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Each movie brings exciting characters, surprising plot twists, touching relationships, and powerful stories that keep you watching until the final scene. From billionaire romances to inspiring life journeys, every film offers a unique experience.
Enjoy HD movies with English subtitles and stay tuned for regular uploads of the latest popular drama films.
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CreativityTranscript
00:02On the day I went into labor, my husband had someone administer medication to stop my delivery,
00:06so his widowed sister-in-law's son could be born first.
00:09I lay in the delivery room of the Valenti family's private hospital, sweat stinging my eyes so badly,
00:14I could barely make out the surgical light above me.
00:16My husband, Don Bennett Valenti, stood beside the bed.
00:19Almost there, Sloane. Hold on a little longer.
00:22We are going to see her come safely into this world.
00:25He kissed my forehead.
00:27I had bitten my lip bloody from the pain, but I still managed to give him a faint smile.
00:31Then a nurse came in with a syringe.
00:32I thought it was a painkiller, or some medication the doctor had ordered to help with the delivery.
00:37But Bennett suddenly let go of my hand and took a step back.
00:40All that remained on his face was coldness.
00:43The needle pierced my skin.
00:44Control the dosage. Drag it out until Nadia is done giving birth.
00:48I snapped my eyes to him.
00:49What did you say?
00:50Bennett did not look at me. He only lowered his eyes to his watch.
00:53Naya should be going into the delivery room soon. At the very least, make her wait another two hours before
00:57letting her deliver.
00:58He had actually forced them to inject me with a drug to delay my labor.
01:03Amniotic fluid and blood kept pouring out from beneath me.
01:06No! You can't do this to my baby!
01:08I stared at him in terror, begging him, but he walked out without even turning his head.
01:12The drug took effect quickly.
01:14My strength drained away, but the agony did not.
01:16Several nurses soon hauled me off the delivery bed, shoved me into a wheelchair, and pushed me into a dim
01:21stairwell.
01:22In a daze, I opened my eyes and found myself in a storage room that had been hastily cleared out.
01:27No! My baby is coming! This isn't a delivery room!
01:32They dumped me onto the floor.
01:33When I turned my head, I saw Bennett's sister, Tessa, standing in the doorway with several soldati behind her.
01:39Sloane, stop making a scene. You look awful right now.
01:42Tessa gave a soft laugh.
01:43Only the boy Nadia is carrying has the right to inherit the Don's position.
01:47He has to be first in the line of succession.
01:48Did you really think you could compete with that?
01:51My child is also a valati child.
01:54So what?
01:55A girl who can barely hold a gun has no value to the valati family.
01:59She hasn't even been born yet!
02:01Who are you to decide what she is worth?
02:03Tessa's smile vanished.
02:05Sloane and stop struggling.
02:06Enjoy the pain and despair that come next.
02:09The door closed.
02:11I broke.
02:14Nadia was the widow of Bennett's late brother, Graham.
02:16Three months ago, Graham had died in an ambush by a rival family.
02:20At the funeral, Bennett took over as Don, while Nadia fainted from grief.
02:24The examination afterward revealed that she was already two months pregnant.
02:27That day, Bennett's grandfather, Theodore, made a rare appearance.
02:31Your child must be born safely.
02:34A boy means everything to the family.
02:36And I was carrying a daughter.
02:38Now I lay on my side on the concrete floor.
02:40A dim, yellow light hung above me.
02:42The hem of my dress was soaked with blood.
02:44And my husband had taken my phone from me the moment I was admitted.
02:47He said, radiation was bad for the baby.
02:49And I had actually believed such a clumsy lie.
02:51The pain came in waves.
02:52I gulped for air, threw myself against the door, and slapped, pounded, and clawed at it with my nails.
02:58Is anyone there? Save my baby! Please! Someone!
03:02I screamed until my throat tore and my mouth filled with the taste of blood.
03:06No one answered.
03:07There was more and more blood.
03:09My vision blurred, but I kept holding on.
03:11The moment I collapsed, the door finally opened.
03:13It was Dr. Owen Haynes.
03:14Donna Sloan? What are you doing here?
03:16I grabbed his sleeve, tears spilling uncontrollably.
03:21Save the baby.
03:22Owen knelt beside me to examine me.
03:24God above. You are fully dilated. Your water has broken. You need surgery now!
03:29Somebody! We have a laboring mother hemorrhaging in here! Now!
03:33The corridor was empty.
03:34Tonight, because Nadia was giving birth, the entire family hospital had gone into lockdown.
03:38All of Soldati were deployed around the third floor delivery rooms,
03:41and the perimeter and communications had been cut off.
03:43Owen saw the no signal icon at the top of his phone.
03:46Dammit.
03:47Swore under his breath, then immediately crouched and tried to lift me.
03:50The second I moved, blood surged out beneath me.
03:52Stay with me.
03:54I'm taking you upstairs.
03:55The staircase was long. He carried me up step by step.
03:58Owen, save my baby. Please.
04:01At last, we made it back to the first floor surgical wing.
04:04The operating room door stood open.
04:05Inside, it was empty.
04:07Owen stood at the entrance with me in his arms, his whole body going rigid.
04:10What the hell?
04:11Where is all the equipment?
04:14I checked it this afternoon.
04:16Just then, the sound of high heels came from the end of the corridor.
04:19Tessa walked around the corner with two nurses.
04:22When Tessa saw us, she lifted one eyebrow slightly.
04:25Dr. Haynes, Nadia is already in the third floor delivery room.
04:28What are you doing down here?
04:29Where is the equipment?
04:30Where did everything in this operating room go?
04:32Tessa blinked, looking innocent.
04:34Moved upstairs, of course.
04:36Nadia's having a C-section, and this little operating room downstairs wasn't enough.
04:39Bennett said she was to have the best equipment.
04:40She needs to give birth, too!
04:42She is hemorrhaging!
04:43Only then did Tessa's gaze fall on me.
04:45Oh, Sloane is giving birth, too?
04:47Then she can wait a little.
04:48They are not done on the third floor.
04:50Bear with it.
04:52You can pray Nadia's delivery goes nightly.
04:55Maybe then you will get onto the operating table sooner.
