He turned around.

A man was approaching with confident strides, surrounded by several men and personal bodyguards.

He was a businessman in his late twenties, with black hair as dark as charcoal and sharp green eyes that resembled those of a hawk.

He wore an expensive black tuxedo, looking as though he had just walked out of an important meeting to come here.

There was no trace of panic or concern on his face for his wife.

Instead, he radiated cold authority and rigid dominance.

Liam Valdimir stopped in the middle of the corridor.

He glanced around with barely concealed contempt before addressing the reception desk in a dry, commanding voice.

"Where is that woman?"

Lucas was stunned by the way he spoke.

He hadn't said my wife.

He hadn't even said Elena.

He referred to her as though she were nothing more than a burden or a stranger.

At that moment, the double doors of the operating room opened, and Dr. Mina Wilson emerged, exhaustion and deep sorrow written across her face.

She hurried toward Liam.

"Mr. Valdimir, thank God you've arrived. Her condition is extremely critical, and we need your immediate signature on the surgical consent forms so we can proceed with the emergency procedure."

Liam did not ask about Elena's condition.

He did not ask whether she was alive.

Instead, he looked at Mina with his cold green eyes.

"And the baby? How is my child?"

Dr. Mina sighed sadly and lowered her head.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Liam... The bleeding was severe, and the impact was direct. The fetus did not survive. We need to perform surgery immediately to remove the fetus and stop the internal bleeding to save Elena's life."

For a single second, Liam's expression hardened.

Not because he was grieving Elena.

But because of the bitter disappointment and cold fury that came with losing his heir.

He took the pen from the doctor's hand and signed the documents quickly, without the slightest hesitation.

Then he handed the pen back.

"Do whatever is necessary."

All of this happened while Lucas stood in the corner, watching in disbelief, anger boiling through his veins.

How could a man be so cold and heartless toward his own wife while she was fighting for her life?

How had that gentle girl, Elena, fallen into the hands of this icy monster?

..........

Dr. Mina quickly took the documents and rushed back into the operating room, the large circular doors closing behind her once again.

A heavy silence settled over the sterile corridor.

Liam stood in the middle of the hallway, calmly adjusting the buttons of his cuffs while his bodyguards formed a human wall around him.

He showed no desire to sit down.

There was no sign of emotional collapse.

All he displayed was cold authority and relentless thoughts about the loss that had befallen him that day.

Lucas could not take it anymore.

He stepped toward Liam, his eyes blazing with anger.

"How can you be this heartless? She's your wife... She's dying in there!"

The guards immediately turned toward Lucas.

One of them reached out to stop him from coming any closer, but Liam slowly raised a hand, ordering his guard to stand down.

He turned his sharp green eyes toward Lucas.

His gaze traveled from Lucas's feet to his face with contempt, as though he were looking at an irritating insect that had crossed his path.

"Who are you to interfere in my affairs?"

Lucas clenched his fists.

"I'm the man who pulled her out of a burning car while you were drowning in your expensive suit! She was bleeding and whispering your child's name before she lost consciousness, and all you care about is paperwork and signatures?"

Liam's jaw tightened for several seconds.

He took a single step toward Lucas.

An oppressive aura seemed to radiate from him, making the entire corridor feel colder.

He looked directly into Lucas's eyes.

"If so, thank you for doing your duty as someone who happened to be there. Limit yourself to that role and don't cross your boundaries. Elena is my responsibility. What happens between us is none of a stranger's business."

He turned away and gestured coldly toward the head of his security detail.

"Make sure he's financially compensated for his assistance today, then escort him out of the hospital."

Lucas was utterly stunned.

He cursed under his breath as he witnessed how kindness was repaid and how poor Elena was being crushed beneath the boot of this tyrannical man.

He stepped backward beneath the guards' stern gazes, but he did not leave the hospital.

Instead, he sat on a distant bench at the far end of the corridor, his eyes fixed sorrowfully on the operating-room doors.

He kept asking himself:

How had that quiet girl with the glasses and sky-blue eyes become a victim trapped inside the icy palace of Liam Valdimir?

And what awaited her when she woke up and learned that she had lost her child... and her ability to bear children?

..........

Three hours passed like an eternity.

The silence of the corridor was broken only by the hum of medical equipment and the hurried footsteps of nurses.

Liam had not moved from his place.

He stared at his phone screen and made quick business calls in a voice devoid of tension, as though the woman undergoing a dangerous operation inside was nothing more than a failed business deal whose loose ends needed to be settled.

Finally, the red light above the operating-room doors went out.

The doors slowly opened.

Dr. Mina emerged, removing her surgical mask. Her face was pale, and her breathing was labored from exhaustion.

Liam took two steps forward, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets.

"Are you finished?"

Mina looked at him, disappointment and restrained anger shining in her eyes.

She sighed heavily.

"We managed to stop the bleeding and save her life, Mr. Liam... but..."

She paused, unsure how to deliver the devastating news.

Then she gathered her courage and continued.

"The damage to her uterus was extremely severe because of the force of the collision and the delay in getting her here. We had no other choice if we wanted to save her life except to perform a complete hysterectomy."

She swallowed hard.

"Elena will survive... but she will never be able to have children again."

Liam's entire body stiffened.

For the first time, his green eyes flickered with a trace of shock.

But only for a fraction of a second.

Then the cold walls returned.

He slowly closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and opened them again.

The expression on his face had changed completely.

There was no grief for his young wife, who had lost her ability to become a mother forever.

