Chapter 2

I lay alone on the cold operating table.

The doctor held my hand, offering a sympathetic look.

"Mrs. Thorne, due to your old physical injuries, I am so sorry... but we couldn't save the baby."

The pain was unbearable. I gripped the bedsheets tightly as tears slid down my temples in silence.

Suddenly, my phone rang. The nurse swiped the screen and held it to my ear.

Dominic's furious roar exploded through the speaker:

"Serena! You have completely disappointed me! How could you do this to Scarlett?!"

Confused and exhausted, I whispered in a raspy voice:

"What... what are you talking about?"

"Scarlett has been kidnapped! And the kidnappers sent me a location—it's the beach villa under your name!" Dominic screamed hysterically.

That villa was a private asset my father had gifted me when I retired.

But after I chose to marry Dominic and broke ties with my family, I had never stepped foot in that place again.

"Who else could it be but you?!" Dominic raged.

I was in too much pain to speak. I could only shake my head frantically.

But Dominic couldn't see me. Hearing no response, he snapped viciously:

"If anything happens to Scarlett or the baby, I will make you pay a thousand times over!"

The line went dead, leaving only the mechanical beep.

The nurse gave me an awkward, pitying look and put the phone away.

I closed my eyes in utter exhaustion.

My heart was completely numb.

When the surgery was over, the nurse wheeled me out of the operating room.

Before I could even open my eyes, Dominic suddenly appeared.

Ignoring the doctor's protests, he ripped the blanket off me and grabbed my wrist in a crushing grip.

"Get up. You're coming with me."

The doctor rushed over in a panic.

"She just had surgery! She can't leave the bed yet, you can't—"

"Get out of my way."

Dominic shoved the doctor aside and violently dragged me off the bed.

A sharp, tearing pain shot through my lower abdomen. I nearly collapsed right there.

"Dominic, I can't..."

Before I could finish, I was shoved brutally into the back of his SUV.

The sheer pain caused me to black out almost instantly.

I don't know how much time passed before a bucket of ice-cold water shocked me awake.

I gasped, my eyes flying open in confusion.

Dominic threw the empty metal bucket onto the concrete floor with a loud clang. He stepped forward and grabbed me by the throat.

"Serena, have I been too soft on you over the years? Is that why you've become so cruel and spoiled that you can't even spare an unborn child?!"

My body shook uncontrollably. I trembled, barely able to form words through my blue lips.

"I... I didn't do it. It wasn't me..."

But Dominic didn't believe a single word.

With bloodshot eyes, he dragged me out of the car and threw me into the beach villa.

Scarlett was tied to a concrete pillar in the living room, her pregnant belly prominent. She was crying hysterically.

"Dominic! Thank God you're here! Save our baby!"

Seeing me, her tears flowed even faster.

"Serena, if you hate me that much, I can leave! Why did you have to hurt my baby?!"

I shook my head weakly.

"It wasn't me. I didn't do anything!"

"Boss, the perimeter is clear. The kidnappers must have fled," Hunter, Dominic's right-hand man, reported as he ran in. "The security cameras were wiped. They knew what they were doing."

Once they confirmed there was no danger, they quickly untied Scarlett.

Dominic immediately pulled her into his arms, murmuring comforting words.