04:59You are insane.
05:00Owen could not take it anymore.
05:01He laid me on a bench and yanked open the cabinets at the nurse's station one by one.
05:05They were all empty.
05:06Where are the oxitersals?
05:07The hematatics?
05:08Give me anything I can use!
05:10A young nurse lowered her head.
05:11Her eyes read.
05:12They were all sent upstairs.
05:14Who gave that order?
05:15She instinctively looked at Tessa.
05:17Tessa admired her manicure.
05:18Her tone calm.
05:19Bennett said all resources were to prioritize Nadia and her child.
05:23Dr. Haynes, you won't find any medicine.
05:27This is murder!
05:28Tessa smiled.
05:29Dr. Haynes, be careful with your words.
05:32It is unfortunate when complications during childbirth lead to the death of mother and child,
05:38but it is hardly rare.
05:40Her tone was light.
05:41She watched me leaning there, blood streaming down.
05:44I clenched my teeth and forced one word out through them.
05:46With the last scraps of strength in my body.
05:49Monster.
05:50The smile froze on Tessa's face.
05:52She strode toward me, her expression turning cold and dark.
05:57Curse all you like.
05:59You will be dead soon anyway.
06:02Tessa patted my face, laughing with smug malice.
06:06Get away from her!
06:07Owen could no longer stand listening.
06:09Sloan, listen to me.
06:10When the contractions hit, press here hard.
06:13Do not stop.
06:14As he spoke, he tried to show me, but Tessa waved a hand.
06:17Two, sold it, I stepped in at once.
06:19One restrained Owen.
06:20The other pressed the barrel of a gun to his forehead.
06:22Take Dr. Haynes away to rest.
06:24An outsider has no right to interfere in Valenti Family Matters.
06:27Sloan, don't stop.
06:28Keep pressing.
06:29The baby still has a chance.
06:31His voice receded.
06:32The door closed again.
06:33Tessa took out her phone and started a video call.
06:35A few seconds later, Bennett's face appeared on the screen.
06:38He was standing outside the third floor delivery room.
06:41Bennett, Sloan is about to give birth.
06:43Do you want to look?
06:44Sloan, this is not the time for you to make me trouble.
06:48Something has gone wrong with Nadia.
06:49The fetal heartbeat keeps dropping and the doctors are handling it.
06:52Tessa turned the camera toward me.
06:53She's bleeding so much.
06:55Isn't she about to die too?
06:57Bennett glanced at the screen.
06:58Sloan, just wait a little longer.
07:00Once Nadia is done, I will send the doctors down.
07:01The call ended.
07:02You heard him.
07:03In Bennett's heart, Nadia will always come before you.
07:06And you, you are nothing but a tool for bearing children.
07:10Once a tool has been used up, it should be thrown away.
07:12I stopped looking at her.
07:13My hand quietly slipped under my collar.
07:15And an ordinary pendant necklace fell free.
07:18Inside that inconspicuous diamond pendant
07:20was a micro-emergency locator.
07:22My father, Don Conrad Caruso, had given it to me.
07:25He told me that in the most desperate emergency,
07:27if I smashed the pendant, it could cut through every signal jammer
07:30and send out a distress call.
07:31At the time, I thought he was making a mountain out of a molehill,
07:34telling him not every marriage is a battlefield.
07:36But he said,
07:37Sloan, when you meet the wrong person,
07:40every moment is a battlefield.
07:42Now I understood.
07:43He had simply seen Bennett clearly before I did.
07:45Enough.
07:47Stop pretending.
07:48Get away from me!
07:50The pendant struck the wall behind her and shattered.
07:52My father had said that once it broke,
07:54someone would come within 30 minutes.
07:56But 30 minutes...
07:57I looked down at the skirt soaked through with blood.
07:59Could my baby wait 30 minutes?
08:04Tessa snapped back to herself and roared with a frown.
08:07What the hell is wrong with you?
08:09The drug began to spiral out of control.
08:11I had no strength to answer.
08:12I only clenched my teeth and pressed hard on the two places Owen had told me to.
08:16Seeing my silence, Tessa kept sneering.
08:18Idiot.
08:19Do you know what your biggest problem is?
08:21You really thought you married into the Velotti family because of some bullshit love?
08:24She laughed softly.
08:26Bennett married you because you had no family background and no complications.
08:29You wouldn't dare point fingers in family meetings and you wouldn't get in the way during
08:32business negotiations.
08:34I closed my eyes and kept pressing.
08:36But what a pity.
08:37She walked over and nudged my leg with the toe of her shoe.
08:39You couldn't even serve your one purpose properly!
08:43Does Bennett know you are saying all this to me?
08:46Of course he does.
08:48He is the one who told me to come talk to you.
08:50I tugged at the corner of my mouth.
08:52I wanted to laugh, but could not.
08:54A sudden, terrible, tearing sensation ripped through my abdomen.
08:58The labor-delaying drug had failed completely.
09:00The baby was coming.
09:01I screamed before I could stop myself.
09:03The sound so sharp it startled even me.
09:05So annoying.
09:06Tessa opened the door.
09:07Someone come see whether the child is coming out!
09:09The young nurse was pushed in.
09:11She knelt to examine me, and her face instantly went white.
09:15The nurse's voice trembled.
09:16The head is out.
09:17She has to deliver right now.
09:19But there is no equipment, no medicine.
09:21Forcing a delivery under these conditions, the mother and infant could both-
09:25So what?
09:25They are going to die sooner or later.
09:27What difference does it make?
09:28With that, she turned and left.
09:30The nurse did not dare argue.
09:31She could only kneel beside me and try to help adjust my position.
09:34But I had no strength left at all.
09:36Seconds dragged by.
09:37Blood had spread across the floor.
09:38Cold sweat covered me, and my body felt as if it had fallen into ice water.
09:42Just as my consciousness was beginning to scatter, footsteps sounded at the end of the corridor.
09:46Was it the people my father had sent?
09:48The next second, the door was kicked open.
09:50The man at their head lowered his suppressed pistol.
09:52Miss Caruso!
09:53Several men quickly moved in and pulled the nurse away.
09:55The man took off his coat, wrapped it around me.
