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00:02i was thrashing on the delivery bed contractions ripping through me one after another
00:09my husband damien was gripping my hand looking at me with this sickeningly sweet gentle expression
00:17just hang in there a little longer alexia we're gonna meet our baby so soon i was sweating bullets
00:23practically blinded by the pain but i still managed a weak smile for him then a nurse walked
00:28him holding a syringe i thought it was just my epidural but damien suddenly dropped my hand and
00:34took a massive step back the second that needle pierced my skin i heard damien mutter get the
00:39dosage right we need to stall her labor until vivian gives birth my eyes snapped wide open staring at
00:46him in pure horror but he just casually checked his rolex vivian's six centimeters dilated they just
00:53keep her drugged for another two hours i wanted to scream to rip the four out but the drugs were
00:58already flooding my veins the violent tearing contractions in my stomach were suddenly choked
01:03out by this invisible hand everything just stopped dead they wheeled me down to the hospital's creepy
01:08ass basement dumping me in what looked like a makeshift cell damien's spoiled brat of a sister
01:13bella was leaning against the doorframe casually twirling a surgical scalpel don't be mad at my brother
01:19alessia vivian is carrying my late brother's baby the first actual heir a boy for our family's new
01:26generation who cares if you deliver first you're just popping out a girl it's totally worthless i
01:33clutched my giant belly as a fresh rogue wave of contraction started violently fighting off the drugs
01:38the pain was so blinding my vision literally went black get a doc the baby's coming i swear to god
01:44i gasped out bella just let out this wicked psychotic little laugh
01:50give birth who said you're giving birth
01:56those meds are gonna keep you locked up tight for another three hours
01:59vivian's already in the delivery sweetie once her son is born safe and sound you can push all you
02:05freaking want she stood up brushing off her designer jeans and shot a glare at the muscle standing by the
02:11door watch her she screams gag her the heavy metal door slammed shut i rise on the freezing concrete
02:17floor a pool of blood already soaking right through my hospital gown damien had confiscated my phone the
02:23exact second we pulled up to the emergency room he fed me some bs about radiation being bad for the
02:28baby
02:28looking back he just didn't want me calling the cops i curled into a tight agonizing ball desperately
02:35trying to breathe through the blinding pain but all i could picture was the look in damien's eyes
02:40stone cold calculating like he was looking at a broken piece of furniture not his wife
02:46not the woman literally carrying his child three months ago his older brother alan died in a horrific
02:52car crash he left behind vivian his widow who was three months pregnant at the funeral damien's dad
02:59the family patriarch george was bawling gripping vivian's hands like a lifeline you have to deliver this
03:04baby safely our bloodline cannot end here back then i actually felt bad for vivian i even stepped up
03:11and said don't worry dad damien and i will make sure our baby takes care of you too the old
03:17man george
03:17just gave me this dead blank stare and said nothing it suddenly clicked from that exact moment my baby
03:24was already marked as collateral damage another contraction ripped through me a hundred times
03:29more brutal than the last the delay drugs were wearing off my baby was coming out now i dragged
03:36myself to the door clawing and pounding on the metal with everything i had somebody help the baby is coming
03:42please save my baby dead silence from the hallway i screamed until my vocal cords literally bled only to
03:49hear one of the guards grumble impatiently shut the hell up blair said to wait so you wait
03:54but my baby if it dies it dies blame your own crappy luck for not carrying a boy i slumped
04:01back against
04:02the freezing wall ice running through my veins this wasn't bad luck they actively intentionally wanted my
04:08baby dead i have no idea how long i survived in that pitch black basement the bleeding wouldn't stop i
04:14was
04:14practically swimming in a dark red puddle just as i started blacking out the door violently
04:19swung open it wasn't bella it wasn't the goons it was the family's private physician dr vance
04:26alexia what the hell are you doing down here damien told everyone you were resting up in the penthouse
04:32vip suite i tried to scream but my throat was totally paralyzed all i could do was point at my
04:39swollen
04:39stomach sobbing uncontrollably the second his hands felt my abdomen he sharply sucked in a breath
04:45you're 10 centimeters your water's completely broken we have to get you to a hospital now he tried to
04:51scoot me up but the slightest movement sent a horrifying hot gush between my legs blood so much
04:57damn blood dr vance's hands were shaking uncontrollably as he screamed out the door help get in here now
05:04she's hemorrhaging the hallway was a ghost town damien's family basically owned this private hospital
05:11they had cleared out the entire building tonight just for vivian's delivery every single doctor and
05:16nurse was on standby up on the third floor dr vance whipped out his phone swearing when he saw there
