THE SCREAMS IN THE NIGHT — AND THE CHILD AFTER MY HUSBAND’S DEATH
My husband had been gone for less than a week.
I still wasn’t used to the absence of his footsteps in the house—the sound of the door opening every evening, the familiar warmth beside me when I turned in my sleep. Everything had happened too fast, too suddenly, leaving me no time to prepare myself for how to go on living without him.
Michael—my husband—had died of a sudden stroke on his way home from work. The doctors said it was something no one could have predicted. A man only forty-three years old, healthy, with no history of heart disease, gone in an instant—leaving our son and me behind forever.
The funeral had ended just three days earlier.
The house, worth over 2.3 million USD, once filled with laughter, now felt frighteningly cold and empty. My son, Ethan, only nine years old, didn’t fully understand what “death” meant. He only knew that his father would never come home again. Every night, he clung tightly to me, asking innocent questions that felt like someone was crushing my heart.
That night, exhausted after a long day of receiving visitors who came to offer condolences, I put Ethan to bed and fell asleep without even realizing it.
Until a faint scream jolted me awake.
1. SCREAMS IN THE NIGHT — IN A HOUSE WITHOUT A MAN
At first, I thought I was imagining it.
Half-awake, half-asleep, I lay still for a few seconds, my heart pounding as I tried to listen—hoping it was nothing more than a fragment of a nightmare.
But then the sound came again.
Clearer this time. Broken. Full of pain.
I sat bolt upright.
In the house at that moment, there were only three of us: me, Ethan, and Clara—the housekeeper who had worked for our family for nearly four years. Michael used to say Clara was gentle, hardworking, and honest, and I had trusted her completely.
But now, with Michael gone, in a large house with no man, a scream in the middle of the night truly terrified me.
I reached over and turned on the bedside lamp, threw on a robe, and hurried to my son’s room. Ethan was still sleeping soundly, his innocent face peaceful. I felt a small sense of relief.
I took a deep breath.
No matter how scared I was, I couldn’t ignore it.
I followed the sound, slowly making my way down the stairs. The wooden floor creaked under my feet—familiar sounds, but in the silence of the night, they felt disturbingly loud.
When I reached the ground floor, I realized immediately:
The noise was coming from Clara’s bedroom.
Her room was at the end of the hallway, separated from the others. The door was slightly ajar, a weak yellow light spilling out.
My heart began to race.
I stood there for a few seconds, my trembling hand resting on the doorknob.
Then I pushed the door open.
2. THE SCENE THAT TURNED ME TO STONE
What I saw made me freeze, as if turned to stone.
Clara was lying on the bed, her body curled in pain. Both hands clutched her stomach tightly, her face deathly pale, sweat pouring off her as if she had been drenched. Her lips trembled, and suppressed moans escaped her throat.
“Clara… what’s wrong?” I cried, rushing toward her.
She turned her head to look at me, her eyes clouded with pain. Her throat was dry; it took several seconds before she could whisper:
“I… I can’t take it anymore…”
I grabbed her hand.
“I’ll call an ambulance!”
Suddenly, Clara tightened her grip on my hand and weakly shook her head.
“No… no…”
Then, writhing in pain, she whispered a sentence that sent a chill through my entire body:
“I want to get rid of this child… I can’t keep it… he’s dead… so why should I give birth to his child?”
I went numb.
Who was “he”?
A horrifying thought flashed through my mind—one I didn’t dare acknowledge.
“Clara… be clear with me… who is ‘he’?”
But before I could ask anything else, her face turned even paler, her breathing grew rapid, and her hand fell limp.
There was no time to think.
I immediately called 911.
3. THE TRUTH AT THE HOSPITAL
Clara was rushed into the emergency room that same night.
The doctor told me she had severe bleeding and intense uterine contractions due to taking abortion pills of unknown origin on her own. If she had arrived any later, both she and the fetus could have been in serious danger.
I collapsed onto a chair in the hospital hallway, my hands ice-cold.
Then the doctor added something that made me dizzy:
“The fetus is currently stable. Luckily, we intervened in time.”
The fetus.
The child in Clara’s womb… whose was it?
I sat there in turmoil, while images of Michael kept flashing through my mind—his gentle smile, his calm demeanor, the devoted husband I had trusted completely throughout twelve years of marriage.
It couldn’t be.
But there was no other explanation.
4. THE FINAL CONFESSION
The next morning, when Clara woke up, I stayed by her hospital bed.
She didn’t look at me. Her hands rested on her stomach, her eyes empty.
I was the one who spoke first.
“The child… it’s Michael’s, isn’t it?”
Tears streamed down Clara’s face.
She nodded.
My throat tightened. It took a long time before I could speak again.
“How long has this been going on?”
Clara told me, her voice breaking.
Michael had been involved with her for over a year. At first, it was just concern—small gestures, conversations during times when I was busy with work and caring for our son. Clara lived far from her hometown, with no family nearby. Michael was powerful, wealthy, and appeared kind.
She fell.
Then she became pregnant.
“I thought… if I gave him a child… I’d have something to rely on… he promised to support me financially…” Clara sobbed.
“I never dared to dream of a status… I just wanted a child… someone to depend on in the future…”
But then Michael died.
Suddenly. Without leaving her a single word.
In her despair, Clara lost her way and listened to others, buying abortion pills and taking them recklessly.
Listening to her, my heart shattered.
Not only because of Clara.
But because the man I had loved for so many years had betrayed me in silence.
5. I HURT — BUT I COULDN’T HATE THE CHILD
I cried.
I cried for the marriage I thought was perfect.
I cried for a betrayal I never imagined.
I cried for Michael—the man who had just left me, yet had also collapsed in my heart.
But amid all that chaos, there was one thing I knew with absolute certainty:
The child was innocent.
It was Michael’s blood. A life that hadn’t even been born yet, almost stripped of the right to live.
I said to Clara:
“I don’t want you to get rid of the baby.”
Clara looked at me, her eyes full of confusion.
“But… the child has no father…”
That sentence pierced my heart like a knife.
My Ethan… had just lost his father too.
I understood that fear better than anyone.
6. A CHOICE NO ONE FINDS EASY
Clara didn’t want to give birth to a child in shame. She didn’t want the child to grow up being labeled “illegitimate.”
And I… I stood between two cliffs.
If I forced Clara to keep the baby, would that be too cruel?
If I let her end the pregnancy, could I live with my conscience?
Michael was dead.
He could no longer take responsibility.
But those of us still alive had to.
7. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
I looked at Clara, then thought of Ethan.
Two children. Two fates. One man who had left behind two wounds.
I had money. Michael left behind more than 6 million USD in assets and life insurance. I could fully support Clara and the child.
But money could never replace a father.
I wanted Clara to reconsider. I wanted her to understand that no matter what, the baby deserved to live, to be loved.
But I couldn’t force her.
That night, I sat alone on the hospital balcony, looking down at the brightly lit city, feeling terrifyingly empty.
I had lost my husband.
And now, I was facing the truth that
love, trust, and family—
are sometimes more fragile than death itself.
And I still didn’t know
how to save an innocent life
when I myself was standing on the edge of collapse.