09:57We are late.
09:58I am taking you out now.
10:00Who are you?
10:00This is the Velati family's hospital!
10:02The Velati family?
10:04Soon there will be no Velati family.
10:07I was carried into a black cargo van, parked at the hospital's rear entrance.
10:11Inside was a complete mobile operating room.
10:14Two doctors and three nurses were already standing by.
10:17The moment I was placed on the operating table, everyone moved at once.
10:20Mother is in hemorrhagic shock.
10:21Open two IV lines.
10:22Fluids wide open.
10:24One doctor pressed the probe to my abdomen, stared at the monitor, and his voice abruptly sank.
10:29Fetal heart rate is continuing to drop.
10:30Immediate C-ception.
10:31We can't wait.
10:32I grabbed the doctor's hand.
10:34The baby.
10:35Save the baby first.
10:37Miss, don't talk.
10:38Save your strength.
10:40Don is on his way.
10:41You and the baby will be alright.
10:43You will.
10:44You have to.
10:45Promise me.
10:46The anesthesia mask came down over my face.
10:49I turned my head.
10:50The baby.
10:51Her name is Lily.
10:53No one knew that name.
10:53I had chosen it for her in secret.
10:55His throat moved.
10:56We will save both of you.
10:58Before he finished, a shrill alarm exploded from the monitor.
11:01Maternal heart rate is crashing.
11:02Prepare for sagitation.
11:04The fetal heart rate is falling too.
11:0660.
11:0640.
11:07There is no time.
11:08For my eyes.
11:09It scattered before my eyes.
11:10The anesthetic entered my body, and the world pulled farther and farther away.
11:14The last thing I heard was a doctor's urgent, lowered voice.
11:17Too late.
11:18No fetal heartbeat.
11:19No.
11:20The mother's heart is stopped too.
11:22Darkness fell.
11:24I did not know how long I stayed in the dark.
11:26When I woke, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
11:30Several familiar faces stood by the bed.
11:32All of them were Caruso people.
11:34My father's personal guards.
11:36The uncles and aunts who had watched me grow up.
11:38Their eyes were all red, and their faces were full of the stunned relief of survivors.
11:43After a catastrophe, she is awake.
11:46Sloan, sweetheart.
11:47Someone called softly.
11:49I opened my mouth.
11:50My throat felt as if it had been scraped with sandpaper.
11:53Where is my baby?
11:55The room fell silent at once.
11:58Everyone lowered their heads.
11:59Their eyes dodged.
12:00Their lips moved.
12:01But not one of them dared speak.
12:03A few seconds later, or perhaps a few centuries, the curtain at the foot of the bed was pulled
12:07open.
12:08My father, Conrad, stood there.
12:10In the past, he had always been immaculate.
12:12His hair neatly combed.
12:14His suits like armor.
12:15Now his collar hung loose.
12:17His eyes were bloodshot.
12:18His back was bent, and his shoulder blades jutted beneath his shirt.
12:21Sunlight outlined him, and I saw his hair.
12:24It had gone almost completely white.
12:26He came to my side, took my hand, and spoke in a hoarse, broken voice.
12:30Sloan.
12:31With only my name, I understood.
12:33I looked at his reddened eyes.
12:35She's gone, isn't she?
12:37My father closed his eyes and nodded.
12:39Each word came slowly and gently.
12:42Plus any abduction.
12:43She was deprived of oxygen too long.
12:45The doctors did everything they could.
12:48But by the time you arrived, it was already too late.
12:53I closed my eyes.
12:54I thought I would fall apart.
12:56Scream.
12:57Smash.
12:57Every breakable thing in sight.
12:59But when I truly heard the answer, I simply let the tears slide from the corners of my eyes.
13:04My Lily.
13:05She had stayed inside me for nine months.
13:07She had kicked me.
13:08Woken me in the night.
13:09Made me touch my belly and whisper to her.
13:11She never even had the chance to see this world.
13:13Bennett?
13:14I opened my eyes.
13:15When I spoke his name, my voice was strangely calm.
13:19My father's gaze turned cold at once.
13:21Nadia gave birth.
13:22A boy.
13:23The Velotti family is celebrating.
13:25The whole building is celebrating.
13:28Champagne.
13:29Flowers.
13:29Ceremonial gunfire.
13:31Congratulatory calls from family allies.
13:35Quite the party.
13:36Not one person.
13:38Not one.
13:39Asked about you.
13:40I laughed.
13:41I laughed so hard my whole body shook and the wound pulled with a drilling pain.
13:45I propped myself up.
13:46A nurse rushed over to hold me down and I pushed her away.
13:50Good.
13:51I said.
13:52Very good.
13:53My father tightened his grip on my hand.
13:55Slona, come home with Dad.
13:57Leave the rest to me.
13:59I shook my head.
14:00No.
14:02Dad, prepare a body for me.
14:04Death from postpartum harmage after failed resutation.
14:08Make it as convincing as possible.
14:10My father was silent for a long time.
14:12Of course he understood what I wanted to do.
14:14At last, he bent down and touched my forehead.
14:17Alright, my little queen, we will do it your way.
14:22The fake corpse was extremely realistic.
14:25Medical grade silicone skin.
14:27An internal temperature control system that simulated the cooling of a body.
14:31Blood bags infused through the abdomen and lower limbs.
14:34Even the expression of pain after childbirth reproduced with almost no flaw.
14:38She wore my hospital gown and was placed in a refrigerated drawer in the Valenti Hospital
14:42morgue.
14:42I sat in the surveillance room of a safe house, watching the screens.
14:46Six monitors covered every floor and every corner of the Valenti family's private hospital.
14:50The micro cameras my father's people had planted were hidden inside smoke detectors
14:54and vents.
14:55The Valenti family did not even know that their head of security had been working for Caruso
14:58since the day I married in three years ago.
15:00My father sat beside me without speaking.
15:02The only sound in the room was the low hum of the equipment.
15:05Outside the third floor delivery room, Nadia's child was carried to the ward by a nurse.
15:09The Valentis crowded around.
15:11Theodore Valenti sat in his wheelchair, holding an infant wrapped in a blue blanket.