05:21was zero cell service down here i'm carrying you up just hold on gritting his teeth he lifted my dead
05:28weight and stumbled frantically toward the exit that stairwell felt like an endless nightmare
05:32every single jolt was pure unadulterated torture i could feel my baby dropping pushing down but unable
05:39to actually come out those sick delay drugs were still messing with my system making my contractions
05:44totally erratic it was the most lethal scenario possible dr vance save the baby please just save
05:52my baby don't talk like that you're both gonna make it he finally hit the ground floor sprinting
05:59straight for the primary operating room but when we got to the doors we both just froze the or double
06:04doors were propped wide open and the room was completely utterly gutted the overhead surgical lights
06:10gone the operating table gone the fetal monitors the oxygen tanks every single piece of life-saving
06:18equipment had straight up vanished all that was left was an empty echoing room and some exposed wall outlets
06:23dr vance stood there paralyzed he let out this choked horrified sound like someone was literally
06:29strangling hell how is this possible i personally checked all this equipment at 3 p.m
06:36suddenly the sharp click of heels echoed from down the hall bella strolled over with two nurses
06:41trailing her like lap dogs dr vance the hell are you doing down here vivian's up on the third floor
06:48why did you leave your post where is the equipment where did everything go we moved it up to the
06:54third floor obviously vivian needs a c-section so she gets the absolute premium gear what if there's
07:01an emergency a regular old or wouldn't cut it for the air oh is alessia about to pop well she's
07:12gonna
07:12have to hold it in vivian's not done yet just suck it up and tough it out a little longer
07:16i stared up at
07:17her flawlessly contoured face a sick memory flashed from six months ago her linking arms with me at
07:23prada batting her eyelashes and going the best alexia you're more like a real sister to me than
07:28anyone looking back now what a twisted pathetic joke dr vance sprinted into the nurse's station
07:35like a madman but they were wiped clean where are the meds give me something we sent it all up
07:44to
07:44the third floor damian ordered that every single resource must be strictly prioritized for vivian
07:50dr vance slammed his fist so hard i'm so sorry god i'm so sorry alessia
07:59there's nothing i can do bella sauntered over condescendingly patting his shoulder relax doc
08:05take a breath she hasn't even pushed the kid out yet once vivian is finished we'll send the scraps
08:12back downstairs for her and honestly even if she pops it out it's just a worthless girl
08:17if it dies good riddance our family doesn't need trash like that i stared a hole straight through
08:23her skull looking at the girl i had treated like my own flesh and blood for three straight years
08:28you sick bitch bella's smug little smile instantly vanished keep barking call me whatever you want
08:36once you're completely drained from giving birth i have plenty of ways to shut you up for good
08:41and then vivian is going to officially take your place as the lady of the house as for you
08:47we might just spare your pathetic life you know as a favor to my brother
08:55blair you are literally murdering her murder watch your mouth doc you're on thin ice
09:03women die from childbirth complications every day it's perfectly natural besides this is internal
09:10family business you're just an employee on our payroll back the hell off she flicked her wrist
09:15at her goons escort dr vance to the break room i'll take excellent care of alessia myself
09:21two massive bodyguards immediately grabbed the doctor by the arms and started dragging him away
09:27alexia press your acrobus air points your ankles the webbing of your hands it'll force the
09:34contractions don't give up you can still save the baby his voice echoed down the hall until it faded
09:39into nothing bella casually kicked the nurse's station door shut and turned back to face me
09:44she pulled out her iphone and started a facetime call hey damien alessia is about to pop
09:50wanna watch damien's face popped up on the screen he was pacing outside a luxury delivery suite a
09:56swarm of elite doctors buzzing in the background cut the crap alessia things are getting complicated
10:03with vivian the baby's heart rate is dropping ella flipped the camera to show my bloody writhing body
10:09on the floor look at all this blood she's losing do you think she's gonna croak too damien frowned at
10:15the screen for half a second before aggressively looking away just make her wait once vivian's done
10:20i'll send a doctor down blair just keep an eye on her i can't leave this floor right now the
10:26call
10:26disconnected bella shrugged shoving the phone into her back pocket hear that my brother only gives a
10:33damn about vivian i slammed my eyes shut refusing to look at her smug face but i slowly secretly slipped
10:39my hand behind my back sewn into the fabric was a tiny button-sized device i dug my fingernail under
10:46the
10:46device's protective cap and flipped it open and i pressed down hard no beep no flashing red light
10:52but i knew the distress signal was already bouncing off a satellite my dad robert promised that the
10:57second i hit that button his people would crash through the doors in under 30 minutes but 30 minutes
