Chapter 3

Vivienne’s POV

Alex's grip loosened.

I looked up at him, and for the briefest moment, guilt crossed his face. He released my arm as though he had only then realized how hard he had been holding me.

"Isabella... I didn't mean—"

The apology never came.

A soft whimper drifted from the dining room.

"Daddy..."

Little Elias stood beside the table, his lower lip trembling.

"Mommy doesn't look well."

The transformation in Alex was immediate.

I ceased to exist.

He crossed the room in long strides and reached Bianca in an instant. He gathered her into his arms with astonishing gentleness, one hand cradling the back of her head as though she were made of glass.

I had never seen him look at me that way.

Not once.

He brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"What is it?" he asked softly. "Talk to me."

Bianca leaned weakly against his chest.

"I think... the smell made me sick," she whispered. "I'm feeling dizzy, Alex. I don't think I can eat anything."

His expression darkened.

Then he looked at me.

The tenderness vanished from his face.

"Clean this up."

The order struck the room like a gunshot.

Without another glance in my direction, he carried Bianca away.

Elias hurried after them, his tiny footsteps pattering across the marble floor.

My mother-in-law lingered only long enough to look at me with open disgust before following behind.

Silence descended over the mansion.

I stood there for a long time.

Then I bent down.

The floor was cold beneath my knees.

I cleaned the vomit.

I cleaned the shattered bowl.

I picked up the shellfish that had scattered across the floor when Alex shoved me down.

When everything was spotless once more, I rose to my feet and climbed the grand staircase.

The master suite occupied the entire eastern wing of the mansion.

For two years, I had shared that room with Alex.

Only now did I realize I had spent every one of those nights sleeping beside a stranger.

No.

Not a stranger.

A monster.

I had first met Alex Valcrest three years ago.

Back then, he was already the feared head of the Valcrest Syndicate, a man whose name carried enough weight to make politicians lower their voices and rival bosses rethink their decisions.

But on the night I met him, he had looked like a broken man.

Bianca Romano had vanished only hours before their engagement party.

She had left him standing alone in the ballroom of the Grand Imperial Hotel, surrounded by hundreds of guests and countless cameras.

The humiliation had become the talk of the city's underworld by morning.

I found him that same night.

He was standing on the roof of one of his casinos.

The wind was vicious, and he looked as though he intended to step right off the edge.

I stopped him.

I still don't know why.

Perhaps because I recognized the emptiness in his eyes.

Perhaps because I was lonely too.

My parents had died only months earlier when our family car exploded outside a restaurant.

The police called it an accident.

Everyone in the underworld knew it had been a warning sent by one of my father's enemies.

I had become an orphan overnight.

Somehow, grief recognized grief.

We sat on that rooftop until dawn.

We talked.

We drank.

At some point, he kissed me.

One mistake became another.

By sunrise, our lives had become tangled together.

The next morning, guilt consumed him.

He said he had taken advantage of me.

He said he would make things right.

A week later, we married in a private ceremony attended by only a handful of people.

No reporters.

No grand celebration.

No public announcement.

To the outside world, I remained nothing more than Mr. Valcrest's executive assistant.

Only the people closest to him knew I was actually his wife.

His mother had opposed our marriage from the beginning.

I had no influential family.

No political connections.

No fortune.

I brought nothing to the Valcrest family except myself.

I never realized when Bianca returned.

I never noticed when Alex's heart drifted back to her.

But now I knew the truth.

I had never truly possessed his heart at all.

I had simply been keeping her place warm.

And Alex had become a man willing to sacrifice anything—even his own son—to keep her smiling.

I crossed the room and opened the cedar chest beside our bed.

Inside lay a document I had prepared weeks earlier.

My resignation letter.

I had intended to leave my position as Alex's assistant after giving birth.

I wanted to spend all my time raising our son.

Now the paper had become something else entirely.

A farewell.

I folded it carefully and set it aside.

Then I began another task.

I took down every photograph in the room.

The picture from our honeymoon in Italy.

The photograph from our first anniversary.

The portrait taken after we announced my pregnancy.

One by one, they disappeared into the chest.

The diamond necklace he gave me on my birthday.

The sapphire earrings from our second Christmas.

The bracelet engraved with our initials.

The watch he insisted I wear because he wanted everyone to know I belonged to him.

Every gift.

Every memory.

Every lie.

I packed them all away.

A knock sounded.

The door opened.

Alex stepped inside.

He looked around the room.

His eyes settled on the half-filled chest.

His brows furrowed.

"Why are you taking everything down?" he asked. "And why are you putting away the things I bought for you?"

I continued folding another dress.

"I don't want them anymore."

His frown deepened.

"Are you still upset because I raised my voice?" he asked quietly.

He sighed.

"I'm sorry."

Then he added, "I'll buy you new jewelry. Whatever you want."

For a moment, I almost laughed.

As though diamonds could replace a murdered child.

"But you need to be patient with Bianca," he continued. "She's my brother's widow."

I looked at him.

"You've never mentioned having a brother."

He hesitated.

Only for a second.

Then he forced a smile.

"He lived overseas. We weren't close."

The lie came effortlessly.

"Now that he's gone, taking care of his family is my responsibility."

He stepped closer.

"Bianca means nothing to me anymore, Isabella."

He reached out and touched my cheek.

"You're my wife."

For one painful second...

I wished I still believed him.

Instead, I nodded.

"All right."

Then I looked directly into his eyes.

"But I don't want her living here."

"I'm afraid that's impossible."

The answer came immediately.

"She doesn't have anywhere else to go. Give it time. Once the two of you talk properly, I'm sure you'll understand each other."

He smiled and bent down to kiss me.

I turned my face away.

His lips brushed my cheek instead.

Whether he noticed or simply pretended not to, I couldn't tell.

A few moments later, he left.

Not long after, the door opened again.

Bianca walked inside without knocking.

Her eyes slowly traveled around the nearly empty room.

A satisfied smile spread across her face.

"Good," she said. "Pack everything. I'll be moving into this room soon."

I closed the chest.

"You can have the entire mansion."

She laughed.

"So you've finally realized your husband has been sleeping in my bed."

She stepped closer.

"Do you know what he told me today?"

Her smile widened.

"He said your baby didn't die for nothing. Elias is getting stronger every day. You should be grateful. Your son gave mine a future."

I looked at her quietly.

"If believing that makes you happy, then be happy."

Her smile disappeared.

She blinked.

Then anger flashed across her face.

"Why aren't you screaming?" she demanded. "Why aren't you crying? Your husband murdered your child because I asked him to. He even made sure you'll never have another baby."

I simply looked at her.

"Congratulations," I said calmly. "You have complete control over him. I hope he gives you everything you want."

Her expression twisted.

She had expected me to break.

My indifference infuriated her.

"You bitch."

She lunged forward and seized my wrist.

"If you won't entertain me, I'll make my own amusement."

"Let go of me."

She ignored me and began dragging me toward the staircase.

I struggled.

The moment I finally jerked my hand free—

Bianca screamed.

"Isabella! Don't!"

Then she threw herself backward.

Her body rolled violently down the staircase.

The sound of flesh striking marble echoed through the mansion.

A terrible silence followed.

Then came thunderous footsteps.

Alex appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

His mother was right behind him.

Bianca lay motionless on the floor.

Blood slowly spread beneath her.

Alex looked at her.

Then he looked at me.

The expression on his face made my blood turn cold.

His eyes blazed with fury.

"What did you do?"