The midwife and the man froze at my words. I cried out in pain, but I used every ounce of my strength to push my babies into the world.
“Twins…” she muttered.
"Ahhh!" I shouted in agony with the final push.
I gasped for air as I heard the first cries of my child. The midwife held him up, handing him to me, clearly shaken by my earlier threat.
She was about to leave, but I stopped her.
"I need you to do something for me. Once you’re done, I’ll give you enough gold to feed your family," I said, despite the pain. "Someone will assist you. If you don’t cooperate, both you and your families will die."
They had no choice but to agree. I explained my plan. I had arranged to purchase two babies from the black market—one dead, one alive. I knew Karina; she was easily fooled when there was someone else by her side.
The dead baby would be presented to her after I had ordered the milk to be laced with wolfsbane—just enough for her to believe the baby had died of natural causes. The important thing was that Daniel had prepared it, so Karina would blame him for her loss.
The live one would serve as the gift to the pact, just as Daniel wanted.