Liliana decided it was best to let things lie and nodded. "Yes, I suppose he and our family just weren''t meant to be..."


    Even as she spoke, her tears wouldn''t stop falling. She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, putting on a brave face even though heartbreak was written all over her.


    Finnian offered a few more quiet words offort before turning to find the doctor for an update.


    The moment the hospital room door clicked shut behind him, Liliana''s tears vanished as if they''d never been there. Jenny was still sniffling and on the verge of sobbing again, but Liliana cut her off with a cold voice. "Stop crying. That baby never even existed."


    Jenny stared at her, tearstained and wide-eyed. "What are you talking about? What do you mean, the baby didn''t exist?"


    Since Finnian had left with a nurse, there were no outsiders in the room now. A glint of malice shed in Liliana''s eyes as she confessed, "I was never pregnant. I never even slept with Finn. But he thinks we did, and that I was carrying his child..."


    "My original n was to wait out the ''pregnancy'' and then secretly swap the baby for another. But now I''ve changed my mind. I''ll just say I lost the baby. Do you understand?"


    Jenny''s face went pale in shock. "Are you insane? That wouldn''t have been an Everly baby! What if someone found outter?"


    Liliana rolled her eyes, irritation sharpening her voice. "It''s over now, isn''t it? What are you so worried about?"


    If she didn''t still have some use for her parents in all this, she wouldn''t have bothered telling them the truth-otherwise, they''d just bombard her with annoying questions. The thought alone made her skin crawl.


    Jenny, still anxious, finally caught on to the real issue. "But what about the


    future?" she blurted. "Now that there''s no baby, what if Finn leaves you and goes running back to Amara? What are you going to do then?" She began to pace the room in a panic.


    Liliana pulled back her hospital gown, revealing a fresh scar on her abdomen. Her tone was icy. "Settle down. He owes me his life now. I''ll find a way to use that."


    She''d always intended to save her life-saving act for the moment she needed it most—a trump card. But now she had no choice. Her eyes grew hard and calcting.


    Meanwhile, Amara and Mr. Kevin Everly had just arrived at the hospital. As soon as they entered the room, they saw Hogan being helped to sit up.


    He''d been bedridden for days and looked like he''d wasted away-his skin hung loose over his bones,


    making him look almost skelet<fn6e11> Th? link to the orig?n of this information r?sts ?n find?novel</fn6e11>


    Amara could help but let outerugh, though she quickly stifled it.” Mr. Kevin Everly didn''t notice, but Hogan did.  s


    Is she mocking me? Hogan red at her, wanting tosh out, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.


    "Why can''t Hogan speak?" Mr. Kevin Everly asked, rmed by his son''s struggle.


    A maid answered quickly, “The


    doctor said Mr. Hogan''s throat is extremely dry from not speaking for so many days. He just needs to on drink plenty of water and rest his voice for now."  s


    Mr. Kevin Everly gave a relieved sigh and patted his chest. "That''s good news."


    He and Amara stayed for a little while longer, but with the hour growingte and Hogan out of danger, they decided to head home.


    Shortly after they left, Finnian arrived.


    By then, Hogan had managed to croak out a few words, though his voice was still rough. He answered Finnian''s questions about his health one by one, then hesitated before asking, "Hey, bro where''s... ub,


    where''s Liliana? Why didn''t she


    Though he''d been unconscious for days after the ident, he still remembered Liliana''s fake pregnancy-and the whole mess had him more than a little concerned.