The fluorescent lights of the operating room flickered overhead as Aarika Lin struggled to breathe. Pain clamped her body in waves, and sweat drenched her pale skin. The smell of blood and antiseptic mixed in the sterile air, clinging to her senses. Her fingers gripped the edge of the hospital bed with all the strength she had left. Her back arched as another contraction rippled through her, tearing a scream from her throat.
"Push! Push now!" the nurse urged, voice firm but distant.
Aarika blinked hard, trying to stay conscious. Her vision blurred at the edges, her limbs cold. She was slipping away. Her heart thundered, not just from exertion but from panic. Where was Zayden? Where was Rachel? She had called them, begged them to be there for the delivery.
No one came.
Betrayal stabbed deeper than the pain. She had built an empire beside Zayden, trusted Rachel with her life—and both had shattered her.
A final scream escaped her lips as the baby was pulled from her body. Then silence.
Until a cry—a soft, beautiful wail—cut through the room. Her baby. Alive.
Aarika's lips trembled. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Please... save him..."
Her eyes fluttered closed. The machines beeped rapidly, then slowed.
Darkness.
But then—something strange. A sound not from the hospital. A chime. Gentle. Mechanical.
Welcome, Host. System initializing...
Confusion surged through her as the darkness shifted.
Timeline reset. Mission: Protect the Child. Change Fate.
And just like that, she breathed again.