Vince's POV

After Isabella left, the only sound in the hospital room was Sophia’s weak sobbing.

I should have been relieved. I’d saved the only thing that mattered—my heir. But a raw, jagged feeling was tearing at my gut.

All I could see was Isabella’s face, her eyes when she’d whispered, 'My baby is dead.'

They were like cold ash.

Just then, Dr. Martin walked in, holding a file.

"Boss," he hesitated, sensing the tension in the room. "We have Miss Sophia’s detailed blood work."

"Read it," I commanded, wanting this whole nightmare to be over.

"Her injuries are superficial, and the blood loss wasn't life-threatening." Dr. Martin paused, taking a deep breath as if steeling himself. "And... the report shows her HCG levels are... completely normal. She was never pregnant."

The room went dead silent.

Time froze.

Slowly, like a rusted machine, I turned to face Sophia.

"What?"

"I... I thought I was. I really did," Sophia stammered, her face whiter than the sheets. "My period was late, I just..."

"You lied," my voice was low, dangerous, the calm before a hurricane. "You fucking lied to me!"

"Vince, I love you! I just wanted to have your baby so badly!"

"Love?" I lunged forward and wrapped my hand around her throat, lifting her from the bed as a hellish rage consumed me. "You made me murder my own flesh and blood! For a phantom you cooked up in your head!"

Sophia choked and gagged, her face turning purple.

I threw her aside like a piece of trash.

I sacrificed Isabella's child because I thought I was getting an heir I could control.

But now... that heir was nothing but a goddamn lie.

I stormed out of the hospital and drove home like a madman.

Isabella... Bella...

Maybe I can beg for her forgiveness.

We could have another baby. We could start over.

But when I burst through the door, I was met with a scene of total destruction.

An empty hole on the wall where our wedding photo used to hang. Shards of glass covering the floor.

Every gift I'd ever given her was smashed to pieces.

Her closets were bare.

She was gone.

She was really, truly gone.

A tsunami of regret and fear crashed over me, drowning me.

I lost her. I lost my child. I lost everything... because of a lie.

A raw, animal sound tore from my throat as I collapsed to my knees.

Just then, the landline rang.

I lunged for it like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline.

"Bella? Is that you? Where are you?" my voice was a desperate plea. "Come home. We can talk. Please!"

"Vince," her voice on the other end was pure ice, "our marriage died with our child."

"No! That was a mistake! I didn't know she was lying! We can—"

"The divorce papers will be on your desk tomorrow. We're done."

"Isabella, please—"

"Don't ever call me again, Vince."

The line went dead, leaving only a cold, hollow silence.

I let the phone drop from my hand and crumpled to the floor. My world had shattered.

——

Isabella's POV

The DeLuca estate was magnificent in the dawn light.

I hadn’t been back in five years.

The guards at the gate recognized me instantly, their posture snapping to attention.

"Welcome home, Princess."