"Amelia—"

“Mr. Rodrigo! Miss Caroline collapsed in the lobby!” Ryker announced, breathless.

Favio bolted out the door like his life depended on it.

I followed—slowly.

By the time I reached the hallway, he was already on the marble floor, cradling Caroline in his arms like a scene out of some tragic romance movie. Panic etched across his face like war paint.

“Why are you all just standing there?” he barked. “Get the damn doctor up here now!”

The hotel staff scattered like ants. Paramedics swarmed in. A team of private doctors—each probably charging more per hour than most CEOs—was ushered into Caroline’s luxury suite.

Within minutes, Favio was pacing beside her bed, hovering over the doctor like a rabid executive in a crumbling boardroom.

“You said she’d be fine if she followed the prescription! So why the hell did she faint again?!”

The doctor, a calm man with gray hair and diamond cufflinks, gave a smile too rehearsed to be sincere.

“Relax, Mr. Rodrigo. She’s perfectly healthy. In fact—congratulations. Miss Caroline is two months pregnant.”

Silence.

And then… joy.

Raw, unfiltered joy lit up Favio’s face like he’d just closed a billion-dollar merger. Like every dream he'd ever had was suddenly cradled in Caroline’s womb. Like he didn't killed my child for his whore.

I stood there frozen.

Not because I was shocked.

Because I already knew.

I’d seen them. More than once. Twice in the guesthouse. Once in the elevator when they thought I wasn’t home. Another time when I’d come back early from a checkup and heard the creaking from behind the guest room door—their breathless laughter after.

But I told myself lies. Sweet ones. Like a fool clinging to a burning curtain.

"It’s just the hormones," I whispered. "You’re fragile, Amelia. The OB-GYN said no sex until the second trimester. He’s just venting. Just relieving heat... He still loves you."

But love doesn’t look like that.

Love doesn’t sound like her moaning his name while I held onto our unborn child in a bed soaked with worry and blood.

And after the embryo incident—something inside me snapped awake. My eyes opened. Wide. Brutal. Unforgiving.

So now, I just watched him. Smiling. Glowing. Beaming over a child he created while mine was being taken from me.

Caroline shifted slightly and clung to his shirt like a lover in a soap opera. And he let her. He kissed her forehead and murmured something I didn’t even want to hear.

I said nothing.

Because now… now I knew everything. And knowledge is a far crueler weapon than heartbreak ever could be.

Mrs. Cunningham swept into the suite like she owned the entire damn floor, heels clicking like a war drum.

“Oh, my sweet Caroline! Pregnant already? You’re simply radiant—our little miracle-maker!” She grabbed Caroline’s hand with both of hers like she was presenting her with a crown.

Favio smiled at her with eyes that used to belong to me. The kind of look that made you feel chosen.

I turned away.

I wasn’t going to cry. Not here. Not in front of them.

“Amelia,” Caroline called sweetly behind me, voice dripping with venom masked in sugar. “Aren’t you happy for me?”

I paused.

She knew what she was doing. That smug curve in her lips, the satisfied glint in her eye. But before I could say anything, Mrs. Cunningham—always waiting for a moment to strike—cut in like she was born for it.

“Oh, don’t force her to pretend,” she said with a laugh. “She’s probably still bitter about the whole… falling down the stairs and losing the baby situation.”

My stomach clenched.

“She tried and failed, and now the doctor says she won’t be getting pregnant ever again.” She tsked. “Such a shame, really. All that effort, and nothing to show for it. Caroline here gets it done in one try. That’s a real woman.”

She turned to me with mock pity. “I mean, darling… some women were just meant to be mothers. Others? Well. Some people are just… built for tragedy.”

Caroline giggled as if it was the best joke she'd ever heard. And Favio? He just stood there.

Silent.

Didn’t defend me. Didn’t blink. Didn’t breathe in my direction. He was too busy holding Caroline’s hand.

Then Caroline bent her neck.

A silver chain dangled there—my necklace.

The one my mother gave me. The one I wore at her funeral. The one that survived the car crash that killed her. The last real piece of her I had left.

And now it was draped across Caroline’s throat like some accessory off a clearance rack.

My heart dropped.

I stepped forward, voice shaking. “Where did you get that?”

Before she could answer, Favio moved in front of her, blocking me.