15:14His cloudy old eyes full of tears.
15:17His trembling fingers stroked the baby's face.
15:19His lips moved as he repeated the same words again and again.
15:22A boy.
15:23A boy.
15:24The Valenti family has an heir.
15:26Nadia leaned against the hospital bed, pale but smiling radiantly.
15:30Green nurses fussed around her, and flowers filled the entire bedside table.
15:33Tessa stood nearby taking photos, her phone flash blinking again and again, and Bennett
15:38stood among them, laughing with open joy.
15:40That smile stung my eyes.
15:42Time passed minute by minute, until Bennett walked out of the ward, and a young nurse
15:46carefully approached him to whisper something in his ear.
15:48He frowned, impatient.
15:50Then he set down the coffee cup in his hand, and walked toward the elevator.
15:53Tessa caught up with him, her tone brisk.
15:55Bennett, I'll come with you.
15:56The monitor switched to the first floor.
15:58Owen leaned against the empty morgue doorway, his back to the wall, and his face ashen.
16:03His hands hung at his sides, and his fingertips were still stained with blood.
16:07The elevator doors opened.
16:08Bennett strode out.
16:09Owen, where is my wife?
16:10Owen raised his head.
16:11There was no respect in his eyes, only exhaustion and disgust.
16:15Dead.
16:19Then it stopped.
16:20He stood frozen in place like a stone statue.
16:23The expression on his face shifted from confusion, to denial, to terror, and finally settled into
16:29blankness.
16:30What did you say?
16:34Donna hemorrhaged.
16:36Resuscitation failed.
16:37The child did not survive either.
16:39They are both dead.
16:41Tessa shrieked.
16:42Impossible!
16:44She was fine just now!
16:46Owen gave a laugh.
16:47He tried to hold it in, his chest rising and falling, but still roared.
16:50Fine?
16:51You locked a woman in active labor in a basement, removed the surgical equipment, took away every
16:56medicine, and expected her to be fine!
16:59Bennett seized by the collar, and slammed him against the wall.
17:02With his other hand, he swiftly drew a gun from behind his waist, and pressed it to Owen's
17:07temple.
17:08Why?
17:08Why did no one tell me?
17:11Bennett, calm down!
17:12Tessa tried to grab his arm.
17:14It was you.
17:15Bennett lulled her off and turned, his eyes streaked with blood.
17:18You locked her in the basement, didn't you?
17:21Tessa's face went pale for an instant.
17:23Then she hurried to defend herself.
17:25I only, I only made her wait.
17:27Nadia was in danger too.
17:29You told me to keep Slowy steady and let-
17:31Keep her steady?
17:34Bennett's voice was very low.
17:36You locked her in the basement.
17:38I only made her wait.
17:42The sound of a snap cut through the surveillance speakers.
17:46The two soldati in the corridor lowered their heads at the same time.
17:50Tessa's head snapped to one side.
17:52She covered her face and stared at Bennett in disbelief.
17:55You hit me?
17:56You hit me for a dead woman?
17:58That was two lives!
18:00Bennett's voice was so hoarse it almost broke apart.
18:03My wife, my child, and you say you made her wait?
18:07Wait until she died?
18:08Tessa's tears fell, her face full of grievance.
18:11I did it for this family too.
18:13Nadia was carrying a boy.
18:15The heir.
18:16Grandfather said Volani's future depended on a boy.
18:19Without a male heir, the family would be swallowed.
18:22That idiot was carrying a daughter.
18:26What would it matter if she was born?
18:29She couldn't shoulder any-
18:31She did not finish, because Bennett's expression changed.
18:34He made no sound now, but the hand gripping the gun had veins bulging along it.
18:38His gaze moved from Tessa's face to the cold corpse in the drawer.
18:42The fake me lay on the white sheet, face bloodless.
18:46Blood beneath her body glaringly bright.
18:48She looked as if she had died in agony.
18:51Bennett reached out, his fingertips stopping in mid-air.
18:54His voice was almost a novel.
18:58Bennett Valenti brought my body back to the Valenti old estate.
19:02The morning hall was set up in a side courtyard,
19:04a stone annex that had stood unused for years,
19:07and was normally used to store gardening tools and out-of-season furniture.
19:11The butler cleared it in less than two hours,
19:13laid white cloth and arranged candlesticks.
19:15The coffin stood in the center of the room,
19:17dark oak, surrounded by white roses.
19:20Theodore sat in his wheelchair, giving orders in a full, strong voice.
19:24Pick a day and bury her.
19:26Choose a respectable cemetery.
19:28Don't give outsiders anything to talk about.
19:31But there will be no funeral.
19:33The more people there are, the more danger.
19:35We cannot frighten the child.
19:37Everyone either lowered their heads or nodded.
19:39No one objected.
19:41Nadia and the child moved into the main house.
19:43People congratulated her.
19:44Champagne glasses clinked, and servants laughed.
19:47In the West Annex, Bennett sat beside the coffin without saying a word.
19:52For three days, he did not eat properly or change his clothes.
19:55Stubble shadowed his jaw, and his eyes were threaded with red.
19:59Tessa came twice, and both times he drove her out.
20:02On the third night, Nadia came in carrying the child.
20:05She wore a soft cashmere shawl.
20:07Her face was pale, but she already had the bearing of the lady of the house.
20:11Ben, you should eat something.
20:12Her voice was soft and proper, carrying just the right amount of concern.
20:16If this goes on, you will make yourself ill.
20:19Sloan is watching from heaven.
20:20She would not want you destroying yourself like this.
20:23Bennett sat on the floor beside the coffin, the back of his head against its wall.
20:26He lifted his head and looked at Nadia for a long time.
20:29So long that the arms with which she held the child tightened slightly, he said, his voice rough.
20:35Do you know what she was thinking during those last hours?
20:39Nadia choked.
20:40I was in the delivery room.
20:42I didn't know any...
20:42She was thinking, why is everyone saving you, and no one cares about her?
20:47She was asking why her husband was not beside her, but beside another woman.
20:51Bennett stood slowly.
20:53While she bled in the basement, the whole hospital revolved around you.
20:59Nadia hugged the baby tighter.
