Chapter 441

The Queen's fingers dug deep into her palms, leaving crescent-shaped marks on her skin.

"I want this child." Her voice trembled, but her resolve was unshakable. "If fate has chosen me, I won't betray this gift."

She suddenly gripped Vivian's wrist with surprising strength. "Dr. Laurent, I beg you to help me. Money is no object—five billion, ten billion, name your price."

Vivian felt the Queen's pulse racing beneath her fingertips. The desperation in the mother's eyes told her any attempt to dissuade her would be futile.

"Medicine offers no guarantees." Vivian sighed. "But if you insist, we can monitor the fetus's development first."

Hope flared in the Queen's eyes like a drowning woman clutching at driftwood.

Vivian listed every possible complication: deformities, congenital diseases, miscarriage risks, life-threatening labor... Each word weighed heavier on her heart.

The Queen's spine remained rigid throughout.

"I've assembled the best medical team." The Queen caressed her flat abdomen. "I'll suspend all royal duties this year to focus on the pregnancy."

Vivian studied the Queen's red-rimmed eyes, recalling the lab subjects who'd sacrificed everything for motherhood. Humanity's obsession with perpetuating life sometimes bordered on madness.

"One more thing..." The Queen lowered her voice. "Please don't tell Fiona yet. The child is too sensitive."

Vivian frowned. She'd seen Fiona Grandelle during an episode—that fragile girl curled in a corner like a wounded animal.

"Secrets solve nothing." Vivian met the Queen's gaze. "Fiona is stronger than you think."

Salt-laden wind whipped against Vivian's face as she stared at the distant horizon where sea met sky. For a moment, she thought of the mother she'd never known.

Her fingers closed around the pendant at her throat—the only relic from her birth mother. The cold metal refused to warm against her palm.

The Queen's retreating figure shrank to a speck in the distance. Vivian stood on the jagged rocks, letting seawater soak her shoes.

Eighteen years ago, had that woman worn the same joyous expression upon learning of her pregnancy? Or had she immediately started calculating the child's monetary value?

Icy waves licked her ankles. For the first time, Vivian wondered—what did it feel like to be genuinely wanted in this world?