Chapter 7

I stepped back. “Victor, please. I just want to leave!”

“Shut up!” His voice shook the room. “Do you even understand what you did to her? Cassandra tried to kill herself because she's terrified of you! She's losing blood right now, and she could fucking die because of what you did!”

My lips trembled.

Victor crossed the room in a few steps and grabbed my arm so hard that I gasped. “You'll give her your blood.”

I stared at him. “What?”

“You heard me. You're both RH-negative. She needs blood, and you're going to give it to her.”

I tried pulling away. “No, please. I can't give blood.”

“You owe her!”

He shoved me against the wall and grabbed my throat. I gasped, my hands flying to his wrist as his fingers tightened around my neck. “Victor... please!”

“I bought you from your brothers,” he said through clenched teeth. “I knew exactly what everyone said about you. I knew they called you a murderer, and I still took you away from them. I gave you a home, clothes, food, everything you didn't have before.”

His face was inches from mine. “I let you sleep in my bed. I let you touch me. I gave you everything, and now you're acting as if you're too fucking good to help the woman who saved my life?”

Tears rolled down my cheeks. “I'm not trying to hurt her. Please, Victor, you're hurting me.”

He released my throat but kept his hand around my arm. “You should be grateful. Do you have any idea how many women would beg for the place you had? You got to sleep beside me, touch me, and live under my roof. I chose you, Larisse.”

His eyes filled with disgust. “And now I can't even stand looking at you! Now give her your blood.”

My heart broke as I looked down at my stomach. I couldn't hide it anymore. “I can't give her blood,” I whispered. “I'm pregnant.”

Victor went completely still.

For a moment, something flashed across his face before he laughed coldly. “Pregnant? You really expect me to believe that shit?”

“It's true!” I cried. “It's your baby. I found out before you came home, and I was going to tell you.”

He stared at me. “You'll say anything when you're scared.”

“I'm not lying!” I grabbed his sleeve with trembling fingers. “Please. Don't make me do this. If you take my blood, you could hurt my baby.”

Victor yanked my arm away. “Enough! You're giving Cassandra your blood whether you want to or not. I don't give a damn about your excuses anymore.”

He dragged me from the room while my bare feet scraped against the floor. When we reached the nurse's station, several nurses turned toward us.

“Take her blood,” Victor ordered.

One nurse looked at my pale face. “Sir, she's weak. We should check her condition first.”

Victor slammed his hand against the counter. “I said take her blood! I don't care how much blood you have to take. She'll pay for what she did.”

“Sir, if she's really pregnant, we need to—”

Noah stepped forward. “Just fucking do it. She owes our sister her life, and we're done hearing her excuses.”

Jacob glared at me. “Stop wasting everyone's time. Take the blood and get it over with. Cassandra needs it more than you do.”

I shook my head desperately. “Noah, Jacob, I'm pregnant. It's your nephew or niece. Please, just listen to me once.”

“You've lied enough,” Noah said.

Jacob looked away. “Hold her down.”

The nurses hesitated, but the men around me followed the order and forced me onto the bed.

“Please! Don't do this! I'm pregnant! You'll hurt my baby!”

Nobody listened.

A nurse inserted the needle into my arm, and I cried out as I turned my head away. I watched the blood slowly fill the bag, my blood being taken from me for Cassandra.

My fingers went numb, and the room began to spin. “Please...” I whispered weakly. “Someone... please help my baby.”

No one came.

My vision blurred as the voices around me became distant and my body grew colder. I'd begged Victor. I'd begged my brothers. I'd begged the people who were supposed to help me.

Nobody cared.

So I made one decision while I still had enough strength to think. After this, I wouldn't let them hurt me anymore. I wouldn't let Cassandra win again.

I whispered so quietly that no one heard me. “After this... I'll end it all.”

Then everything went dark.

…

When I woke up again, the room was quiet. My body felt completely drained. My arms were weak, my breathing was shallow, and I couldn't feel anything inside my stomach anymore.

The nurse stood beside my bed, her face filled with sadness. “Miss Larisse, Cassandra survived. She's stable now, so the doctors don't think she's in danger anymore.”

I slowly turned my head toward her. “Did... did Victor come?”

She looked down. “No. Don. Castilliano hasn't come back.”

I nodded. Of course he hadn't. Why would he?

My hand slowly moved to my stomach, and the silence inside it made my heart beat faster. “Where's my baby?”

The nurse froze before her eyes filled with pity. “I'll get the doctor.”

A few minutes later, the doctor entered and stood beside my bed without looking directly at me. I already knew something was wrong. “Doctor... where's my baby?”

He took a deep breath. “I'm sorry, Larisse. We tried, but we couldn't save your baby.”

I stared at him, unable to understand his words at first. Then it hit me.

My baby was gone.

I looked down at my stomach and forced a small smile even though tears were already filling my eyes. “So that's it,” I whispered. “My baby died because they took my blood for her.”

The doctor stayed silent.

A weak laugh escaped me before turning into a sob. “My baby didn't even get a chance to live.”

He lowered his head. “I'm truly sorry.”

Then he left, leaving the room quiet again.

I lay there staring at the ceiling. My baby was gone. Victor didn't come. My brothers didn't come. Cassandra survived. She got everything, while I lost the only thing I still had.

That night, I got out of bed. My legs were so weak that I nearly fell, but I caught the edge of the table and forced myself to stand. I didn't bother looking for shoes or a coat. I walked out wearing only the thin hospital gown, and nobody stopped me. Maybe nobody even noticed.

Outside, the rain was pouring. It soaked my hair and clothes within seconds, but I kept walking. I didn't know where I was going at first. I just wanted somewhere far away from that hospital, from Victor, from my brothers, and from Cassandra.

Eventually, I reached a bridge and stopped near the railing. The water below was dark and moving fast. My hands shook as I held the cold metal and looked up at the sky.

“Mom... Dad...” My voice cracked. “I'm so tired. I tried, okay? I really tried. I tried to be good and make everyone happy, but nothing I did was ever enough.”

The rain ran down my face, mixing with my tears. “My brothers hate me. They still think I killed you. Victor said he loved me, but he only wanted me when I was useful.”

My hand moved to my stomach. “My baby is gone too. They took everything from me.”

A sob escaped my throat as I closed my eyes. “Can I just rest now?”

The question stayed in my head, but I had no answer. I only knew I couldn't keep living this way.

I thought about Victor, the way he'd once held me and the promises he'd made. “Goodbye, Victor. You hurt me more than anyone, but some stupid part of me still loved you. I don't even understand why. Maybe I loved you because I never knew what real love was supposed to feel like.”

Then I thought of Noah and Jacob. “Goodbye, Noah. Goodbye, Jacob. I hope someday you remember that I was your sister before you decided I was a murderer, before I became someone you were ashamed of.”

I looked down at the water again. “You'll wake up tomorrow, and everything will keep going. Cassandra will still be there. Your businesses will still be there. Your lives will go on, and nobody will even notice that I'm gone.”

Lightning flashed across the sky as I pressed my palm against my stomach one last time. “My baby, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I wanted to be your mother. I wanted to see your face, hold you, and give you the life I never had.”

My knees trembled.

“I'm sorry.”

The rain kept falling as I slowly stepped toward the edge. “I don't want to hurt anymore.”

I held my breath as the wind pushed against me. “Mom, Dad... if there's really a place where I can be with you again, please let me come home.”

I looked at the dark water below and whispered, “Baby, wait for Mama.”

Then I stepped forward.

My foot slipped beyond the edge, and for one second, I felt weightless.

Then I fell.

Cold water closed over me, and everything around me disappeared into darkness.