Diana’s POV

“Don’t think that pretending to be pitiful will make me keep you!” Lucan shouted, his small face twisted with hatred far beyond his years.

“If you have the ability to leave, then don’t ever come back!”

The crossbow bolt flew toward me, fast and merciless, carrying all the resentment of the boy I had raised.

I barely reacted in time.

I twisted sideways, but not fast enough.

The arrow grazed my shoulder before piercing into my flesh.

Pain exploded through my body.

A sharp scream tore from my throat as my knees buckled.

Blood seeped through my dress instantly, warm and sticky as it spread down my arm.

“Diana!”

Eduardo was beside me in an instant, his face pale as he grabbed my shoulders.

“I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry, Diana,” he muttered, his voice tight with tension.

For a moment, I thought… maybe this time would be different.

Then—

Cassia suddenly screamed.

“Ah!”

Lucan panicked immediately.

“Papa! Aunty Cassia twisted her ankle! She was running to help that witch!” he cried, tugging Eduardo’s sleeve.

Eduardo froze.

I saw the hesitation in his eyes — the same hesitation I had seen a thousand times before.

His gaze moved between me and Cassia, who was now sitting on the ground, clutching her ankle with tears glistening in her eyes.

Finally, he sighed.

“It’s a clean injury,” he said, glancing briefly at my shoulder. “Go to the hospital, Diana. I’ll meet you there. Cassia can’t walk — I need to take her first.”

He released me.

Just like that.

If my heart broke, I didn’t show it.

I stayed on the ground, watching as he lifted Cassia into his arms like she was something precious.

As he carried her toward the black armored sedan, Cassia looked over his shoulder.

She smiled at me.

A smug, victorious smile.

Lucan climbed into the car beside them, glaring at me as if I were the enemy.

The engine roared.

And they drove away.

I remained on the ground, blood pooling beneath me — shot by the very child I had trained, cared for, and protected for eight years.

Fate really was cruel.

I forced myself to stand, my vision blurring slightly from blood loss.

Then I heard footsteps behind me.

“You wretched girl! Why are you still here? Didn’t you announce to the entire house that you were leaving?”

I didn’t need to turn.

Morana.

Eduardo’s mother.

The matriarch of the Ricci family.

She had never hidden her hatred for me.

I turned slowly to face her.

Her sharp eyes widened when she saw the blood staining my dress.

Instead of concern… her face darkened.

“Are you trying to implicate my son? Planning to die in front of the Ricci estate so outsiders think we mistreated you?” she snapped coldly. “If you want to die, go die outside!”

“I was leaving,” I replied through clenched teeth. “Your grandson shot me.”

She scoffed.

“You hurt yourself and now you're blaming others? Trying to act pitiful so Eduardo will ask you to come back?” she sneered. “You lost your place the moment you decided to leave.”

Anger flared in my chest.

“I want nothing from you or your family, Morana. Your grandson shot me.”

“Then you shouldn’t have a problem leaving.”

Before I could react, she grabbed my suitcases and threw them outside the gates.

“Get out!” she hissed, shoving me forward.

I stumbled, falling hard against the pavement outside the compound, pain exploding through my shoulder.

“Go die outside! Leave my son alone!” she shouted before the heavy iron gates slammed shut behind me.

I sucked in a sharp breath, clutching my bleeding shoulder.

“You’ll regret this…” I muttered, my voice trembling with suppressed rage.

I gathered my boxes just as my Uber pulled up.

The driver stepped out quickly.

“Sorry for the delay, Miss,” he said.

“It’s fine,” I murmured, climbing inside.

He glanced at my shoulder, eyes widening.

“Are you still going to the airport?”

I shook my head weakly.

“Hospital… first.”

The car started moving.

The pain dulled slightly as exhaustion crept in.

Soon… my eyes closed.

---

The next time I opened them, I heard the steady beeping of an EKG machine.

I blinked slowly.

Hospital.

My shoulder throbbed as I tried to sit up. My luggage sat beside the bed.

The door opened and a doctor walked in.

“Miss Diana, how are you feeling?” he asked.

I groaned softly.

“What happened? I was in a taxi…”

“You passed out before arriving,” he explained. “The driver brought you here.”

I nodded and reached for my phone.

I had missed my flight.

A message blinked on the screen.

I quickly replied:

Something came up. Reschedule my flight ASAP.

“Miss Diana?” the doctor called.

“Yes?”

“You lost a lot of blood. But you’ve received treatment. You’ll be discharged soon.”

“That’s perfect. Thank you.”

He smiled and left.

I stood slowly, grabbing my luggage.

No missed calls.

Not even one.

Eduardo’s son shot me… and he didn’t even check if I was alive.

The door opened.

Cassia walked in casually, her high heels clicking softly against the floor.

I rolled my eyes.

“What do you want? Didn’t you twist your ankle?”

She giggled.

“Oh, that?” she waved dismissively. “I just wanted to see what Eduardo would do if we were both in danger.”

Her smile widened.

“And he chose me.”

I scoffed.

“Have fun, Cassia. I’m leaving.”

She stepped in front of me.

“There’s something you should know,” she said, her voice dripping with satisfaction.

“I’m pregnant with Eduardo’s child.”

Everything went silent.

My heart shattered… but I refused to show it.

Eight years.

Eight years of staying beside Eduardo.