“Amelia, don’t start. Caroline’s pregnant. Don’t get hysterical over a necklace.”

I blinked, stunned. “You know what that necklace means to me.”

He looked away. “I’ll buy you another. Hell, I’ll get you hundreds”

“That’s not the point, Favio!” I said, voice cracking. “It’s not just jewelry. It’s the only thing I have left of her.”

Caroline smirked, fingers rising to unclasp it. “Relax. You’re acting like it’s sacred or something.”

She let it fall. A soft clink as the chain hit the marble.

Then she stepped on it. Pressed her Louboutin heel into the pendant until it snapped.

Snap.

I didn’t even think. My hand flew before reason could catch it.

Crack.

Her head jerked to the side. A red mark already blooming on her cheek.

“You psycho bitch!” she screeched, stumbling back.

And then—Mrs. Rodrigo was on me.

Her perfectly manicured hand yanked my arm, and the next thing I knew, she shoved me hard against the wall like she’d been waiting for years to do it.

“How dare you lay a finger on her!” she spat. “No wonder you lost your baby—you probably threw yourself down the stairs for attention!”

I gasped, wind knocked from my lungs. But then Favio grabbed me. Yanked me away from his mother.

For a second, I thought—finally. He’d defend me.

He didn’t.

Instead—

SLAP.

The sound echoed off the walls like gunfire. I tasted copper. My cheek stung.

My eyes met his, wide and trembling. “You hit me.”

His voice was ice. “You put your hands on Caroline again, I'll kill you.”

He didn’t even flinch.

And that was the moment I knew—really knew—I meant nothing.

Not anymore.

“For now,” he said, barely looking at me, “stay away from Caroline. You need time to reflect.”

I laughed. Actually laughed. A sharp, bitter thing that didn’t sound like it belonged to me anymore.

“Take her to her room,” he snapped to the staff. “I don’t want her out until I say so.”

A bodyguard reached for me.

“Don’t touch me.” My voice was low. Frigid.

I stood on my own. No one stopped me.

---

But being locked in a penthouse sounds glamorous until it’s because your billionaire husband wants you out of sight, out of mind.

The gossip still found me. Whispered through cracks, sliding under doors, filtering in with every maid who forgot to shut her mouth properly.

“Mr. Rodrigo stayed in Caroline’s suite again last night. Guess we know who really runs this place now.”

“I heard Caroline was his first love. He only married Amelia because of her embryo. But some say because of family's debt."

“Still, her kid died because of that stem cell transplant… and it wasn’t even enough to fix Caroline. Now Caroline’s pregnant with the heir? Amelia’s days are numbered.”

I heard it all. Every word.

But the worst part? I wasn’t even surprised anymore.

The bitterness was just… dull now. Like the aftermath of a fire. Charred, empty, and silent.

I caught one of the maids outside my room whispering, and when she turned, her eyes widened like she’d seen a ghost.

“M-Mrs. Rodrigo…”

She didn’t mean it. Not anymore.

As she rushed off, she muttered something that hit harder than anything she’d said before.

“Mr. Rodrigo said… from now on, the only Mrs. Rodrigo is Caroline.”

That night, my body gave out.

Fever. Chills. I could barely walk, but I still dragged myself downstairs to the in-house medical office. My vision was swimming.

“Please,” I whispered, clutching the wall for balance. “I just need something for the fever. Anything.”

The family doctor didn’t even meet my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Miss Amelia. Mr. Rodrigo instructed us to prioritize Caroline’s needs. You’re no longer—”

I didn’t hear the rest.

I laughed, hollow and cracked, like something inside me finally gave up trying to pretend it was still whole.

On the way back to my suite, I passed Caroline’s door. It was cracked open. I shouldn’t have looked.

But I did.

Inside, Favio was wrapped around her like she was oxygen. Hands on her body. Lips on her neck.

“Easy, love,” she giggled. “We’ve got a billion-dollar baby in there.”

“I know.” His voice was soft, adoring. “Our son. Our legacy.”

I felt sick. But I couldn’t move. Then she said it.

“I wonder if Amelia ever made those same noises. She seems… so boring.”

He groaned, still pressed against her. “Don’t bring her up. She’s cold. Always was. Being with her was like kissing marble. I only married her because I had to.”