11:03did my baby even have 30 minutes left a panic button my dad robert gave me he told me alessia
11:09that family
11:10is full of vipers if things go south press this dad chill damien treats me like a queen his whole
11:17family adores me god i was so incredibly fatally stupid my grip on reality was slipping bella was
11:23just lounging in a chair scrolling through her phone occasionally glaring down at me like i was road
11:28kill i mean seriously what were you thinking marrying into our family alexia did you just want damien for
11:34his looks his money you're literally a nobody from a middle class family you never belonged with us
11:41i didn't say a single word i just kept desperately pressing the pressure points doctor vance told me
11:46about my ankles the webbing of my hands pushing down with everything i had even if it was a total
11:53long shot bella just kept running her mouth we figured hey if you spit out a sun you'd at least
11:58have
11:59some use then the ultrasound showed it was a girl the old man was absolutely furious thank god vivian
12:05is having a boy otherwise our bloodline would be screwed she stood up walked over and literally kicked
12:11my leg so do us all a favor and know your place stop clinging to things that aren't yours i
12:17forced my
12:18eyes open and stared dead at her damien know you're talking to me like this duh my brother literally
12:25sent me down here to prep you he said you were stubborn and might do something crazy so i needed
12:31to talk some sense into you another massive wave of agony ripped through my stomach worse than all
12:37the others combined the meds were completely gone the baby was drowning i couldn't hold back the scream
12:44anymore bella jumped back looking totally disgusted so annoying she yanked the door open and yelled down
12:51the hall hey somebody get in here and check if she's finally popping a terrified nurse scrambled in
12:57took one look between my legs and went chalk white she's fully dilated the head is cloning
13:05but she's losing way too much blood we have to deliver right now
13:10then catch it genius the nurse was on the verge of tears we have no equipment no meds doing it
13:20like
13:20this the mother and the baby could die then let them die they're dead weight anyway who gives a crap
13:28after dropping that sick line bella literally just walked out to find damien leaving me to bleed out
13:34the nurse was too terrified to speak she just squatted down and tried to help me manually dilate
13:39but i was totally tapped out the extreme blood loss had drained every last ounce of my energy
13:44every single passing second was pure agonizing hell then out of nowhere rapid heavy footsteps echoed down
13:52the hall a lot of them the synchronized thunderous thud of tactical combat boots
14:00who is that who is that the heavy metal door was violently kicked off its hinges
14:05a squatted blue and cold black half of the gear swarmed the room assault rifles raised
14:13the second his eyes locked onto my bloody body they went completely red
14:18miss alessia alessia i just weakly reached my bloody hand out to him the nurse started shrieking
14:24hysterically who the hell are you how did you get in here how did you get here security security
14:32the leader didn't even glance at her he sprinted over and dropped to one knee right beside me
14:38i should have protect you he scooped me up into his arms and barked at his squad
14:44clear the perimeter prep the mobile med bay now yes sir
14:55you can't do this this hospital belongs to damien's family the leader paused and slowly turned his head
15:03he gave her a look that could freeze hell itself damien's family they're already dead to us
15:10they rushed me into a heavily modified armored medical van the inside was literally a state of
15:15the art mobile operating room elite trauma docs and nurses were already inside instantly starting
15:21resuscitation bp dropping 60 over 40 hemorrhagic shock fetal distress is critical we need to perform
15:28an emergency c-section but the mother's vitals are crashing the surgery risk is cut her open i'll
15:35take the bullet if anything goes wrong save save the baby first boss please don't speak
15:41save your energy the don is already on his way he'll be here any minute you and the baby are
15:47going
15:47to make it you have to before he could even finish the heart monitor let out a piercing continuous
15:53scream she's flatlining grab the paddles clear the fetal heartbeat is crashing too scalpel we're cutting
16:00now they strapped my arms down and a heavy anesthesia mask was clamped over my face right before the
16:06darkness swallowed me whole i heard the surgeon scream we're too late the baby the baby has no pulse
16:14darkness pure suffocating darkness i don't know how much time passed i slowly peeled my eyes open
16:21i was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling the sharp smell of antiseptics burning my nose
16:26she's awake the boss is awake someone shouted in pure relief several faces instantly crowded around
16:33my bed all faces i grew up with my dad robert's top enforcers the ruthless uncles who basically raised
16:39me where's my baby the entire room went dead silent a few seconds later the man standing at the foot
16:46of the
16:46bed slowly turned around it was my dad robert the don a man in his 50s alessia he couldn't even
16:54get past
