into an ambulance. When I opened my eyes again, I realized that I was staring at the blinding white lights in a hospital.

The nurse next to me was sweating profusely as she delivered an endless stream of reports to the doctor.

"Doctor, the patient has Rh-negative blood and needs a large blood transfusion. However, all of our blood stock was transferred away by Sheldon Jackson. He claims that he needs it for his sister-in-law to ensure that nothing goes wrong with her unborn baby."

I never would have thought that Sheldon would personally snuff out my last chance of survival for Madison's sake. A freezing cold seeped into my bones. The pain was even more unbearable than the burns covering my body.

"Get in contact with Mr. Jackson and ask him to spare some of the blood. Also, put in an application for more blood at the Central Blood Bank immediately."

"We've already contacted him, but Mr. Jackson refused our request. Additionally, the Central Blood Bank requires a signature from the patient's family to process the application. Ms. Zorias, could you tell us how to get in touch with your family?"

I closed my eyes. Tears streamed down my face, stinging the burns on my cheeks. "I'm an orphan. I don't have any family except for my husband, Sheldon Jackson."

The emergency doctor snatched the phone out of the nurse's hands and personally called Sheldon. It rang for a long time before the call connected. Sheldon sounded tired on the other end of the line.

"Mr. Jackson, I'm calling from General Hospital. Your wife's life is in danger, and she needs Rh-negative blood urgently. Please transfer some of the blood that you have here. She won't survive if you don't."

"What? My wife? How can that be? I'll send the blood over now!"

We could hear the sounds of chaotic footsteps and Sheldon giving orders to transfer the blood to the hospital echoing from the receiver. However, the sounds of footsteps disappeared soon, replaced by Madison's teary voice.

"Sheldon, I just received news from Harry. Beatrice isn't in General Hospital. The abductors want to extort more money from you, so they're lying to you to get you to leave. They want to take you too. Please don't go. I'm so scared."

Sheldon's voice immediately turned wary as he said, "I'll give you as much money as you want as long as you let Beatrice go unharmed as promised. If you hurt even a single strand of hair on her head, I won't let you off the hook."

"Mr. Jackson, I'm really calling from General Hospital! Your wife is"

But the call disconnected before the doctor could finish his sentence. When he tried calling Sheldon again, he was met with the busy dial tone. It seemed that Sheldon had turned off his phone.

The doctor and nurses looked at me in confusion. Meanwhile, my heart had turned completely hollow. This was the third time that Sheldon had done this. My life was on the line, but he had refused to ask even a single question about my well-being.

The head nurse looked at me, her heart aching. Surprise suddenly flickered across her face as she touched mine. "Doesn't she look just like Commander Green's wife? Could she be the commander's long-lost daughter?"

She then brushed my hair aside and examined the birthmark behind my ear before excitedly calling the commander. "Commander Green, I think we've found your daughter! That's right! She's in our hospital right now. She's in critical danger, and we urgently need your signature for the blood application."

Ten minutes later, a military helicopter descended and parked on the helipad on top of the hospital. With several top medical professionals accompanying him, the commander rushed into my ward. Fury burned in his eyes when he saw me lying on the hospital bed, looking like I already had one foot in the grave.

"Draw some of my blood first. Make sure my daughter survives no matter the cost!"

The chief surgeon removed his mask after the surgery was over. He looked pained as he spoke to the commander.

"Commander Green, we've stabilized her condition for now, but we were unable to save the twins. Her uterus was also severely damaged. It's likely that she'll never be able to give birth in the future.

"She'll also need to undergo skin grafting to treat the burns on her body. The treatment that she'll have to go through in the future will be extremely painful."

The commander was shaking all over from rage. His eyes were filled with regret and loathing as he gave his order. "Suppress all the news. Announce to the public that Beatrice Zorias, Sheldon Jackson's wife, is dead."

Meanwhile, Sheldon had carefully carried Madison back home. Her face was filled with happiness as she leaned against his chest, thankful that she had survived the abduction.

Sheldon also breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that he had managed to protect the last of Scott's bloodline. But his heart leaped into his throat again when he recalled that I had yet to come home safely. He was about to call Harry when his phone rang first. The screen displayed an unknown number.

He swiftly picked it up, only to hear the abductor's smug voice on the other end of the line. "The bitch is dead, Mr. Jackson! We've done you a huge service, so won't you give us more money to reward our hard work?"