During the family dinner, my daughter quietly slipped me a note: “Mom, pretend you feel sick right now and leave”; at first, I thought she was joking, but a few minutes later something happened that terrified me 

The family dinner was going smoothly: casual conversations, cheerful dancing, music. Everyone at the table was smiling, and I was trying not to show how tired I was after a long day at work. My daughter sat next to me, poking at her salad with a fork, but she seemed tense.

Suddenly, I felt her fingers gently touch mine under the table. Then she quickly placed something small and soft into my hand — a folded note.

I unfolded it under the table, trying not to draw attention. On the napkin, written in uneven, childish handwriting, it said:

“Mom, pretend you feel sick right now and leave!”

Panic rushed through me. I looked up — my daughter was sitting straight, pale, her lips trembling. Not a trace of a joke.

I didn’t understand anything, but something inside me told me I had to do what she said. I slowly raised my hand to my temple, let myself sway slightly, and whispered:

— I’m sorry… I suddenly don’t feel well… I’m dizzy…

My mother-in-law leaned forward, raising her eyebrows in surprise. My husband frowned.

I stood up, pretending to be weak, apologized to everyone, and headed toward the exit, feeling my mother-in-law’s stare burning into my back.

In the hallway, I leaned against the wall, breath unsteady. I waited for my daughter to come out and explain everything.

Ten minutes later, the door opened slightly and my daughter ran out — pale, her eyes shiny with tears. She grabbed my hand and whispered something that froze my blood 

Continuation in the first comment 

— Mom… Grandma wanted you to drink that juice. She put something in it… I saw her… — her voice was shaking.

— What exactly?.. — my throat went dry.

My daughter swallowed hard:

— I heard her on the phone… she said “it’ll be better this way,” that “another girl for her son is pointless.” She said that if you lost the baby, “everything would be easier afterward.”

The world blurred before my eyes.

— Are you sure?.. — I barely recognized my own voice.

— She poured some powder from a little packet into it while you were talking to Dad. I was sitting next to her… she thought I was looking at my phone…

My daughter began to sob.

— Mom, she knows you’re going to have a girl soon. And she said “we don’t need a second one.” She wanted you to lose the baby…

My legs gave out, and I leaned against the wall.

At that moment, my mother-in-law appeared at the end of the hallway. Her face calm. Much too calm.

— Are you feeling better now? — she asked, almost gently. — Should I bring you some water?

My daughter squeezed my hand so tightly her knuckles turned white:

— Mom, don’t drink anything…