I didn’t realize I was crying until I tasted salt.

I bit down on my lip so hard I drew blood. The pain was nothing compared to what I felt inside.

When I finally stumbled back to my room, I collapsed in bed, burning up and empty.

The next morning, I messaged my brother.

"I’m coming home."

His reply came quick.

"Are you serious?! Amelia, this is the best news! Mom and Dad will be over the moon. I’ll book you a ticket right away."

He paused.

"What about Favio?"

"I’ll divorce him."

I lay back, eyes heavy, throat raw. It hurt to breathe.

Then… the door creaked open. I didn’t need to guess.

Caroline strolled in, all silk pajamas and smug confidence, one hand gently resting on her stomach.

“You saw last night, didn’t you?” she purred. “Favio’s been sleeping in my bed for weeks now. And this baby? It’s his. His real legacy.”

I didn’t answer.

She walked over like she owned the place.

“I know you’re not over the whole necklace thing, but… I did that on purpose. That little family heirloom? Smash. Just like that baby of yours.”

My breath caught.

“And here’s the kicker—when I told Favio that your baby’s stem cells might help me? He didn’t even blink. He chose me. He authorized the surgery himself. Personally signed off on it.”

I felt my stomach twist, bile clawing its way up my throat.

But Caroline smiled wider. Crueler.

Then she leaned in, her voice silk-wrapped poison.

“Only… there’s one tiny detail I forgot to mention.”

She giggled. Actually giggled.

“It was a lie.”

I stared at her.

“W-what?”

She rolled her eyes like I was slow. “I paid the doctor to fake the report. Your embryo? Useless to me. It was never about that.”

The room tilted.

“I just… wanted to see,” she whispered, brushing imaginary dust off her designer sleeve. “If Favio would choose me over your child.”

She grinned.

“And he did. Without hesitation. Didn’t ask questions. Didn’t need proof. He was ready to kill your baby for me.”

My breath caught.

She stepped closer, voice sweet as rot. “So I win. Again.”

“G-get out,” I said. My voice cracked, low and shaking.

She tilted her head like she pitied me. “Poor Amelia. Always the backup plan.”

“GET OUT!” I screamed, my throat burning.

Caroline flinched—but just smiled, stepping back with one last look of pity.

“I’d say I’m sorry… but I’m really not.”

She closed the door behind her, and I collapsed against it the second it clicked shut. I really wanted to clawed her face but my body was betraying me.

They didn’t just kill my child.

They killed everything I ever believed in.

And I was done pretending I wasn’t going to burn this empire to the ground. And as I sat there, surrounded by the wreckage of my faith, my love, my motherhood—I made a silent vow.

They will pay.

Every single one of them.

Favio. Caroline. His wretched mother. The doctor who signed the lie. The guards who held me down.

I would dismantle their dynasty piece by piece.

I would ruin them the way they ruined me.

No more tears. No more begging.

The next time they saw me… it would be far too late. I wasn’t just going to survive this.

I was going to make it a blood-stained legend

My fever hadn’t broken. My legs were weak, the room spinning—but I moved anyway.

Sickly, I reached into the drawer of my nightstand and pulled out the crisp manila envelope I’d kept hidden for over a year. The divorce papers. My signature already scrawled across the bottom in ink that had dried long before Caroline ever slithered her way into this house.

Only one signature left.

Favio’s.

I stared at it for a long moment. The weight of everything sat heavy in my chest, but nothing fell from my eyes. I was beyond crying now. Beyond mourning. This wasn’t grief.

It was clarity.

I grabbed my phone and the envelope, then stumbled out of the bedroom, barefoot and burning from the fever, but determined.

I was done being polite. Done being patient. I was going to find Favio, put these papers in his hand, and end whatever illusion we were still living in.

But fate—being the cruel, theatrical bitch she is—had other plans.

Because the moment I reached the stairs, Caroline appeared like a snake uncoiling from the shadows. Before I could step around her, she lunged—grabbing my wrist, eyes gleaming.

And then, like some deranged soap opera villain, she threw herself backward.

We both went tumbling down the grand staircase of the penthouse.

Marble. Because of course it had to be marble.

I hit my back, then my shoulder, then finally slammed my head against the edge of a stair so hard I saw stars. The pain was instant. Blinding. Like déjà vu from that night in the hospital—when I lost my baby.

