Chapter 1

I had been married to Ethan Vance, the ruthless heir of the Vance Mafia Syndicate, for five years. Yet, the time we spent actually talking to each other was pitifully scarce.

His heart belonged entirely to Scarlett Drake, his elite female assassin.

On our wedding day, when he heard that Scarlett had been shot, Ethan abandoned me at the altar to save her. I grabbed his arm, begging him to stay, only to be met with his cold sneer:

"Get out of my way, Sera. You’re nothing but a nuisance!"

During our honeymoon, he received a distress signal from Scarlett and abandoned me on a remote island. I nearly died at the hands of kidnappers.

And now, ambushed by a rival gang, I lay on the cold ground with three stab wounds. Yet, Ethan demanded that the medics treat Scarlett first—even though she only had a minor scratch.

Clutching my bleeding stomach, I knelt in the dirt and begged him:

"Ethan, please save me first... I’m pregnant. This is our baby!"

But he shoved me aside carelessly, muttering a half-hearted excuse:

"We can have other babies. But Scarlett’s wound can’t wait!"

The ambulance sped away, kicking up a cloud of dust.

In that pool of blood, my body and my baby grew cold together.

My baby died.

And on that day, Ethan, the woman who loved you to her very bones died with him.

By the time the blood stopped flowing, my vision was blurring.

Just as I thought death was claiming me, hurried footsteps echoed from the distance.

"Stay with me if you want to live! Press here!"

A deep, unfamiliar male voice barked.

He grabbed my hand, pressing it firmly against the gash on my abdomen. Then, he lifted me from the pool of blood and ran toward a speeding car.

Before I slipped into utter darkness, I heard him growl into his radio:

"To the hospital. Save her at all costs. The woman Ethan Vance threw away? I’m keeping her."

But when I woke up, the hospital room was empty. A nurse walked in to change my IV drip, and I seized the chance to ask:

"Do you know where the gentleman who brought me here is?"

The nurse blinked in surprise.

"Oh, that kind gentleman? Once he knew you were out of danger, he paid your medical bills and left. He didn't leave a name, but he specifically told us to make sure you rest well and not worry about the costs."

He left?

My brow furrowed.

From what he said before I passed out, he clearly knew Ethan.

But who was he? Why save me? What was his motive?

Seeing how stressed I looked, the nurse finished adjusting my meds and gently advised:

"Don't overthink things right now. You just had a miscarriage. You need absolute rest."

With that, she left the room.

Miscarriage...

My hand instinctively drifted to my bandaged stomach. It was flat.

My baby was really gone.

Just as waves of agonizing grief threatened to drown me, the ward door swung open.

It was Ethan.

He rushed to my bedside, looking relieved.

"Sera, you’re awake! When I sent my men back to get you, the alley was already empty. They said a bystander found you and brought you here. I came as soon as I heard!"

As he spoke, he gently reached his hand toward my lower belly.

"I’m just glad you’re okay. So... how is our baby?"

I stared at him with cold, dead eyes. My voice was eerily calm.

"Dead."

Ethan’s hand froze mid-air. He looked up, locking eyes with me.

"What... what did you say?"

His shocked reaction was utterly laughable.

I turned my face away, my voice dripping with pure sarcasm.

"I said, the baby is dead!"

"Didn't you already expect this when you chose to save Scarlett first? Who are you putting on this fake, grieving father act for?"

Predictably, the moment I mentioned Scarlett, Ethan's face darkened.

His brows furrowed in anger as he defended himself.

"Sera, how can you say that? I had no choice. Scarlett’s condition was..."

Before he could finish, a nurse’s aide burst into the room, looking frantic.

"Mr. Vance! Thank goodness I found you! Miss Drake is doing poorly. Her wound is bleeding again, and she’s refusing treatment. She says she won't cooperate unless you're there!"

Ethan hesitated, looking back and forth between the aide and my pale, sickly face.

In the end, he turned to me with a helpless sigh.

"Sera, you see how it is... Scarlett is having another emergency. I..."

"Go. I'm tired and I need to sleep."

I was too exhausted to listen to his pathetic excuses. I just wanted him gone.

Ethan seemed taken aback by my lack of resistance.

He let out a sigh of relief, though a flicker of guilt crossed his features. As he stood up, he offered a careless comfort:

"Rest well then. I’ll come back to see you later."

With that, he turned on his heel without a shred of hesitation and followed the aide out.

The door clicked shut.

Listening to the sound of Ethan’s retreating, hurried footsteps, the cynical smirk on my lips faded.

See? Whenever Scarlett needed him, even for the smallest scratch, Ethan would always abandon me.

Once, twice, every single time.

Not even the death of our child could keep him by my side for a second longer.

What a joke of a marriage.

I lowered my eyes, and my gaze caught a brand-new smartphone sitting on the nightstand.

I reached out and picked it up. The screen lit up instantly, displaying two unread messages:

[Sera, this is Arthur Vance. You have suffered too much these past five years. It was my old-fashioned insistence on our family alliance that bound you and Ethan to this hopeless marriage. The Vance family owes you a massive apology. It's time to end this mistake.]

[In ten days, someone will come to take you away and give you your freedom back. This is what our family owes you.]

Second Chapter