“Martin,” I whispered when he answered. My voice cracked, raw and desperate. “It’s me. Do you still want to marry me? If yes… then help me with the ransom for my daughter. I’ll do everything you say.”

For a moment, silence filled the line. Then laughter—low, mocking, unkind—spilled from the other end.

“Wow,” Martin drawled. “So you finally came to your senses. Regretting choosing that bastard over me, aren’t you?”

I closed my eyes, breathing through the sting of his words. “If you’re going to laugh at me, and not help… then let’s not have this conversation again.”

“Alright, alright,” he said quickly, tone shifting, though I could still hear the smugness in it. “Don’t be so serious, Emerald. I’ll help. But remember your words. If I do this for you, then you’re mine. Forever. No running this time.”

“Yes,” I whispered, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Just make sure my daughter will be safe.”

“Good girl. Send me the details of the kidnappers, and I’ll deal with it. Five days. Be ready—I’ll pick you up.”

And then the call ended. I stared at the phone in my hand, my fingers trembling, my mind screaming at me to hang up, to change my mind, to run. But what choice did I have? Being with my enemy back in college was better than depending on the man who swore to love me, only to replace me.

My thoughts dragged me backward, to the years I had wasted. Back in college, I had been so foolish, so certain. I had fallen in love with Leandro first. My heart beat only for him. So when my father demanded I marry him to merge our families’ businesses, I didn’t even hesitate. I thought it was destiny—that he wanted me, too. For a time, it even felt true. He had been sweet, attentive, the perfect fiancé.

But that didn’t last. His true nature revealed itself slowly—whispers of late nights, lipstick-stained collars, excuses wrapped in lies. And then Nadine. My best friend. The betrayal was so sharp, I should have walked away then. But I stayed. Now I saw the price of my silence. And it was my daughter paying it.

I returned home with a weight crushing me from all sides. The house felt emptier than it had ever been. My hands shook as I pressed them against the dining table, trying to steady my breath. That was when I heard footsteps—heels clicking against the marble floor.

Nadine.

She stood there like she owned the place, her hand resting over her stomach, a smug smile on her lips. And then Leandro entered, his hand casually brushing her arm. My chest tightened with rage.

“What is she doing here?” I snapped.

“She’ll be staying with us for a while,” Leandro said casually, as if announcing the weather. “And you’ll be cooking. For her.”

I stared at him, stunned. “And why would I do that?”

“Because you’re the reason the baby is in danger. You should take responsibility.” His voice was sharp, commanding, as if I were nothing but a servant.

“I don’t want to,” I spat, shaking my head.

Leandro’s eyes hardened. “I’m not asking, Emerald. I’m ordering.” He stepped closer, his voice low and dangerous.

I pulled away, rage and heartbreak colliding in my chest. “I don’t want to. Let’s just divorce now.”

He blinked, then laughed bitterly. “Divorce? Is that it? You’re threatening me with divorce because I asked you to cook for your friend?”

“You know that’s not it!” I shouted. “This is about Gwen! She’s kidnapped! And instead of helping me, you froze my accounts—you won’t even lift a finger to save her!”

Leandro sneered. “Gwen? Come on. You’re not even sure they have Gwen. What if they’re lying? Or… what if you’re using her to get money out of me?”

“What?” My voice broke.

“Why not?” His eyes narrowed. “Isn’t that the truth? You’re your father’s daughter. Have you forgotten how he scammed me and ran away? Maybe you’re just like him—using the child to get what you want.”

His words cut deeper than knives. My heart squeezed so tight I could barely breathe.

“Leandro, do you even hear yourself?”

Before I could say more, Nadine’s soft voice cut in, feigning guilt. “Please… if this is my fault, don’t fight.”

“No,” Leandro snapped, glaring at me. “This is her fault—for not taking care of Gwen in the first place.”

I staggered back, my legs weakening, when the butler entered. He carried a small box, his expression pale.

“A delivery… for you, sir,” he said, handing it over.

Leandro opened it. Nadine gasped. I screamed.

Inside was a small toe. Gwen’s. Wrapped in cloth, stained in blood.

I collapsed to the floor, my body wracked with sobs. “Gwen…” My baby.

And then Leandro’s phone buzzed. He played the video the kidnappers sent. Gwen’s tiny voice echoed through the speakers, muffled by her cries. “Mommy… mommy, help…”

The kidnapper’s voice followed, cold and merciless. “If you don’t send the money, she dies.”

My chest shattered, but before I could beg, Leandro scoffed. “That’s a huge amount. I won’t waste my money on this. Just let her be. When the kidnappers realize we don’t care, they’ll return her.”

I stared at him, horrified. “Leandro! That’s my child—”

But he only smirked, turning toward Nadine. “After all, I still have another child.” He wrapped an arm around her, protective, possessive, and walked her away like I was nothing.

There I sat, on the cold marble floor, my tears falling endlessly. Realizing in that moment the brutal truth—Leandro had replaced me completely. Nadine wasn’t a secret anymore. She was his future. His priority. His family.

And I? I was nothing.

My phone buzzed while I sat slumped against the edge of the bed, hollow from crying. I forced myself to look at the screen. Martin.

