The instant the scalding soup flew through the air, I moved on pure instinct, throwing myself over Luca to shield him.

"Ahhh!"

Luca's scream tore through the restaurant's elegant atmosphere.

Although I blocked most of it, the hot liquid still splashed onto his pale forearms and chest.

His skin instantly turned a raw, angry red, and blisters began to form.

And the one who did it, Finn, immediately burst into a theatrical wail, playing the victim.

"Mommy! That woman tried to hit me!"

He was completely unharmed, yet he cried more pitifully than Luca. "I was so scared, my hand slipped and I dropped the soup...."

His pathetic lie instantly drew the attention of Santino and Riley as they walked over.

"Finn! My baby!" Riley snatched Finn into her arms, her eyes flashing as she accused me, "Erin, how could you be so cruel? Finn was only trying to share his soup with Luca. Why would you push him?"

I held Luca, who was trembling in pain, my eyes burning with rage.

"Riley, drop the act!" I pointed to Finn's perfectly clean hands. "He did it on purpose! Look! Luca is the one who's burned!"

Santino strode over. When his gaze landed on Luca's angry red blisters, a sharp intake of breath escaped him and he instinctively reached out a hand.

But then his eyes met Riley's.

He stopped, withdrew his hand, and swept the "frightened" Finn into his arms, soothing him gently. "It's okay, Finn. Don't be afraid."

"Erin," he said, turning to me, his voice cold as ice. "When did you become so hysterical? Accusing a child who was only trying to be kind?"

I was so furious I couldn't speak. I pointed at the angry red welts on Luca's arm. "You call this sharing? Santino, are you blind? That soup was boiling!"

"Enough!"

Santino cut me off impatiently. "All I see is you screaming, and Finn terrified of you."

Luca was covered in a cold sweat from the pain, his small hand gripping my clothes, unable to even cry out anymore.

"Mommy, it hurts. It hurts so much."

My heart was bleeding. Santino, that's your son moaning in pain. Can't you hear him?

I didn't have time to argue with them. I scooped Luca up and tried to rush out. "I need to get Luca to a hospital. His burns need to be treated."

Santino glanced at the blisters on Luca's arm, his brow furrowing as if the sight was an ugly inconvenience.

"Leaving so soon?"

"No one is leaving after upsetting my guest."

Black-suited bodyguards immediately blocked the exit.

I held Luca, turning back in despair. "What are you doing? He could be permanently scarred!"

Santino, while gently patting Finn's back, said casually, "You can go. But first, you apologize to Finn."

"What did you say?"

"Your outburst scared Finn. Apologize. And keep apologizing until he forgives you."

Luca began to tremble violently in my arms, his breathing growing shallow. "Mommy, it hurts so bad. Am I going to die?"

His was the injury, but the pain was all mine.

On one side was my dignity. On the other was my son's pain.

Looking at Santino's cold profile, I finally understood. In this man's heart, Luca and I were worth less than stray dogs.

To appease Riley's son, he would let his own flesh and blood suffer.

"Hurry up. My patience is wearing thin," Santino urged.

Finn peeked out from Santino's arms, waiting for my humiliation.

I closed my eyes, a single tear tracing a path down my cheek.

For Luca, I would walk through hell.

I turned, faced the boy who had burned my son, and said,

"I'm sorry."

Santino watched me coldly. "Is that how you apologize?"

Luca's breathing grew more ragged.

Finally, I bowed my head. "I was wrong. Please, I beg you, let me take him to the hospital."

Santino looked surprised that I would go that far, hesitating for the first time, his jaw tight. "I didn't tell you to..."

I didn't wait for him to finish. The moment the bodyguards were distracted, I bolted.

At the nearest emergency room, doctors treated Luca's burns.

Second-degree burns, deep enough to threaten nerve damage.

After his wounds were treated, Luca finally fell into an exhausted sleep.

Watching my son, wrapped in bandages, I leaned against the cold hallway wall, completely drained.

I dragged myself to the end of the hall to pay the bill. As I passed the smoking area, I overheard two familiar voices.

"Santino, wasn't that a bit much back there?" Riley's voice was probing. "What if Erin gets really angry and tries to run away with Luca? He is your biological son, after all."

The air was silent for a few seconds.

Then came Santino's mocking laugh.

"Run? Where could she run?"