16:54my name before his voice broke looking into his bloodshot shattered eyes i already knew the answer
17:00the baby's gone isn't it massive hemorrhaging placental abruption the oxygen deprivation was
17:06just too long the doctors did absolutely everything they could i closed my eyes i didn't cry i didn't
17:13scream i just felt this massive gaping black hole open up in my chest the tiny life that had been
17:19growing
17:19inside me for nine months the baby that kicked me every day the one i whispered secrets to gone
17:26where's damien he's with vivian she gave birth to a boy his entire family is popping champagne
17:33celebrating not a single one of them even asked about you
17:59i let out a laugh a sick full body tremor of a laugh perfect absolutely perfect
18:06my dad robert squeezed my hand tight alessia we're going home that family doesn't deserve you
18:13and that bastard definitely doesn't dad i need you to do something for me name it i need a body
18:19double a hyper realistic fake corpse make it look exactly like me post delivery bled to death
18:26my dad robert totally froze you're planning to i want them to think i'm dead and then i am going
18:32to sit back and watch exactly how they celebrate watch them throw a party for their new air over my
18:38dead body then he firmly nodded done i'll make the call the body double was terrifyingly realistic
18:45medical grade silicone skin pumped full of fake blood bags complete with a core temperature simulator
18:51shoved into a freezer in the morgue you literally couldn't tell the difference from an actual corpse
18:56i was chilling in the hospital security room any regrets about what marrying that piece of trash
19:02nope at least it showed me exactly what kind of monsters they are on the screen damien finally
19:08strutted out of the vip delivery suite he was holding a swaddled newborn his face absolutely glowing with
19:14that a proud new dad energy vivian was being wheeled out on a hospital bed looking pale but flashing this
19:19massive the old patriarch george hobbled over on his cane bawling his eyes out the second he laid eyes on
19:25the kid a grandson i finally have a grandson our bloodline is secure the whole damn family crowded
19:31around the baby laughing and celebrating not a single person asked about me no one remembered
19:37the other pregnant woman who was literally fighting for her life downstairs mr damien what about your
19:42wife damien frowned looking like he literally just remembered i existed how's she doing no updates yet
19:49dr vance is down there with her i'll go check i'm coming with you he handed his golden boy off
19:55to
19:55the nanny and headed for the elevator bella scrambled after him the two of them hopped into the elevator
20:01i switched the camera feed to the ground floor dr vance was leaning against the wall outside the gutted
20:06door looking like an actual ghost seeing damien he shot up straight mr damien where's my wife he just
20:14slowly stepped aside and pointed a shaking finger down the hall toward the morgue damien's face dropped
20:20what the hell does that mean
20:42alexia dr vance choked out staring at the floor massive hemorrhage we couldn't resuscitate her we lost the
20:50baby too the air in the hallway completely froze damien just stood there paralyzed like his brain
20:57couldn't process the words bella was the first to snap out of it
21:01bullshit she was completely fine a minute ago she lost way too much blood we had zero equipment
21:07zero meds i tried literally everything but i'm so sorry i swear to god i tried damien suddenly snapped
21:15grabbing the doctor by the collar and violently hoisting him up what the f u c k did you just
21:20say
21:20my wife is dead dr vance just nodded tears streaming down his face damien dropped him stumbling backward
21:27until his back hit the wall no that's impossible she was perfectly healthy how could she bella frantically
21:34grabbed his arm damien wait let me go check she practically sprinted toward the morgue on the cameras
21:40i watched her yank open the freezer drawer and stare down at the corpse the silicone face was
21:46permanently frozen in a mask of agonizing pain the white sheet underneath was entirely soaked in dark
21:51red blood bella stared for all of five seconds before clapping a hand over her mouth and bolting
21:56out of the room damien it's real damien stormed into the morgue the feet caught him standing over the
22:02open freezer completely paralyzed he stood there so long it freaked bella out she tiptoed in and tugged his
22:08sleeve leave damien suddenly snapped his arm back and punched the concrete wall with everything he
22:13had why why didn't anyone tell me sooner why didn't you wait for me dr vance standing out in the
22:20hall
22:20muttered quietly your phone was off you didn't allow calls in the vip suite then why the hell didn't you
22:26run upstairs and get me it's two flights of stairs how long would that take you just stood there and
22:32watched her die his eyes totally bloodshot with rage dr vance went dead silent dropping his head as
22:38his shoulders shook bella tried to run damage control i was the one who stopped him from going
22:43upstairs vivian was in a critical state i didn't want to interrupt smack he slapped her across the face
22:51hard did you just hit me were you the one who locked her in the basement bella wouldn't meet his
22:55eyes i just told her to wait wait for what that was my wife that was two human lives i