Don’t worry, his message read. I just sent that to test if your husband would act. He didn’t. Then divorce him. Got it? Gwen is safe with me. Not even hurt.

For a second, my chest loosened. Relief crashed over me, so sharp it nearly broke me again. My Gwen. Safe. My baby was alive.

My fingers shook as I typed back. Then do me a favor, Martin. Fake my baby’s death—and mine too. I never want him to touch our lives again. Not after this. Not after everything.

The reply came instantly. Consider it done. See you soon, love.

Love. The word made me flinch, but I didn’t care anymore. I needed freedom. I needed Gwen safe. Whatever it took.

I dropped the phone and pulled out a suitcase. My hands moved quickly, shoving clothes into it, tossing shoes, jewelry, anything I could carry. Every zip of the bag was a nail on the coffin of the life I was leaving behind.

Then came the voice I least wanted to hear.

“I’m so sorry about the baby,” Nadine’s syrupy tone filled the doorway.

I froze, my jaw tightening.

“But you see,” she continued, stepping in uninvited, “he doesn’t trust you anymore. Not after what your father did. Honestly, Emerald, you should’ve told him about your father’s scam. Hiding things never ends well.”

I kept my back to her, folding another dress, forcing myself not to explode. She wanted a fight. I wouldn’t give her one.

Inside, though, my chest burned. My father? His sins had never been mine. I never cared about his mistakes. Why was I still being punished for them? Why did Nadine think she could dangle his shame in my face like this?

She came closer, her hands reaching for my clothes. “So you’re leaving?” She gave a laugh, pretending to sound kind. “That’s better. You really don’t have a place here anymore. Come, let me help you pack.”

“I don’t need your help,” I snapped, turning sharply. “I can handle this. Go away, Nadine. I know you’re faking every word.”

But she didn’t leave. She forced her way further into the room, touching things that weren’t hers. And then it happened—her arm brushed against the side table.

The vase toppled.

It crashed to the floor, shattering into jagged pieces. My eyes widened, my breath caught.

Not the vase. It was Gwen’s. The one she made in school, the one she’d painted with her tiny hands and won first prize for. My Gwen’s masterpiece. Gone.

Red flared in my vision. I shoved Nadine back, my voice breaking. “What the hell is wrong with you? I told you not to help me!”

She staggered back and immediately screamed, louder than necessary. “Leandro!”

Footsteps thundered down the hall. Leandro burst in, his eyes narrowing at the scene. “What’s happening?”

“I was just trying to help her pack,” Nadine said quickly, her voice trembling like a victim. “I didn’t mean to. The vase fell—and she pushed me.”

My chest heaved. “She knocked it over! I told her not to touch my things—”

Leandro’s glare sliced into me. “Over a vase? Are you serious? What’s wrong with you?”

I stared at him, incredulous. “That vase was Gwen’s! She made it—”

“And why are you packing?” His voice grew harder, suspicion twisting his features. “Seriously, Emerald? Was this your plan? To run away? Is it because you found out I agreed to send half the ransom?”

My breath stopped. “You… you agreed to send half?”

“Yes.” He sneered. “And now you’re pretending you didn’t know? Don’t lie to me. You’re running.”

“No—I didn’t know, I swear—”

“You don’t deserve my trust.” His voice rose, cruel and final. “If anything, Gwen might not even be mine. For all I know, you’ve been cheating on me.”

The air rushed out of my lungs. “No! Of course not, Leandro—”

“Don’t deny it!” His eyes darkened. “Come here. You deserve punishment. Since you’ve been toying with me, you’ll never see your child again.”

Terror slammed into me. I tried to step back, but his men appeared in the doorway. My scream lodged in my throat as he barked the order.

“Take her. Remove her toenails—one by one. Let her feel what Gwen felt. Let her know pain.”

“No! Leandro, please—” My voice cracked as I struggled, thrashing against the guards’ grip. “Don’t! Don’t do this—”

But my cries were useless. His eyes were cold, merciless, a stranger’s gaze in the face of the man I once loved.

The first rip of pain came like fire. They forced me down, pinning my arms, and I felt the sickening pull as one of my toenails was torn away. My scream echoed through the walls, desperate, ragged.

“Help me!” I cried, choking, my vision blurring with tears. “Please—someone, help me!”

But no one came. Not a single soul. Nadine’s silence was louder than any mockery. Leandro’s expression never softened—he only watched, as if my suffering was entertainment.

The second nail. Then the third. Every tear of flesh sent lightning bolts of agony racing up my legs, wracking my body with violent sobs. My voice grew hoarse from screaming until it was nothing but broken gasps.

And then—darkness. My body couldn’t take it anymore. I fainted.

When I woke again, pain throbbed through me like a living thing, every breath trembling against it. My feet were bandaged, my body cold and weak. But even through the haze, a thought anchored me.

It’s okay… just a few more days. Just hold on.

Soon, I would be gone. And I would never look back.

I woke up with my body burning, but not from rage this time—from fever. Every muscle screamed, every breath rattled. The throbbing in my toes from the cruel punishment made it impossible to walk properly.