Eight years of being nothing more than a shadow.

And every time we were together… he made sure I took birth control.

He always wanted another child.

Just…

Not with me.

Diana’s POV

“Goodbye, Cassia,” I said coldly.

I stepped to the side, expecting her to move.

She didn’t.

Instead, she crossed her arms, blocking the hospital doorway like she had all the time in the world.

My phone vibrated in my hand.

Flight rescheduled.

I glanced at the time. I couldn’t afford to miss it again. The longer I stayed, the greater the chance Eduardo would try to trap me back into his world.

And I desperately needed distance—from the Ricci family, from the blood-stained power struggles, from the suffocating life inside that mafia empire.

“Move,” I said, my patience thinning.

Cassia tilted her head, smiling like a cat toying with a wounded mouse.

“I want to see you cry.”

I scoffed.

“Too bad. That’s not happening.”

I dragged my suitcase forward.

Cassia suddenly pulled out a few dollar bills from her designer purse and tossed them at my feet.

“Use this for your fare,” she giggled mockingly.

Something inside me snapped.

Before I could stop myself—

My hand swung.

Slap.

The sound echoed sharply in the hospital room.

Cassia stumbled backward, clutching her cheek.

“How dare you?” I hissed, my voice trembling with anger.

Cassia immediately let out a loud cry.

Right on cue.

Footsteps rushed toward the room.

Eduardo burst in, Lucan following closely behind him, along with two Ricci bodyguards stationed outside.

“What did you do, Diana?” Eduardo barked when he saw Cassia’s reddened cheek.

I laughed bitterly.

“What did I do?” I shot back. “You heard her scream and came running. Where were you when your son shot me? Where were you when I passed out from blood loss?”

“Bad woman!” Lucan shouted angrily. “You hurt Cassia!”

“It’s not her fault, Lucan,” Cassia sobbed, her voice trembling pitifully. “I came to beg her to stay… but she refused… so I offered her money for her fare… and she slapped me…”

I clenched my fists.

“Stop this madness, Cassia. Stop playing the victim,” I snapped.

“No, you stop this, Diana!” Eduardo snapped sharply. “I’ve indulged you long enough. I’ll take you back… as long as you apologize to Cassia.”

I stared at him.

Then I laughed.

A hollow, bitter laugh.

“Even if you were the last man on earth, Eduardo… I would never be with you.”

His face darkened.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“For eight years, you never wanted a child with me,” I said calmly. “Only for me to find out—on the same day your son shot me—that Cassia is pregnant with your child.”

Eduardo shot Cassia a quick glance.

A silent question.

Why did you tell her?

“We can talk about that later,” he said quickly. “Just come home. We’ll resolve everything.”

I scoffed.

“In your dreams, Mister.”

I turned and walked away.

Behind me, Eduardo’s voice echoed down the corridor.

“Diana! Don’t walk away from me!”

But I didn’t stop.

For the first time in eight years…

I didn’t look back.

---

An hour later, I arrived at the airport.

The VIP terminal buzzed quietly with private security and luxury travelers. Even here, I kept my head low, not wanting any Ricci connections to recognize me.

Just as I checked in, my phone rang.

Eduardo.

I hesitated… then picked up.

“What do you want?” I asked coldly.

“I know you're upset about Cassia’s pregnancy,” he said. “Come back. Give me a child. I’ll put your name in my will. You and your child will live well.”

I let out a cold laugh.

“Go to hell, Eduardo.”

I hung up.

Then blocked his number.

The flight was long.

I slept halfway through, exhaustion finally catching up to me.

When the plane landed, I stepped into the arrivals hall, dragging my luggage behind me.

That’s when I saw him.

A tall man in a tuxedo holding a placard:

Diana Blake

I walked toward him.

He immediately straightened.

“Miss Blake,” he greeted respectfully. “I’m Tony. Your personal guard.”

I nodded slightly.

He took my luggage and escorted me outside.

A black armored SUV waited near the curb—bulletproof glass, discreet security convoy behind it.

This… was a different world.

We drove through quiet streets until the car slowed before massive iron gates.

They opened automatically.

The mansion beyond was grand, elegant, and heavily guarded.

My grandparents’ estate.

John and Linda Blake.

Owners of one of the most powerful corporate empires in San Francisco—an empire rumored to have deep ties with old-money syndicates and underground financial networks.

And I…

Was their sole heiress.

Three years ago, they reached out to me.

They told me my mother had been their daughter—who ran away for love, abandoning her wealthy family to marry my father.

When my mother fell ill with cancer… she contacted them quietly.

She told them about me.

But when they asked me to return and take over…

I refused.

Because back then…

I still believed I could win Eduardo’s heart.

I was foolish.

The car stopped.

The front doors opened.

“Diana! Welcome home!”

My grandmother rushed forward, followed by my grandfather.

They wrapped me in a warm embrace.

“We’re so glad you're here,” they said.

My chest tightened slightly.

I smiled.

“Thank you… for accepting me.”

My grandmother cupped my face gently.

“Nonsense, Diana. Everything here belongs to you.”

My grandfather nodded firmly.

“Yes, Diana,” he said.

“You’re now the new heiress of the Blake Empire.”

I smiled slowly.

Because this time…

I wasn’t returning as someone abandoned.

I was returning with power.

And this time…

It was my turn to settle the score.