23:02told you to take
23:03care of her is this how you take care of people bella burst into tears i was doing it for
23:08the
23:08family vivian was having a boy she was having a girl do the math grandpa george said the boy is
23:14the
23:14only air that matters an air so her life just didn't matter anymore it was like that word literally
23:21stabbed damien in the chest he froze the rage completely washed out of his face replaced by this
23:27hollow blank look and air the only sound in the morgue was the low hum of the freezer and bella's
23:32muffled sobbing damien dragged my corpse back to the family estate they didn't even let me in the
23:37main house they set up a cheap memorial in the guest wing meanwhile vivian and her golden boy moved
23:43straight into the master suite swarmed by nannies and night nurses the old patriarch george laid down the
23:49law keep the funeral quiet and cheap we don't want bad energy around the new baby just find a day
23:55to
23:55cremate her and get it over with pick a decent plot though she was still married into the family
23:59damien didn't say a word he just sat in that dark memorial room guarding the casket three days and
24:05three nights didn't eat didn't drink bella tried to comfort him and got violently kicked out vivian
24:11finally waltzed in holding the baby playing the sweet widow damien i'm so sorry for your loss alessia
24:18wouldn't want to see you like this from heaven he stared at her for a long time before asking what
24:22she
24:22was thinking when she died i was in labor i don't she was thinking about why her husband wasn't there
24:27about why everyone was celebrating your baby while leaving her to literally bleed to death
24:31damien what the hell is that supposed to mean i almost died giving birth to the heart rate dropped
24:37so many times yeah it was rough for you but she actually died two lives gone did she deserve to
24:44die
24:44just because she wasn't carrying a boy damien stood up walking over to the casket i keep thinking if i
24:51had just been with her would things be different if i had imported all the medical equipment for you
24:56would she still be alive if only his voice cracked unable to finish the sentence vivian bit her lip
25:02spun on her heel and stormed out right before she left she threw one last dagger don't forget damien
25:08i'm the one who gave this family a son that corpse in there is completely useless to us now the
25:13door
25:13slammed shut damien slumped against the casket sliding down to the floor burying his face in his hands
25:19through the hidden camera feed i watched his shoulders shake violently i shot a text to my
25:23dad robert are we cleared to go my dad robert replied instantly green light suddenly the family
25:29business started bleeding out first their oldest suppliers entirely cut off their supply chain
25:35the excuse quality control issues damien sent his fixers to smooth it out but they got slammed doors in
25:41their faces then the banks pulled their credit lines guaranteed multi-million dollar loan renewals were
25:46suddenly rejected for high risk their cash flow choked instantly and then the clients started
25:52dropping like flies massive contracts were ripped up overnight instantly handed over to their biggest
25:57rivals within 30 days their total market value plummeted by 30 the old patriarch george stressed
26:03himself into a hospital bed damien was running himself ragged bouncing between the icu and the
26:09crumbling corporate office vivian sitting comfortably with the baby constantly whined oh yuri literally
26:14never home you don't even care about the baby my dad is dying and the company is imploding what do
26:20you want me to do so what if the company crashes we're loaded we have enough cash for a lifetime
26:25she
26:26rolled her eyes damien looked at her like he was seeing a complete stranger do you have any idea how
26:31this family built its empire my grandfather george my dad my brother alan three generations bled for this
26:38it didn't just fall from the sky well you still can't just abandon me and your nephew he's not even
26:44a month old and you're mia every single day damien slammed the door on her and drove straight back to
26:50the memorial hall my casket was still sitting there he refused to bury me because he couldn't find the
26:56perfect plot he leaned against the polished wood muttering into the void alessia if you were here what would
27:02you tell me to do you'd probably tell me to just breathe take it one step at a time you
27:07were always
27:08so level-headed so damn smart his voice dropped to a broken whisper but i don't have anyone to talk
27:14to
27:15anymore my dad just screams at me vivian only wants my credit cards bella is entirely self-obsessed you were
27:23the only one who never asked for a dime who just wanted to help me he took a drag and
27:27started violently
27:28coughing coughing coughing so hard literal tears streamed down his face i'm so sorry god i am so
27:35sorry i didn't know it was gonna end like this if i could do it all over again i swear
27:40i would before
27:41he could finish his pathetic confession his phone blew up it was his executive assistant sounding
27:47absolutely panicked boss we have a massive crisis customs just seized our entire shipping fleet
27:54they're claiming we're smuggling contraband the payload is huge the feds are opening a criminal
27:59investigation contraband what the hell are you talking about we run a legitimate import business
