7

Ayana’s POV

The kidnapper shoved me hard to the floor. The coarse floorboards scraped across my cheek, splitting the skin open in an instant.

Zella glared down at me with hatred burning in her eyes. Her finger—barely clinging on by a thin layer of flesh—was mangled from my bite.

If I’d just sunk my teeth a little deeper, I could have bitten it clean off.

I kept staring at her, my gaze sharp and unyielding.

That look drove her into a frenzy.

Blinded by rage, she lunged at me. Her legs kicked at me again and again, each blow filled with manic fury.

“Die! Die! How dare you bite me?! Go to hell!” she shrieked.

By the time she finally stopped, panting heavily, my body was already battered, and my breath faint.

She let out a cold, triumphant laugh.

“Break one of her legs!” she ordered casually. “I want to see how long you can keep up that tough act, Ayana.”

The kidnappers obeyed without hesitation.

A moment later, white-hot pain shot up my leg as the sound of bone cracking filled the air.

A scream tore itself from my throat.

The agony was unbearable. Darkness swallowed me whole, and before I slipped under, the last thing I saw was Zella’s savage, gleeful smile.

I was imprisoned in that abandoned factory for three whole days.

It wasn’t until the sixth day that they finally released me.

I knew why—tomorrow was the deadline. I had promised Stellan to withdraw the lawsuit and record a video clarifying the truth.

Zella was about to graduate with her master’s degree. If she were caught and thrown in prison at such a critical time, her reputation would be ruined, no matter if she was released later.

During those days, I thought about everything.

My mother. My younger brother. Both had suffered because of me.

And my child…

Just then, my phone rang.

It was the hospital calling to remind me about the medical fees.

Instinctively, I recited my card number. But in the next second, I froze; Stellan had already emptied that account.

My wounds burned so badly I could barely stand.

But the thought of Mom, still unconscious in the hospital, filled me with dread. If Zella targeted her again, my mother had no way to defend herself.

I immediately called my father.

After I explained everything, he agreed to transfer my mother somewhere safer at once.

Only then did I breathe a little easier. Summoning what little strength I had left, I dragged myself to the hospital.

When I arrived, I was stunned—Mom had already been moved to a general ward. She was lying there with no one by her side!

As I handled the discharge papers, I couldn’t hold back anymore. My voice cracked as I asked the doctor what had happened.

The doctor gave me a pitying look.

“Your mother was transferred to the general ward seven days ago. It was your husband who signed the papers. I warned him that her condition was too fragile, that moving her so suddenly could be dangerous. But he still insisted and even had her medication stopped.

“Seven days… Honestly, it’s a miracle she survived this long.”

His words tore at my chest. My vision blurred with hot tears.

So it was never about the lawsuit.

No matter what I did, Stellan would never spare my mother!

At that moment, hatred consumed me. I wanted nothing more than to drag Stellan and Zella to hell with me.

But I couldn’t. My brother was still waiting for me to save him.

Biting back my despair, I bandaged my wounds as best I could, and then, I returned to the villa.

I gathered all of my documents and sat down to print a divorce agreement.

Just as I held the papers in my hand, Stellan’s voice rang out behind me.

“Ayana? What are you holding?”

8

Ayana’s POV

Stellan looked at me with the same gentle eyes as before.

When he noticed the wounds all over my body, his heartache was written all over his face.

“Why do you have so many injuries? What happened to you?”

Even now, he continued to put on his act in front of me.

Disgust churned in my stomach, and I nearly gagged. I quickly avoided his outstretched hand.

His gaze darkened, and a crease formed between his brows.

“Ayana, it’s my fault. I failed to stop them from hurting you. For the sake of you, your younger brother, and your mother, you must withdraw the lawsuit tomorrow. You must also record a clarification video. Otherwise, I really don’t know what else they might do to you.”

He lowered his voice, his eyes turning red. “If… If something ever happened to you, I wouldn’t want to live either.”

Watching his performance, I gave a cold and expressionless sneer before taking out the divorce agreement and handing it to him.

“Sign this, and I’ll withdraw the lawsuit and record the video tomorrow.”

He leaned forward, trying to see what it was. But I pressed my hand down on the agreement.

“You just need to sign it.”

He studied me for a moment. Then, convinced that I wouldn’t harm him, he curved his lips into a faint smile and signed his name.

“I believe you would never hurt me, darling. As long as you’re safe, I’ll do anything you ask.”

“Is that so?” I sneered. “Then, as thanks, tomorrow I’ll make sure to give you a very special gift.”

My cold laughter cut through the air.

He frowned slightly, his gaze brushing over the wounds on my body as if they had burned him. He seemed to believe that my strange behavior was simply the result of everything I had suffered recently.

With a sigh, he stepped forward, wanting to pull me into his arms.

Before I could dodge, his phone rang again.

One glance at the screen, and he said, “Darling, I need to go prepare for tomorrow. Get some rest.”

Just like that, without waiting for my reply, he hurried away.

As his figure disappeared through the door, I gathered all of my identification documents.

In his study, I left a photocopy of the divorce agreement.

At the entrance of the villa, the bodyguards moved to stop me.

But it was already too late; my father’s car had arrived to pick me up.

Without hesitation, I climbed in and tossed my SIM card out the window.

Tomorrow, Stellan and Zella would receive the very first big “gift” I had prepared for them!