21:01Bennett, I was giving birth to.
21:03I nearly died, too.
21:05You cannot blame everything on me just because she is dead.
21:10My child was in danger, too.
21:13You know that.
21:15But her child is already dead!
21:19Bennett's voice tore out in a roar.
21:22The room fell quiet.
21:26Nadia's face went deathly white, and she instinctively took several steps back.
21:30Bennett only looked at the coffin.
21:32His voice choking.
21:34These past few days, I have not been able to stop thinking.
21:38If I had gone downstairs to look at her, would it have ended differently?
21:44If I had left her one operating room, would she and the baby both be alive?
21:49He lowered his head.
21:50If I had admitted that my daughter mattered, too.
21:54Two bodies, one death.
21:56His voice growing softer.
21:57Was it just because the child in Sloney's belly was not a boy, so she deserved to die?
22:05Was her life worth less than a newborn's?
22:07At last, a crack appeared in Nadia's expression.
22:10She stepped back half a pace and lifted her chin slightly.
22:13Bennett, I know you are hurting, but some words should be weighed before they are spoken.
22:19I nearly died giving birth to this child.
22:22My child is now the Velalti family's only bloodline.
22:26The absolute next dawn.
22:29How can you blame me?
22:31And your daughter?
22:32She was not even born.
22:35She was not worth it.
22:36Bennett lifted her sharply.
22:37Nadia withdrew the expression on her face.
22:39She looked down at Enzo in her arms, her tone harder.
22:43No matter what, this child is a Velalti.
22:46He is the heir Theodore has been waiting for.
22:49Bennett gave a cold little laugh.
22:52Then what was slowing?
22:53An inconvenience?
22:55Nadia did not answer.
22:56She turned to leave.
22:57At the door, she looked back and said,
22:59The dead do not need you, Bennett.
23:01The living do.
23:02That dead woman has no value anymore.
23:03We should focus on more important things.
23:06The door closed.
23:07Bennett slid slowly down against the coffin and sat on the floor,
23:10covering his face with both hands.
23:12On the surveillance screen, I saw his shoulders shaking.
23:15After a long time, muffled sobs came from the room.
23:18I watched it all in silence.
23:19Then I picked up my phone and sent my father a message.
23:22Begin.
23:25The first crack in the Velenti family appeared in the supply chain.
23:28A European supplier that had worked with them for 15 years
23:32suddenly suspended deliveries,
23:34citing a failed review of product standards.
23:36Bennett called personally,
23:37and the secretary on the other end was polite and cold.
23:40Don, in light of multiple factors,
23:42the family council is reassessing the risk of cooperation.
23:45Two days later, a Swiss union bank froze the Velenti family's credit line.
23:49The email was impeccably worded.
23:51Our risk control model has been updated,
23:53and your company's rating has been adjusted.
23:55We sincerely apologize.
23:57When his assistant brought it to Bennett,
23:58he only closed his eyes numbly,
24:00because a larger disaster had already arrived.
24:03The money laundering network for Velenti's had built
24:05to get three generations was being systematically dismounted step by step.
24:09Soon, three long-time allied families announced one after another
24:13that they were ending cooperation.
24:14They paid the breach penalties,
24:16and all invested in Velenti's competitor, Ferrante.
24:19Within a month,
24:19nearly a third of the Velenti family's market value had evaporated.
24:23Theodore was hospitalized from rage.
24:25Bennett ran back and forth between headquarters and the hospital,
24:27but Nadia held Enzo and complained at him.
24:30You are never here.
24:31Every day you are either handling territory disputes or sitting in meetings.
24:35Enzo needs a father, Nadia said.
24:38Graham is dead.
24:39You have to take care of us.
24:41Do you not care about this baby at all?
24:43Bennett stood by the main house door.
24:44His tie loosened,
24:45exhaustion filling his eyes.
24:47Grandfather is in the hospital.
24:49Headquarters is a mess.
24:50I have many things to take care of.
24:51So what?
24:52We have more money than we could ever spend.
24:54He looked at her,
24:54his gaze pooling little by little.
24:57That headquarters was built by my grandfather,
25:00my father, and my brother.
25:01Generation by generation,
25:03money does not fall from the sky.
25:06How do you think you have the life you have now?
25:08Nadia turned her face away.
25:09That does not mean you can ignore me and the baby.
25:13You have plenty of money anyway.
25:15You should be at home with me and the baby.
25:18Bennett said nothing more and turned away.
25:20He went to the morning hall.
25:21Sloane's coffin was still there.
25:22He had never settled on a cemetery.
25:24It seemed he could not bear to send her away.
25:26He sat with his back against the coffin and lit a cigarette.
25:29Sloane, if you were here, what would you do?
25:31Smoke rose, veiling his haggard face.
25:33You could always sort things out.
25:35Help me arrange the accounts,
25:37review contracts,
25:38even understand how to handle business better than my consliacy.
25:40I always thought you were gentle.
25:42I thought you were simply supposed to cooperate with everything I did.
25:45But really,
25:46you just did not want to add to my burdens.
25:48At this, his voice lowered.
25:50I was so arrogant.
25:51His phone suddenly vibrated.
25:57His assistant's voice was nearly cracking.
26:00Mr. Volante,
26:00the shipment in Genova has been seized by custom.
26:03They say restricteds were found in the containers.
26:05The police and the DEA launched a joint operation.
26:08They are already at headquarters.
26:09They may bring criminal charges.
26:11That shipment was covered long ago.
26:12Oh, how could it be discovered?
26:15Impossible.
26:16But it is true.
26:17They have documents.
26:18They brought interrogation orders.
26:20Find out who leaked the route.
26:21Bennett threw out the order and hung up.
26:23He rushed out of the morning hall
26:24and drove from the estate to headquarters.
26:27The road shone cold in the rainy night.
26:29He gripped the steering wheel,
26:30his mind full of contracts,
26:32debt,
26:32the media,
26:33and Sloane's pale face in the morgue.
26:35The phone rang again.
26:36Unknown number.
26:37He answered.
26:37On the other end was a man's voice.
26:39Low, steady, elegant.
26:41Mr. Volante,
26:42did you receive the first gift?