28:05it's real the feds are literally raiding the lobby right now asking for you damien slammed the phone
28:11down and bolted out of the memorial hall he jumped in his car speeding toward the corporate hq
28:16halfway there his phone rang again unknown caller id he picked up and a man's voice ice cold and
28:22deadly deep spoke through the speakers did you enjoy my little gift damien who the hell is this
28:28my name isn't important all you need to know is that this this is just the appetizer you owe a
28:34massive
28:34debt and i'm going to rip your entire family apart to collect it the line went dead damien scrambled to
28:41redial but the number was already disconnected his hands gripped white knuckled on the steering wheel
28:46started to violently shake the federal investigation dragged on for two brutal weeks
28:51they eventually dropped the charges due to insufficient evidence but the entire cargo was seized millions
28:57of dollars instantly gone their family's reputation absolutely tanked and business partners started
29:03tearing up their contracts left and right the company's stock flatlined the stress triggered a
29:08second massive stroke for the old patriarch george and this time he didn't make it right before he
29:13kicked the bucket he gripped damien's hand gasping out family and then he flatlined the funeral was
29:22pathetic and cheap barely anyone showed up and the ones who did were only there to watch the train wreck
29:27vivian stood by the casket holding the baby crying her perfectly manicured crocodile tears honestly
29:33couldn't tell if she was crying for the old man or crying because her sugar daddy was dead damien just
29:38stood there the entire time completely dead inside it wasn't until the funeral ended and the guests
29:43cleared out that he finally turned to vivian pack your stuff get out vivian completely fro excuse me
29:51take the kid and get the hell out of my house i'll cut you a check it'll be enough to
29:55keep you
29:56comfortable for the rest of your life damien what the hell are you talking about i'm your brother's
30:02widow his baby is his own flesh and blood grandpa george literally said he's the heir
30:08the heir our entire empire is turning to dust what exactly is he inheriting our crippling debt
30:16vivian took a step back panicked you're just gonna abandon us i'm paying you damien deadpanned
30:24that's me not abandoned main estate i'm keeping it it holds all my memories with alessia
30:35memories stop lying to yourself damien you never loved that woman you're just drowning in guilt
30:41she died a horrific death and now the guilt is eating you alive if she was still breathing you would
30:47have dumped her and married me ages ago damien's face went deadly on your mouth
30:53i'm gonna stay totally lost it completely unhinged you only married her because she was a clean
30:59basic girl you could easily manipulate you literally told me that once she pushed the kid
31:04out you'd find an excuse to divorce her now that she's dead she did you a massive favor you should
31:09be thanking me taking my son for getting her out of the picture smack another slap infinitely harder
31:16than the one he gave bella vivian was literally knocked to the floor the baby instantly bursting
31:21into terrified wells damien loomed over her his eyes like daggers of ice get out right now leave if i
31:29ever see your face again you won't get a single damn cent vivian scrambled up clutching the screaming baby
31:35and shot him a lethal glare going to regret this she stormed out taking the kid and a massive seven
31:42figure settlement check with her damien stood alone in the empty memorial hall staring up at
31:46his dad george's portrait he suddenly looked so incredibly fundamentally exhausted too exhausted to
31:53even stand he dropped to his knees dad i can't hold on anymore the empire is collapsing and it's all
32:00my fault total silence nobody answered him just the cold draft sweeping through the hall violently
32:06flapping the white morning drapes i was chilling in my italian estate watching the cctv feeds on my
32:12ipad my dad robert strolled in and tossed a dossier onto the table damien's company valuations barely
32:19holding at a fraction of what it was and they're drowning in debt twice that's filing for chapter
32:2411 bankruptcy is only a few days away i picked up the file and skimmed the pages that was way
32:30faster
32:30than i expected my dad robert sat down and let out a heavy sigh alessia do you really need to
32:37personally
32:38watch him burn to the ground i looked up at him dad do you seriously expect me to forgive him
32:44he shook
32:44his head immediately no the bastard deserves it i'm just worried about you i don't want you getting
32:51stuck in this dark headspace i slapped the folder shut and gave him a faint smile the exact moment my
32:57baby died i completely detached from him right now i'm literally just collecting a debt my dad robert
33:04looked at me his eyes full of conflict you've changed you used to smile so much now even your
33:10smiles look completely hollow i stood up walked over to the floor to ceiling windows and stared
33:16out over the vineyards everyone grows eventually some people just take years to do it and some of
33:23us grow up overnight after one brutal betrayal and a brush with death my dad robert didn't say anything