Through the glass, I saw him leaning against the railing. "She cut all ties with her family to marry me. She endured five years in the slums for me. Just now, she was willing to bow to Finn for that kid."

"She and that worthless kid would do anything for me. This is just a little tantrum."

"She'll never leave me."

So he knew.

He knew exactly how pathetically I had loved him for five years, how I'd believed his lies like a fool, how I'd endured humiliation just for the dream of a normal life.

And because he knew, he dared to trample on my dignity so recklessly.

But you're wrong, Santino.

This time, it's not a tantrum.

Once a heart is truly dead, there are no second chances. And I will make sure you never find us again.

The day Luca was discharged, the sky was a dreary gray. In just two weeks, my baby had been hospitalized twice.

I used the last of my money to hire a car, intending to take Luca back to that moldy basement to pack our things.

"Mommy, when are we leaving this place?" Luca looked up, his small face full of hope.

I ruffled his soft, curly hair. "Soon, Luca. As soon as Mommy mails the last documents to the council of elders, we'll—"

Before I could finish, a black van shot out from a quiet side street and slammed into the front of our car.

The deafening crash left my head spinning.

Before I could react, the car door was yanked open.

Two men in black ski masks burst in, knocking out the driver before grabbing Luca.

"Let him go!" I screamed, but the street was empty.

One of the men backhanded me across the face. A rag reeking of ether was pressed over my nose and mouth.

Before darkness consumed me, the last thing I heard was Luca's heart-wrenching cry.

"Mommy!"

When I woke up, the salty, damp smell of the sea filled my nose.

I was tied to a rusty iron chair in an abandoned warehouse on the docks, surrounded by shipping containers.

"Mommy..."

A weak voice came from my feet. Luca was curled up on the ground, his small body shivering from fear and cold.

"Awake?"

A brute of a man crouched in front of me, toying with a dagger. He used the tip to lift my chin. "The life of Mrs. Connor has to be worth a lot, right?"

He tossed a phone onto my lap. "Call Santino Connor. Ten million for the two of you."

"You have the wrong person," I rasped, my throat raw. "He won't pay. In his eyes, we are worthless."

"Cut the crap!"

The kidnapper slapped me hard across the face. "You're Don Connor's wife. You gave him a son. You think he won't pay a little money for you?"

I tasted blood. "We're getting a divorce," I said, my voice hoarse.

The kidnapper clearly didn't believe me. He grabbed Luca, pressing the flat of the cold blade to the child's delicate neck.

"Make the call! Or we'll see how he likes getting his son back in a body bag!"

Luca was so terrified tears streamed down his face, but he didn't dare make a sound.

"No! Stop! I'll call!" I screamed, my composure shattering as I dialed the number I knew by heart.

The phone rang. And rang.

It rang five times, then went dead.

The kidnapper's face darkened. He dragged Luca to the edge of the pier, dangling him over the dark water.

"Ah!" Luca cried out in terror.

"Don't! Don't hurt him! I'll call again!"

I cried out, dialing again.

A third time. A fourth. A tenth.

Each time the call went unanswered, the kidnapper lowered Luca closer to the churning waves below.

Luca was so terrified he was on the verge of passing out.

Finally, on the eleventh try, he picked up.

"Santino!" I sobbed, my voice shattered. "Luca and I have been kidnapped! We're at the East End docks! They want ten million, or they'll—"

"This act is getting old, Erin. Would you really go so far as to use your own son just to get my attention?"

I pleaded, betting on whatever shred of humanity he might still have. "It's not an act! They're going to kill him! Can't you hear the water? They're going to throw him in!"

"Enough," he sneered. "You know my accounts are frozen. I don't have a cent. If you want me back in that miserable hovel, find a less pathetic way to do it."

Enraged, the kidnapper snatched the phone. "Santino Connor? If you don't want your wife and kid to become fish food, transfer the money now."

The line was silent for two beats. In the background, I heard the roar of an engine.

Then, Riley's syrupy voice came through. "Santino, Finn's race is about to start. He's waiting for you to wave the flag. Who's being such a buzzkill?"

Santino's voice grew colder. "Listen, whoever you are, there's a limit to how far you should play along with this madwoman's act."

"You want money? It's not happening."

The kidnapper roared in frustration. "You really don't care? I'll kill them right now!"