26:44Bennett slammed on the brakes.
26:45The SUV behind him nearly rear-ended him.
26:48Urgent questions crackled over the Soldati's radios.
26:51He ignored them.
26:52Who are you?
26:53Only a father.
26:54Bennett's fingers tightened little by little on the steering wheel.
26:57What do you want?
26:58You cannot offer me what I want.
27:00Who the hell are you?
27:01The man gave a soft laugh.
27:03You are not qualified to know.
27:04Just remember one thing.
27:07Fate's gifts have always had a price.
27:09And this is only the beginning.
27:11The Volante family will pay a hundredfold for everything.
27:14Bennett's face.
27:15Slowly turned gray-white.
27:17What are you trying to do?
27:18I am warning you!
27:19You had better pray I never find you!
27:22There was a pause on the line.
27:23A soft laugh.
27:24Then I will be waiting.
27:25And when the price comes due,
27:27do not act surprised.
27:29The call ended.
27:30When Bennett called back,
27:31there was only a message saying the number was no longer in service.
27:34He threw the phone onto the passenger seat
27:36and realized his hands were shaking.
27:37Rain struck the windshield,
27:39dense as countless knuckles knocking at the door.
27:43The DEA investigation lasted half a month.
27:46In the end,
27:47no formal charges were filed.
27:49The chain of evidence was not complete enough.
27:51And Valenti's lawyers were expensive enough.
27:53But the shipment was confiscated,
27:55and the loss exceeded 40 million.
27:57Three mid-level coppers were arrested during the investigation.
28:01One of them committed suicide in detention.
28:04Worse were the rumors that never stopped.
28:06After the investigation,
28:07Valenti's remaining partners worried about risk
28:10and withdrew their stakes one after another,
28:12keeping a safe distance.
28:14Theodore's second stroke happened before dawn.
28:16This time, he did not recover.
28:17Before he died,
28:18he clutched Bennett's hand.
28:20His mouth crooked.
28:21His voice slurred.
28:23Preserve Valenti.
28:25Take care of the child.
28:27Grandfather, don't speak.
28:29Theodore said in broken fragments.
28:31The boy, Enzo.
28:33Hair.
28:34Then his hand fell weakly.
28:36Every soldado in the corridor removed his hat.
28:38No one spoke.
28:39The conciliere came in,
28:40closed Theodore's eyes,
28:42then took an old silver coin from his pocket
28:44and placed it on Theodore's lips.
28:46The funeral was cold and sparse.
28:48Few people were willing to stand with Valenti anymore.
28:51The guests who came
28:52bowed politely and murmured condolences,
28:54but there was not the slightest pity in their eyes.
28:57Nadia stood before the coffin,
28:58holding Enzo,
28:59and cried in genuine anguish.
29:01She was crying for the loss of her strongest protection.
29:04Bennett's face was expressionless throughout the funeral,
29:07only after it ended,
29:08when the guests had dispersed
29:09and the old estate stood hollow and empty.
29:11Did he say to Nadia in the hall,
29:13You have to move out.
29:14Nadia froze.
29:15What did you say?
29:17Move out.
29:17I will give you and Enzo money.
29:19Enough for you to live on.
29:20Her face changed.
29:21Bennett, are you insane?
29:23I am Graham's widow.
29:24I am entitled to the family's protection.
29:25Enzo is your brother's only son.
29:27He is also Valenti's only heir.
29:29I know.
29:30But what do you think will be left of Valenti?
29:33Territory is being eaten away,
29:34funds are frozen,
29:35allies have all run.
29:37Valenti may have nothing left for him to inherit,
29:39but death.
29:39Nadia clutched the child tighter,
29:41so you are abandoning us?
29:43This is not abandonment.
29:45I will give you money,
29:46and I will make sure you and the child are looked after.
29:50But this house you cannot live in.
29:52Inside it is the last connection I have to Sloane.
29:55I will not give it to anyone.
29:56Nadia fell silent.
29:57Then, after an unknown length of time,
29:59she laughed.
30:00Memories?
30:01You really think you are some devoted husband now?
30:04Stop lying to yourself, Bennett.
30:06You never loved her.
30:09Bennett clenched his jaw.
30:10Tears still hung on Nadia's face.
30:12You just cannot free yourself from your guilt.
30:15Sloane is dead.
30:16She died horribly.
30:17And only after she died
30:19did you start acting like you loved her.
30:21When she was alive,
30:22did you ever care?
30:24Nadia stepped forward,
30:25almost screaming.
30:27If she was still alive,
30:28you would have thrown her away by now.
30:29Shut up.
30:30I will not.
30:31You married her because her background was clean,
30:34and she was easy to control.
30:35Wasn't that it?
30:36Bennett's face turned terribly cold.
30:38You said that she gave birth.
30:39If it wasn't a boy,
30:40you would have her sign a confident alchil,
30:42divorce her,
30:42give her some money,
30:43and send her away.
30:44Now she is dead,
30:45and suddenly you regret it.
30:47Who told you that?
30:50Does it matter?
30:51The point is that if she were still alive,
30:52you would be holding my son
30:54while sending her out of this house.
30:56The point is now that she is dead,
30:57you should thank me.
30:58I gave birth to a son,
31:00my child,
31:00and I helped you get rid of her.
31:01A strike across the face cut her off,
31:04covering her cheek and staring at him in disbelief.
31:06Get out.
31:08Otherwise,
31:09do not expect another cent from me.
31:10She climbed to her feet,
31:12holding the child,
31:13and glared at him with hatred.
31:14She took a check for 50 million dollars,
31:16and she also took the air Theodore had been thinking of
31:18until his last breath.
31:19Bennett stood alone in the hall.
31:21He looked at the portraits of the Valenti men hanging on the wall.
31:23Those silent faces seemed to ask him why he had destroyed the family.
31:27He walked to the fireplace.
31:28On the rack before him was a hunting rifle,
31:30the Caruso crest carved into the stock.
31:32Beneath it was a photograph of the five of them and Sloane.
31:35Father.
31:36Mother.
31:38Sloane.
31:39He slowly knelt,
31:40pressing his forehead to the cold floor.
31:43I cannot hold on anymore.