33:28back he just stood there with me in comfortable silence for a while then quietly left the room
33:33suddenly my burner phone buzzed it was damien the absolute nerve of this guy to call me well
33:40technically he was calling my dead alias's number i answered it but kept my mouth completely shut
33:46his voice incredibly hoarse and broken crackled through the speaker alexia i know you can't hear this
33:52but i just really re-needed to talk to you the family is finished my dad is dead vivian walked
33:58out and bella completely cut cuz with me right now i have absolutely no one left sometimes i think
34:03if i had just treated you better maybe everything would be different if i wasn't so insanely greedy
34:07wanting the sun wanting the empire wanting total control over everything maybe maybe you'd still be
34:13alive but what ifs are useless you're dead our baby is dead and it's 100 my fault
34:22i could spend my entire life trying to pay off this debt and it wouldn't be enough
34:29so he took a massive shuddering breath i liquidated everything left of the company
34:34i split the cash three ways one third went to charity in your name one third went to vivian
34:41and the kid as a final payout for my brother alan and the last third i kept it to buy
34:48myself a burial
34:49plot right next to yours in the next life i'd give you my soul to make it up to you
34:54the call
34:55abruptly ended i sat there gripping the phone completely motionless for a long time until the
35:00screen went black reflecting my stone cold expressionless face damien actually kept his word
35:06he liquidated every single asset real estate stocks art collections he even listed the main family
35:12mansion he downsized to a tiny crappy apartment his entire routine was just getting blackout drunk and
35:19haunting the cemetery just sitting in front of my headstone talking to himself like a crazy person
35:25sometimes rambling about the bankrupt company sometimes bringing up childhood memories sometimes
35:30he didn't say a word just sat there staring into space four hours on end literally all day bella
35:37actually tracked him down once screaming that he'd lost his damn mind you blew the entire family
35:42fortune for a corpse how can you face dad how can you face our brother alan damien just looked at
35:48her with totally hollow dead eyes and who's gonna make it right for lesia who makes it right for the
35:54child we killed bella choked on her words finally running off crying she never came back by the third
36:00month of watching this live stream of misery i was officially bored the adrenaline rush of revenge
36:05had completely worn off the second his company went under all that was left was this empty void and a
36:11tiny sliver
36:11of pity that i hated to admit i felt my dad robert asked me have you seen enough if you're
36:17done
36:18playing games snap out of it i need you to take over the syndicate's operations i nodded i'll be back
36:23at the office tomorrow but tonight i'm taking a trip to the cemetery my dad robert frowned that's way too
36:30risky he's a desperate man with nothing left to lose if he figures out you're alive he won't notice i
36:35assured him i'm literally just going to watch from the distance one last look and i'm closing this
36:39chapter permanently my dad robert stayed quiet for a minute then nodded detail call it in if anything
36:47goes south the cemetery was dead silent at night i stood back in the shadows of the trees watching
36:53damien slumped in front of my headstone he looked practically emaciated his hair had gone gray the guy
36:59wasn't even 40 yet but he looked like he was pushing 50. he was clutching a bottle of liquor
37:04taking swigs and slurring his words alexia i finally went to see a shrink today he diagnosed me with
37:12clinical depression tried to shove pills down my throat i told him to screw off i'm not depressed i
37:20just i just miss you i miss your cooking i miss you nagging me about drinking too much
37:26i miss you rubbing your belly and complaining the baby was kicking he took another burning
37:31swig and started hacking coughed for a solid minute when he finally stopped his voice was
37:36even more wrecked the scariest part i'm forgetting your face your voice it's all getting so blurry
37:44i'm absolutely terrified that one day i'm gonna totally forget you and when that happens what the
37:49hell am i supposed to do he collapsed against the cold stone his shoulders violently shaking he was fully
37:54sobbing i turned around completely done ready to leave but my designer heel accidentally kicked
38:01a loose stone damien's head whipped up i completely froze he stumbled to his feet and started marching
38:08toward the shadows my security chief tried to pull me back but i shook my head i played the ghost
38:14long
38:14enough it was time to face the music damien stopped dead in his tracks right at the edge of the
38:19shadows
38:20the moonlight hit my face perfectly he stared at me his pupils shrinking to pinpricks looking like he
38:26literally just saw you it's me i broke the silence not dead surprise amiens jaw was practically on the
38:36floor he couldn't form a single word he just stared at me like a madman his eyes flipping from shock
38:42to
38:42confusion to absolute unhinged joy my head of security instantly stepped in front of me
38:50shoving him back
38:54alessia you're really alive
38:57tried to physically push past my guard but the guy didn't even budge that's when it finally dawned on him