On the other end of the line, Santino was silent for a long moment. "I don't have time for these games."

"Since you two love playing life-or-death games so much, you can live with the consequences."

With a final click, the line went dead.

The kidnapper stood frozen, staring in disbelief at the dead phone. Then, in a fit of rage, he kicked an iron barrel, sending it clattering across the concrete.

"Damn it! So this is your precious family bond?"

"I wasted my damn time!"

Luca had already fainted from sheer terror. I collapsed in a heap, my forehead striking the concrete. I felt a warm trickle of liquid but registered no pain.

"Since I'm not getting any money, this mother and son are a liability."

The kidnapper grabbed me by the hair. "Don't blame me for this. Blame your cold-blooded Don."

I felt a moment of weightlessness as I was lifted into the air. Then, ice-cold seawater engulfed me.

The salty water flooded my nose and throat. My lungs burned.

I reached desperately for Luca, but a swift undercurrent tore us apart.

As I sank into the depths, only one thought filled my mind.

Santino, I regret it all.

I wish I had never met you.

Some god must have been watching over us, because we didn't die. The next thing I knew, I was waking to the steady beep of a heart monitor.

"Luca... where is my son?!"

As memory returned, I shot up, yanking the IV from my arm.

A nurse rushed to hold me down. "Don't move! A fishing boat rescued you and your son. The boy is in the ICU. He's out of danger."

Ignoring the nurse's protests, I pulled the needle from the back of my hand and stumbled barefoot into the next room.

When I pushed open the door, I saw his small figure.

Luca sat numbly on the bed, staring at his bandaged body, his eyes terrifyingly empty.

"Luca..." I called, my voice choked.

He slowly turned his head. After a moment, he spoke.

"Mommy, can we go now?"

I glanced at the calendar on the wall. Today was the last day of the divorce review period.

"Yes," I said, gently kissing his cold forehead. "Mommy is taking you away right now. We're never coming back."

When I received the official divorce decree, stamped with a wax seal from the Family's administrative office, I felt a moment of unreality.

Five years of marriage, all the love and hate, reduced to this single, flimsy piece of parchment.

I took Luca back to the apartment, a place full of cold memories, and started to pack.

We had very few things, just enough to fill a small suitcase and some essential documents.

The cheap, counterfeit things Santino had bought for his disguise, the dusty plastic wedding ring, I threw them all in the trash.

"What's this charade now?"

A mocking voice came from the doorway.

Santino leaned against the frame, watching me with cold eyes. "The kidnapping stunt failed, so now you're playing the runaway wife?"

"Erin, you have quite a repertoire."

I ignored him, tucking the last toy into Luca's small backpack.

"Erin." He strode over and grabbed my wrist. "I've had enough. Stop testing me."

I finally looked up at him. "Let go."

Santino laughed, a humorless sound. "Fine. Very good."

"Throwing my things out? Playing the runaway? Fine. Then get out."

He let go, flicking his hand in disgust. "I'd like to see how long you last before you come crawling back. Without the Connor family's protection, the two of you wouldn't survive three days in New York."

"When you're done with your tantrum, you know where to find me. Don't expect me to come get you."

Even now, he believed everything I did was just another attempt to get a sliver of his attention.

"You won't have to worry about it."

I picked up the suitcase, took Luca's hand, and walked past him.

I walked away without a hint of hesitation.

"Santino, this time it's real," I said, pausing for a moment without turning back. "Goodbye."

The single word made Santino's back stiffen. Unseen by me, his hand, hidden behind his back, clenched into a white-knuckled fist.

He took a half-step forward as if to chase after me, but finally, he just stopped.

He was sure she loved him the way a dog loves its master. How could she ever truly leave?

Erin leaving Santino was the biggest joke in the world.

Reaching the door, I took a document from my bag and placed it on the entryway table.

This time, I didn't look back.

Half an hour later, at Grand Central Station.

The train whistle blew, and the giant wheels began to turn.

I sat by the window, watching New York City recede, everything from my past fading with it.

Luca was pressed against the window, asking in a small voice, "Mommy, are we really never coming back?"

"Never."

The train picked up speed, the wind whistling past.

I stared at the blurred scenery outside. Tears finally streamed down my face, but a smile of liberation touched my lips.

Santino, I hope you can still smile when you learn the truth.