31:45No one answered.
31:45Only the draft moved the white mourning drapes through the hall,
31:48making them snap softly.
31:51At the same time,
31:52I was sitting in the study of an Italian estate,
31:54watching the surveillance feed,
31:55with the latest report on the Valenti family beside my hand.
31:57My father came in,
31:58set coffee beside me,
31:59and handed me another file.
32:00They are nearly at the end.
32:02He said.
32:03Their assets no longer cover their debt.
32:05Total collapse is only a matter of time.
32:07I turned to the last page,
32:08faster than I expected.
32:10My father sat across from me,
32:11his expression complicated.
32:13Sloane,
32:14are you really going to see this through the end?
32:15I looked up.
32:16Do you think I should stop?
32:17No.
32:18He answered quickly.
32:19Bennett Valenti should pay.
32:20So should the Valenti family.
32:21Then what are you worried about?
32:22He looked at me,
32:23and suddenly his gaze softened into nothing but a father's.
32:26He sighed.
32:28I am afraid you left yourself in that night, too.
32:30I am afraid you will never come out.
32:32Hatred can make people lose themselves.
32:34I closed the file and smiled faintly.
32:36Don't worry.
32:37I haven't.
32:37I only think he deserves what he is getting.
32:40I want revenge for my Lily.
32:42Once the revenge is done,
32:44everything will end.
32:45My father looked at me,
32:46his expression unreadable.
32:47But you have not truly smiled in a long time.
32:49Before, you were always smiling,
32:51always full of hope.
32:51I stood and walked to the window,
32:53looking out.
32:54Beyond the glass was a vineyard,
32:55sunlight falling on the leaves.
32:57Everything looked warm and vivid,
32:58but my heart was bitterly cold.
33:00It felt as though my soul was still in that freezing basement.
33:03I was silent for a while.
33:05My daughter is dead, Dad.
33:07From that moment on,
33:08some things were never going to come back.
33:09My father's lips moved,
33:10but he said nothing.
33:12He only looked at me for a long time.
33:14Then he left.
33:14My phone rang.
33:15Bennett's name appeared on the screen.
33:17Strictly speaking,
33:18he was calling my old number.
33:19He thought that a phone had been buried with me.
33:21He did not know Caruso's people
33:22had delivered it to my desk long ago.
33:24I answered without speaking.
33:25There was a long silence on the other end
33:26before his hoarse voice came through.
33:28Sloan.
33:30I know you cannot hear me.
33:31I know this is ridiculous,
33:33but I still only want to talk to you.
33:35He laughed softly,
33:35the sound broken.
33:36The Velati family is finished.
33:38Grandfather is dead.
33:39Nadia is gone.
33:40And Tessa only agrees to see me
33:41when she is short on money.
33:43There is no one around me anymore.
33:45I made no sound.
33:46My fingers tapped lightly on the desk.
33:48He paused.
33:49Do you know,
33:49lately I keep thinking of you,
33:51of what we used to be.
33:52Used to sit in the study,
33:54reading documents,
33:55keeping me company
33:56while I handled family affairs.
33:58You could always put everything in order.
33:59I think of the child too.
34:01Our daughter.
34:02I never even asked
34:03what you wanted to name her.
34:04My fingers stopped.
34:05My face went ashen.
34:06Then I closed my eyes.
34:08Sometimes I think about these things.
34:09I think if I had treated you better,
34:11maybe things would have gone differently.
34:13I think if I had not been
34:14so obsessed with a son.
34:16His voice dropped lower,
34:18already choked,
34:18broken by intermittent sobs.
34:20But none of that matters now.
34:21You are gone.
34:22Our child is gone too.
34:24I can never make it right.
34:25He was silent for a long time.
34:27At last,
34:27he took a deep breath.
34:28I sold everything I could sell.
34:30The estate where four generations of Valentis lived
34:32was bought by a Russian.
34:34I emptied the Armahari art,
34:35and there was a pile of art as well.
34:36I divided the money into several parts.
34:39One share goes to Nadia and Enzo
34:41as my duty to Graham.
34:43One share was donated in your name
34:44to a children's hospital in New York.
34:46The last share.
34:48I want to keep it to buy a grave.
34:49If I can,
34:50I want to be buried beside you.
34:52I opened my eyes.
34:53The sunlight outside the window was dazzling.
34:55Sloan, I'm sorry.
34:56If there is another life,
34:58I will make it up to you twice over.
35:00Another long silence.
35:03Finally, the call ended.
35:04I held the phone for a long time without moving.
35:06When the screen went dark,
35:07I saw my reflection on it.
35:09Only then did I realize tears covered my face.
35:11Not for me,
35:12and certainly not for him.
35:13For my child.
35:14For my past.
35:15After today,
35:16everything would move toward its end.
35:19Bennett truly sold everything.
35:21The estate was sold.
35:22The fleet of cars was sold.
35:23The private jet was put up for sale.
35:25And the collections were sent to auction.
35:26The restaurants,
35:27construction companies,
35:28the man who had once controlled
35:29half the underground trade
35:30on New York's East Coast,
35:32moved, in the end,
35:33into a small apartment.
35:34Every day,
35:35apart from drinking,
35:36he went to the cemetery.
35:37Alone,
35:37he knelt before the headstone
35:38and confessed,
35:39talking to himself.
35:40Sometimes it was about headquarters.
35:42Sometimes he remembered
35:43when we were young.
35:44He talked about our trips
35:44when we were in love.
35:46About going shopping.
35:47About buying food
35:47all along the street.
35:49Sometimes he said nothing at all.
35:50He would sit there for hours.
35:51Sometimes a whole day.
35:52From nightfall to dawn.
35:54I watched the surveillance
35:55for three months.
35:56At first,
35:57I thought his collapse
35:57would bring me
35:58some kind of satisfaction.
35:59But on the day
36:00Valenti went bankrupt,
36:01the pleasure had already vanished.
36:02I still did not know
36:04how to smile
36:04the way I used to.
36:05That night,
36:06I decided to go to the cemetery.
36:07His emotions are unstable now.
36:09He thinks you are dead.
36:10Now he has nothing left.