Instead, there was only bitter disappointment—the expression of a man who believed he had suffered an unforgivable loss.

"A hysterectomy?" Liam growled in a low, dangerously controlled voice, his clenched jaw accentuating the sharp lines of his face.

Mina nodded sadly.

"Yes. It was the only option. She's still under anesthesia and will be transferred to the intensive care unit."

At that moment, Lucas watched Liam's reaction from a distance.

He saw the calm exterior crack, replaced by an overwhelming fury and an almost inhuman coldness.

Liam turned toward the head of his security team.

"Make sure she's transferred to a private room as soon as she wakes up. I don't want any journalists or media anywhere near this hospital."

Then he pulled out his phone and called another number.

He walked a few steps away, but Lucas could still hear him issuing orders in a harsh, merciless tone.

"Prepare the legal documents and bring me the driver who was responsible for that car and allowed her to drive it... She ruined everything through her negligence and caused this accident."

Lucas's heart tightened in disbelief.

This man wasn't even thinking about wiping away her tears when she woke up.

Instead, he was already preparing to throw her broken heart into a hell of blame and accusations.

A mobile hospital bed emerged from the operating room, pushed quickly by the nurses.

On the white pillow lay Elena's pale face, almost lifeless, her lips colorless and her fragile body seemingly swallowed by the hospital sheets.

Liam did not approach her.

He did not take her hand.

He did not even ask whether she was awake.

He merely watched her from a distance, like a stranger who had ruined his carefully constructed plans.

Meanwhile, Lucas clenched his fists, struggling to suppress the urge to push past the guards and punch the cruel husband in the face.

After Elena was transferred to her private room, a heavy silence filled the space, broken only by the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor.

Liam stood beside the large window overlooking the city lights, one hand resting in his pocket.

His sharp features were reflected in the dark glass like a statue carved from marble, completely devoid of emotion.

On the other side of the room, Lucas managed to slip through the corridor after the security around the door had temporarily eased.

He stood behind the glass outside the room, watching Elena's pale face lying against the white pillow.

A wave of helplessness and anger washed over him.

How could that delicate girl who had once carefully avoided stepping on pebbles in the university corridors have ended up between the jaws of a man who saw her as nothing more than a tool for producing an heir?

Elena's eyelids slowly fluttered.

Her vision gradually began to clear.

White walls greeted her.

The sharp smell of disinfectant filled her senses.

The first thing she felt was a heavy emptiness inside her abdomen, along with an exhaustion that seemed to consume every cell of her body.

She slowly raised her trembling hand toward her stomach.

But the familiar curve that had cradled her baby for months was gone.

There was nothing but tightly wrapped bandages and a sharp pain tearing through her body.

Her breathing became uneven.

Her dry lips trembled as she whispered in a faint, breathless voice:

"My baby... Where is my baby?"

Liam slowly turned toward her.

He did not rush to her side.

He did not take her trembling hand.

Instead, he walked steadily toward the edge of the bed and looked at her with green eyes completely devoid of mercy.

"He's gone," he said softly, yet his words cut like a knife. "And the reason is your negligence."

Elena's eyes widened in disbelief.

Tears gathered in their corners as she stared at him helplessly.

"Liam... please... what happened? I didn't—"

He interrupted her in a sharp, uncompromising voice.

"You weren't careful. You went out and drove the car while you were in your condition, and this is the result. You lost my heir."

He paused briefly.

"And it doesn't end there, Elena... The doctor was forced to remove your entire uterus."

The news struck her like lightning.

Elena's breath caught.

The tears in her eyes froze as she stared at him in disbelief.

His words were not merely a medical report.

They felt like a complete execution of her motherhood and dignity.

"My uterus?" she whispered, barely audible, her entire body trembling beneath the blanket.

Liam continued in a voice devoid of warmth, looking at her as though she were nothing more than a failed investment.

"Yes. You can no longer have children. And as my wife, that was the one thing everyone expected from you."

His eyes hardened.

"You've turned this marriage into a losing deal through your recklessness."

Outside the room, Lucas clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white.

He wanted to storm inside and pull Elena away from this hell, but he knew that any reckless move would only make matters worse given Liam's absolute influence.

Tears streamed down Elena's face.

She covered it with her trembling hands, sobbing silently as the pain tore through her chest.

Liam did not attempt to wipe away her tears.

He did not comfort her.

Instead, he turned toward the door and walked away without looking back.

"Rest for now. The doctors will take care of your body. As for our future... we'll discuss it later."

............

The painful memory gradually faded from Lucas's mind.

He suddenly returned to the present.

Three full years had passed since that cursed night.

Lucas, now the Director of Marketing at Valdimir Global, stood behind the tinted glass of his luxurious office on the upper floor, taking slow sips of cold coffee with a heavy, sorrowful gaze.

He stared directly toward the glass office across from his own.

The office of Liam Valdimir's personal secretary.

There she was.

Elena.

She was still working as Liam's secretary, exactly as she had before she was forced into marriage with him under mysterious circumstances—circumstances whose details Lucas still did not know.

And despite the passage of three years, nothing had changed.

If anything, Elena had become thinner and more fragile, as though the years that had passed were nothing more than a grinding machine slowly devouring her frail body.

She wore a dark, simple formal suit.

Her hair was tied up, exposing her slender neck.

And the sky-blue eyes that had once captivated Lucas were now surrounded by dark circles, filled with exhaustion and an eternal emptiness.