39:03i was flanked by four heavily armed men and in tailored black who the hell are they
39:08me and stammered confused my muscle i answered coolly the psychotic joy on his face slowly melted into
39:15dread he looked me up and down really looked at me the custom tailored designer suit the flawless
39:21mafia boss glam the absolutely stone-cold expression a total 180 from the sweet submissive little housewife
39:28he thought he married who who exactly are you let's reintroduce ourselves alessia heiress to the family
39:38current head of the corioni mafia syndicate
39:43bullshit you told me you were from a boring middle class family i lied to you i cut him off
39:50my dad explicitly told me not to marry you said i couldn't handle your toxic games i was stupid and
39:57stubborn i married you anyway looking back he was 100 right wait so my company going completely
40:07bankrupt that was you yep i didn't even blink my dad robert pulled the trigger he said anyone who
40:15touches his daughter pays the ultimate price honestly i agree with him damien's eyes flushed
40:21furious red tears then why the hell didn't you tell me from the start
40:30damien stop being so pathetic from day one you only loved me because you thought i was a nobody you
40:35could easily control if you knew i had a mafia hit squad behind me you wouldn't have even looked my
40:39way or worse you'd have found a way to quietly murder me to absorb my family's empire completely
40:46speechless he glared at me his pathetic grief mutating into pure venomous hatred
40:52so you played me this whole time you just watched me act like an absolute idiot while my entire world
40:59fell apart all the while you could have stopped it why not really watching you suffer didn't bring me joy
41:09i just think it's exactly what you deserve karma alexia drop the self-righteous act if you had just
41:17been honest about who you were none of this would have ever happened yeah i screwed you over but you
41:21lied manipulated me and destroyed my entire life you're a hundred times sicker than i am he lunged at
41:27me like a rabid dog my guards didn't hesitate they slammed him face first into the dirt in two seconds
41:33flat
41:35damien thrashed against the dirt screaming like a maniac alexia rot in hell
41:42i'm gonna make you pay for this i swear to god before he could finish his villain monologue
41:45my guard punched his lights out what do we do boss my security chief looked up at me i stared
41:49down at his
41:50unconscious body dump him back at his crappy apartment and make sure i never have to look at his
41:55pathetic face again i flew back to italy and officially took the throne of the family empire
42:00my dad formally retired now he just gardens feeds the birds and acts like your average sweet grandpa
42:05though occasionally he still asks me do you still hate him no holding on to that much hate is exhausting
42:15i don't have the energy for it then do you miss him dad really do you think i'm that stupid
42:26i just feel like you've completely shut down your emotions it's been three years i've barely seen
42:33you crack a real smile and you haven't let a single man within a 10 mile radius of you
42:39dad i'm perfectly fine on my own i have my empire i have insane wealth and i have my family
42:45i don't need
42:45a man complicating my life the itentionary for the u.s trip next week finalized yes it's done great i'm
42:53gonna go prep for it i stood up and walked out of his office just as i hit the doorway
42:58i heard him
42:59whisper baby had survived they would have been three years old my footsteps completely halted
43:03i didn't look back just forced myself to keep walking the hallway was endlessly long lined with
43:09oil portraits of past syndicate bosses right at the very end was a portrait of my mother she died
43:15from childbirth complications hemorrhaged giving birth to me and the doctors couldn't save her my dad
43:21never remarried never even dated i never understood why but now i finally get it some wounds literally
43:28never heal some pain is so deep that not even time can get my phone buzzed in my pocket my
43:35assistant's
43:35voice came through boss damien is in italy he's outside the estate gates he's demanding an audience
43:42i'm not seeing him he's literally on his knees says he's not moving until you come out
43:47i walked over to the nearest window and pulled back the heavy velvet curtains
43:52way down at the front gates damien was kneeling in the dirt holding up a pathetic cardboard sign
43:57it read i'm so sorry i was wrong please just see me once i stared down at him for a
44:04few seconds
44:06then i sharply yanked the car my assistant hesitated for a second boss are you sure that won't be too
44:11just do it i hung up the phone i sank onto a leather sofa and closed my eyes but my
44:17traitorous
44:17brain flashed back to a memory from years ago the very first time we ever met at the university
44:23library i was carrying a massive stack of books bumped straight into him and dropped them everywhere
44:28he immediately knelt down to help me pick them up flashing me this bright smile you've got a lot
44:33of books there huh the afternoon sunlight was streaming through the library windows hitting his face
44:38perfectly he looked so sweet so completely pure but it was all fake a complete sick illusion so why the
44:46hell does my heart still ache
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