36:12If he sees you-
36:13I just want to look
36:15one last time
36:15and let everything end.
36:19Take Soldati.
36:20If anything happens,
36:21call me at once.
36:22The cemetery was very cold at night.
36:24I stood in the shadows
36:25of the trees
36:26and watched Bennett
36:26sitting before the headstone
36:28engraved with my name.
36:29Slolin,
36:29I saw a psychiatrist today.
36:31She said I'm depressed.
36:33Said I need medication.
36:34But I just miss you.
36:36I miss your corn chowder.
36:38I miss going over contracts with you.
36:40I miss you nagging me
36:41and making making me honey water.
36:43He took a drink
36:43and coughed
36:44until he bent over.
36:48I'm starting to forget
36:49what your voice sounds like.
36:51Isn't that cruel?
36:52I remember the blood.
36:53I remember how cold
36:55the morgue was.
36:56But I'm starting to forget
36:58what you looked like
36:58when you smiled.
37:00I'm scared.
37:01Scared that one day
37:01I'll forget you completely
37:02and if that happens,
37:03what do I do?
37:05He pressed his forehead
37:05to the headstone
37:06and his shoulders
37:07began to shake.
37:08Bennett was crying.
37:09I turned to leave
37:10but the toe of my shoe
37:11struck a small stone.
37:12The sound was very light.
37:14Who's there?
37:14Who's there?
37:15A guard tried to pull me away
37:16but I raised a hand
37:17to stop him.
37:18I was tired.
37:19Bennett walked
37:19toward the shadows
37:20of the trees.
37:20He stopped.
37:21It was as if someone
37:22had seized him
37:23by the throat.
37:23His lips parted.
37:24Slolin?
37:26He staggered back
37:27one step.
37:28It's me.
37:31You're alive.
37:32Slolin, I knew it.
37:34I knew you were dead.
37:35But the next second,
37:36his smile froze on his face.
37:38He finally noticed
37:39the people beside me.
37:40Who are you?
37:42Slolin Caruso.
37:44Daughter of Conrad Caruso
37:45and the only heir
37:47to the Caruso family.
37:49Carusto?
37:50That Carusto?
37:52Yes.
37:53The Caruso that controlled
37:54the deepest underground networks
37:55between Europe and North America
37:57along with shadow finance,
37:58shipping, security,
37:59and arms lines.
38:00The Black Crown High Society
38:02feared yet could not
38:03help inviting.
38:04His face went pale.
38:05You said you were
38:06from an ordinary family.
38:07I lied because my father
38:08said you did not deserve to know.
38:10He also said
38:10I would regret marrying you.
38:12He is rarely wrong.
38:13He was right this time too.
38:15So,
38:16Velati,
38:18you are the one
38:18who brought it down.
38:19My father did it.
38:21I believe he did nothing wrong.
38:22Why didn't you tell me?
38:24If I had known
38:25who you were sooner-
38:26You would have done what?
38:27Treated me better?
38:28Not let me die?
38:29Bennett,
38:30stop lying to yourself.
38:32What you liked
38:32was precisely
38:33that I had no one
38:34to rely on.
38:35If you had known
38:36I was a Caruso,
38:37you would either have used me
38:38to lift Velento higher
38:39or you would have
38:40eliminated me out of fear.
38:42You would have gone
38:43after my family too.
38:44So all of this
38:45was your game?
38:46You watched me suffer?
38:48You made me lose everything.
38:50You enjoyed it,
38:50didn't you?
38:51No.
38:52Watching you suffer
38:53does not make me happy.
38:54I only think you deserve it.
38:57I only wanted revenge
38:58for my daughter.
39:00Deserve it?
39:00His face twisted completely.
39:04Skolan,
39:05if you had told me
39:06who you were earlier,
39:07we never would have
39:08reached this point.
39:09You are the guilty one.
39:16Miss,
39:18what should we do
39:19with him?
39:20Send him back
39:21and from now on
39:22do not let me
39:23see him again.
39:26I returned to Italy
39:27and formally took over
39:28the Caruso family.
39:29My father retreated
39:30to the garden
39:31and wine cellar
39:31where he began
39:32studying roses
39:33but he still read
39:34the security reports
39:35every day
39:35and he still
39:36sat under the light.
39:37Do you still hate him?
39:39Hatred takes too much effort.
39:41Bennett Velarte
39:42does not deserve
39:42that much of my energy.
39:44Do you still miss him?
39:48Dad.
39:50I only hope
39:50you still have
39:51something soft left in you.
39:52I never insisted
39:53on keeping you by my side
39:54because I wanted you
39:54to be happy forever.
39:56Dad, I am doing fine
39:57on my own.
39:57I have family now
39:58and a career
39:59and enough enemies
40:00and a great deal of money.
40:01It is a good life.
40:02I do not need a man
40:03to make it worse.
40:05Your mother used
40:06to say the same thing.
40:07Only then
40:08did I raise my head.
40:09She had suffered
40:10a massive hemorrhage
40:11during a difficult delivery
40:12when she gave birth to me.
40:13They could not save her.
40:14My father stood
40:15at her grave
40:15for three days
40:16and three nights
40:17and never remarried.
40:18Behind me,
40:19my father sighed.
40:20I worry your mother
40:21blames me
40:22for not taking care of you.
40:23Three years,
40:24not one moment
40:25of losing control.
40:27Every ounce of your energy
40:28goes into work
40:28like a machine
40:30that never stops.
40:32But you're not a machine,
40:33Sloanie.
40:35You're my daughter.
40:36But my fingertips
40:37trembled faintly.
40:39I am going to prepare
40:41next week's schedule.
40:42My assistant suddenly
40:44knocked and came in.
40:45Miss Karusta,
40:46Bennett Velotti
40:46is outside the estate.
40:47My signing hand
40:48did not pause.
40:49Have security handled it?
40:51He says he must see you.
40:53He is kneeling at the gate.
40:54I walked to the window.
40:55Bennett knelt
40:56beside the stone road.
40:58His face gray and ruined.
40:59He held up a piece of cardboard.
41:01The handwriting was crooked.
41:02It read,
41:02I'm sorry.
41:03Please see me once.
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