I couldn’t breathe.

“Favio!” Caroline’s voice shrieked from somewhere below me. “Oh my God—the baby! I think something’s wrong!”

Seriously? That was her game? That was her angle?

Footsteps thundered, and Favio burst into view like some overdramatic hero, except his face didn’t twist in concern for me—no, not even close.

“Caroline, baby—are you okay?” he crouched beside her, touching her face like she was made of porcelain. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should’ve never gone along with that stem cell transfer. If you’re mad, Amelia, then take it out on me—but not on the baby. Please.”

…What?

I blinked up at him from the bottom of the stairs, blood in my mouth, my ribs screaming with every breath.

Wait. Did he just—?

“You’ve really lost it,” he snapped, eyes narrowing when they finally landed on me. “I didn’t think you’d go this far. If anything happens to Caroline or that baby, I’ll make sure you never show your face in Manhattan again.”

Manhattan. Not jail. Not a hospital. No. Because in Favio Rodrigo’s world, being exiled from the billionaire elite was worse than prison.

I tried to speak but my throat burned. My vision blurred again. The edges of the crystal chandelier above me went fuzzy. All I could hear was Caroline’s shaky, angelic voice.

“Favio, I was so scared… she pushed me.”

Liar.

Then I feel it. Hot. Deep. A tearing sensation that made my body seize up like someone had set fire to my insides.

And then—

Blood.

I felt it before I saw it. Warm and wet, running down my thighs, soaking into the silk of my nightgown and pooling beneath me like some slow, horrifying flood. I tried to move, to reach for something—anything—but pain lashed through my stomach so sharp, so violent, I choked on my own breath.

The stitches. From the surgery. From losing the baby.

They’d ruptured.

And God, there was so much blood.

My head hit the cold marble again. My vision flickered, then spiraled out. Darkness took me under like a wave. No warning. No mercy.

***

I woke up to white. Not heaven. Hospital.

Or some version of it—sterile walls, soft beeping somewhere nearby, the smell of antiseptic so strong it made my stomach turn.

I was bandaged. Everywhere. Under the covers, I could feel gauze wrapped tight around my abdomen, my thighs, even one shoulder. My mouth tasted like copper and cotton.

I turned my head—slow, dizzy.

There were no nurses. No machines. No call buttons. No goddamn windows.

Just a room. One bed. One chair.

One man.

Favio.

He stood at the foot of my bed, glass of red wine in his hand like this was a casual dinner party and not the aftermath of an attempted murder.

“Oh,” he said, spotting the blood on the floor by the base of the bed. “Wow. You’re so dramatic.”

He sipped the wine.

Like nothing was wrong.

I tried to speak, but my lips were cracked and dry. I could barely whisper, let alone scream. My throat stung, my ribs ached, and every inch of me felt like it had been stitched back together with barbed wire.

Then he raised the divorce paper. Read the first page, then flipped to the last.

His name. My name.

Only his signature was missing.

He laughed. Low and cold and cruel.

Then without a word, he ripped it straight down the middle.

The sound of it—paper tearing—it hit harder than I expected.

“You want to divorce me?” he said, voice soaked in amusement. “Not until Caroline is okay. You owe her. After everything she’s done for you? You really think you get to just walk away now?”

I opened my mouth, tried to say something—anything—but all that came out was a raw, painful sound.

He pulled his phone from his pocket as it rang, smirk already blooming across his face.

“Hey, baby,” he said, turning slightly toward the window like I wasn’t even there. “Yeah. Yeah, she’s awake. She looks like hell, but she’s breathing. Don’t worry.”

He paused, laughed at something she said, then turned back to me. His eyes scanned my face—bloodied, swollen, helpless—and yet there was still that gleam in them. Like he enjoyed this.

“I know you hate me,” he said, tucking the phone against his shoulder. “But I also know you’re still in love with me too. You can’t let go. You never could. Don’t fight it, Amelia.”

He stepped closer, lowering his voice like he was telling me something romantic.

“If you want… you and Caroline can both be my wives. Let’s be happy. Just the three of us.”

That was it.

I spat.

Right in his face. Blood and bile, the only weapon I had left.

“Go. To. Hell.”