Chapter 1

I woke up on an abortion bed with my wrists strapped down and the doctor was already preparing the instruments.

“Abort the baby now,” my husband, Colter Vancourth, ordered.

“What? No!” I cried, struggling against the restraints. “Colter! What are you doing? I'm six months pregnant! Let me go!”

He didn't even look at me. “She’s pregnant too.”

My struggling stopped.

“What?”

“Helena is one month pregnant with my child.”

My heart sank.

“What does that have to do with my baby?”

“She wants her child to be my only heir. She told me she won't forgive me if I let your baby live. She wants her child to have everything.”

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

“So you're choosing your mistress one-month-old baby over our six-month-old baby?! How could you!”

Colter's face stayed cold.

“Yes.”

I shook my head. “No, please. That's your child too!”

“We can make another one.”

My voice broke. “This is our baby, Colter!”

“Helena comes first.”

My stomach turned.

“You're insane!”

He looked at the doctor. “Start.”

“NO!”

I screamed and fought against the restraints.

“Colter, please! Don't do this!”

But he didn't move. The doctor stepped closer, and everything went dark.

...

When I woke up, my baby was gone. I couldn't even cry at first. I just stared at the ceiling, unable to process what had happened. My hands moved to my stomach, but there was nothing there anymore.

Then the door opened.

Colter walked in wearing his black suit. He was the Mafia Don of the Vancourt Blood Organization and the president of Vancourt International Holdings, but right then, he didn't look like my husband.

He looked like the man everyone feared.

He dropped a stack of papers on my blanket.

“Sign the divorce papers. Helena's uncomfortable with us being married. I need her to calm down or she will abort my heir too.”

I looked at the papers, then at him.

“Two hundred million dollars. Cash. You'll have more than enough to live comfortably. Just sign it and we're done.”

I didn't argue anymore. I picked up the pen and signed. My hand was shaking so badly that my signature barely looked like mine.

Colter stared at me for a few seconds. He seemed almost annoyed that I agreed so easily.

“Don't cause trouble after the divorce. And while everything is being settled, don't let me hear you're sleeping around. If I find out you are, you'll regret it.” He took the papers and walked out.

Six years of marriage. Three years before that, I had been holding his hand and believing every promise he'd made about forever.

Now I was alone in a hospital bed after losing our baby because his mistress was pregnant and upset.

A few minutes later, I heard his voice outside. He was talking to the doctor.

“When the anesthesia wears off, don't give her anything for the pain.”

The doctor went quiet.

My tears finally fell.

I turned toward the wall and curled up on the bed. My hands moved to my stomach again.

Empty.

Our baby was gone.

And Colter didn't even care.

The nurse came in later to change my dressings. She stopped when she saw my face.

“It's time, Donna.”

“I'm not his Donna anymore.”

She didn't say anything. She quietly changed my bandages while I stared at the ceiling.

After a while, the pain got worse.

“C-can I have something for the pain?”

The nurse looked nervous. “I'm sorry. The Don told us not to give you anything.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

So I stayed there and endured it.

My body hurt, but losing my baby hurt more.

…

During my stays in the hospital, Helena always came to see me.

She had been visiting every day since I woke up, and every time she came, she wore something that belonged to me. That day, it was one of my dresses, my jewelry, and even the perfume I used to wear around Colter.

She stood beside my hospital bed, looking completely comfortable.

“I'm sorry, Faye,” she said with a small smile. “You have to suffer because of me. It's just that Colter doesn't love you.”

Then she laughed softly, turned around, and walked out as if she'd just won something.

I didn't say anything.

What was the point?

...

The next day, I was finally discharged.

I thought Colter would come for me, but he didn't. While I was still waiting, my phone buzzed.

It was a message from him.

“You're not VIP. Go home now.”

I stared at the screen for a few seconds.

Then another message came.

“You're still my wife, so you know where you belong.”

I looked around the hospital room before putting my phone away. I left the hospital alone and returned to the Vancourt estate by myself.

…

At the top of the stairs, the butler stopped me. “Miss Faye, you can't go into the master bedroom anymore. Don Colter and Donna Helena used it now.”

I looked at her. “And where am I supposed to sleep?”

She pointed to a small room at the end of the hallway. “Your room is there.”

I stared at the door for a moment before nodding. “Alright. I understand.”

This house used to be mine too. I had chosen the curtains, picked the tiles, and spent hours choosing the roses for the garden. Now Helena had our bedroom, while I was being sent to a small room that smelled like bleach and old boxes.

...

That night, I couldn't sleep. I kept staring at the ceiling and thinking about my baby. Then my phone suddenly buzzed.

A message from Helena.

I opened it and froze. She was lying beside Colter in our bed, smiling at the camera. She was wearing the necklace he once gave me, and beneath the photo was a message.

“Don't worry, Faye. Your baby's stem cells are already being processed. Soon, they'll be part of my necklace. Thank you.”

My fingers went cold. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she wanted me to know that she had won.

...

The next morning, I went downstairs and found Helena in the living room. She was wearing one of my silk nightgowns and ordering the staff around as if she had lived there for years.

“This chair is ugly. Get rid of it.”

The butler hesitated. “Donna Helena, that was Miss Faye's wedding gift.”

Helena rolled her eyes. “Everything in this house belongs to Colter now, so it belongs to me too.”

Then she saw me, and her smile widened.

“Oh, Faye. You're awake.”

I didn't answer.

Colter was sitting on the sofa, checking his phone.

“Come eat,” he said without looking at me.

I slowly walked toward the dining room, and Helena followed. She sat beside Colter and started feeding him fruit, acting like she owned the entire house. I sat across from them and quietly ate my breakfast, trying to ignore them.

Then Helena suddenly laughed.

“Faye, I heard you loved your baby so much.”

My hand stopped.

She smiled at me. “That must've hurt.”

I looked down at my plate, but she leaned closer and continued.

“Too bad I hated it. I told Colter to abort it, and he listened to me. You know, my baby comes first.”

My chest tightened. She wasn't finished.

“And don't worry. The stem cells are already being processed. I'm going to have them made into my necklace and wear it.”

She touched the necklace around her neck and smiled. “Can you imagine? Your baby's stem cells around my neck. I'll wear it every day.”

I couldn't eat anymore. I slowly put my spoon down and looked at her with so much hatred.

Why was she enjoying this so much?

“You're proud of that?”

Helena laughed. “Of course. Colter chose me over you. He chose me over your baby too.”

I looked at Colter, but he didn't stop her or defend me. He simply remained seated beside her as if none of her words mattered.

Something inside me finally snapped.

I looked back at Helena. “Helena, do you know why Colter never brings you to real dinners?”

Her painted smile cracked.

“Because he is embarrassed by you. Just like right now.”

Before the last word even settled, Colter stood and his hand connected with my face.

The world rang.

His voice was low and lethal.

“Enough!”