Days had passed like that, slipping in and out of consciousness, but not once did Leandro open the door to check on me.

Not once.

Through the haze of fever, I heard laughter outside my room. Nadine’s shrill giggle, Leandro’s low chuckle. Sometimes there was more than laughter—moans that cut through the night and stabbed at me like knives. I buried my head into the pillow, forcing myself to sleep, forcing myself to let go of the sounds of betrayal. My body needed to heal. My mind needed silence.

But peace never stayed long in this house.

I was jolted awake one afternoon by the sharp, acrid smell of smoke. My heart jumped to my throat. I forced myself out of bed, leaning on the wall for balance, and stumbled toward the hallway. When I reached the back garden, my world stopped.

Flames licked through piles of fabric—my dresses, my books, even Gwen’s tiny toys. All of it burning.

“What are you doing?!” My voice cracked as I ran forward, heat slapping against my skin. “Stop it! Those are mine!”

The maid avoided my eyes, her hands trembling as she fed another box into the fire.

“Miss… I’m sorry,” she whispered. “It wasn’t my order. Miss Nadine… she told us to throw your things. She said she didn’t want to see them anymore.”

For a moment, I froze. Nadine. Of course. It wasn’t enough that she had my husband—she wanted to erase every piece of me, too.

I was about to turn away, to let it all burn—I didn’t care anymore, not really—until I saw it.

A small silver chain glinting in the flames. My mother’s necklace. The last gift she had pressed into my hand before she died, telling me, “This will always protect you.”

“No!” I screamed, rushing forward. I ignored the heat scorching my hands as I grabbed at the necklace, saving what little was left before it was consumed. My eyes burned—not from smoke, but from fury.

I stormed back into the house, the necklace clutched tight in my palm, and found Nadine in the living room. She sat there smug, her hand resting on her growing belly like a queen.

“Why?” My voice trembled with anger. “Why did you burn my things? That necklace—it was from my mother.”

Nadine looked up, feigning innocence. “Oh, that? I thought it was fake. Honestly, Emerald, with all the clutter you left around, how was I supposed to know what mattered? I was just trying to clear space.”

“Clear space?” I hissed. “This is my house. You have no right—”

“Enough.”

Leandro’s voice cut through like a whip. He stepped into the room, his gaze cold, dismissive. “Stop fighting over nonsense. Emerald, clean this mess. I’m hosting a party tomorrow, and I want everything to be spotless.”

I stared at him, blood rushing to my head. “Clean? After what she’s done? After everything you’ve—”

“I’m not asking,” he said sharply. “I’m ordering you. Do it.”

Something inside me snapped. My fever, my wounds, the humiliation—I could no longer stay quiet. “No. I won’t. I’m not your maid, Leandro. Not anymore. If you want this house spotless, clean it yourself.”

Before he could reply, the butler entered, pale and shaken, carrying a small package wrapped in plain paper.

“It… it just arrived, sir.”

Leandro snatched it, tore it open—and froze.

A small bloodied bundle fell to the floor. My breath caught. A child’s arms. Look exactly as Gwen.

My scream ripped through the air. “Gwen!” My knees buckled as tears blinded me. Deep down, I knew it wasn’t her—it couldn’t be. She was safe. But I pretended anyway, let the hysteria consume me. Maybe, just maybe, if I showed him how broken I was, Leandro would finally feel guilty. Maybe he would realize this wasn’t a game.

Leandro cursed, face hardening. He pulled out a note attached to the package. The words were simple, merciless:

One hundred million. Last chance. Or the child dies.

A phone chimed, and seconds later, a video played on his screen. Gwen—my Gwen—bound, crying, her tiny voice begging for her mommy. A masked man’s voice thundered, “Money. Or we’ll cut more.”

My stomach twisted. I reached out to grab the phone, but Leandro pulled it away.

And then he had the audacity to sigh. “Look at this. Another one of your schemes, Emerald. Admit it—you’re behind this. These men are probably yours.”

My eyes widened. “What? Are you insane? You think I’d mutilate my own daughter?”

Nadine’s sweet, poisonous voice slipped into the space between us. “Well… didn’t you mention to me once that you needed money for your family? Maybe this is your father’s doing. And you’re helping him.”

I froze. Father. The man I barely spoke to. The man they loved to throw in my face.

Leandro’s gaze sharpened, suspicion gleaming. “Of course. That’s it. You and your father. Scammers, just the same.”

For a moment, the room spun. I couldn’t breathe. They were accusing me—again—while my baby was out there suffering... And it was even my enemy who saved her.

“Fine,” I said finally, my voice hollow. “Think what you want. If you want Gwen dead, then so be it. At least I won’t have to live tied to a man like you. Because Leandro, you’ve done nothing but disappoint me.”

And with that, I turned and walked away before my legs gave out.

Inside my room, I collapsed onto the bed, clutching my mother’s necklace, letting the last of my tears fall. My decision had already been made.

I picked up the phone, dialed a number I’d been saving for years. When the line connected, my voice came steady, unshaken for the first time.

“Hello, attorney? This is Emerald. I want to file for divorce.”