Chapter 1

When I was two months pregnant with the heir to the Moretti Family, my husband, Julian Moretti, ordered me to give blood to Anne, the daughter of one of his family's oldest allies.

I refused.

My doctor had warned me that I was severely anemic. Losing blood could put both me and the baby at risk.

But the men gathered outside the Moretti family's private medical wing looked at me as though I were being selfish.

"Anne is on the operating table, and you're the only one here with a matching blood type. She's practically family. What's the problem with giving a little blood?"

Before I could answer, several of Julian's men seized my arms and forced me toward the treatment room.

I looked at my husband.

For one brief second, something like guilt flickered across Julian's face.

Then his expression hardened.

"It's only a blood transfusion," he said quietly. "Our child will be fine."

I stopped struggling.

A single tear slipped down my cheek.

That was the moment I understood exactly where our unborn child and I stood in Julian Moretti's world.

After the transfusion, I dragged my weakened body out of the Moretti family's private medical wing and made my way upstairs to obstetrics.

When the doctor asked why I was there, I placed a trembling hand over my still-flat stomach.

"I want to terminate the pregnancy."

……

I spent three days alone in the Moretti family's private hospital after the abortion.

During those three days, Julian never came to see me.

He stayed with Anne the entire time.

My womb was empty now, but the ache in my chest hurt far worse than anything the doctors had done to my body.

On the day I was discharged, I walked out of the private ward carrying my own bag. Near the entrance, I ran into Julian, Anne, and several men from Julian's inner circle.

I was alone.

Anne had Julian supporting her by the arm.

The moment Julian saw me, his steps faltered.

"Why are you still at the hospital?"

"Nothing."

I had no intention of telling him about the abortion. I lowered my eyes and walked past him, my face still pale from blood loss.

"We're leaving together."

Julian caught my wrist. His tone carried the unquestionable authority of a Moretti capo.

By the time we reached the car, Anne had already slipped into the front passenger seat.

She looked at me with wide, innocent eyes.

"Scarlett, I just had surgery for my stomach ulcer, and I've been getting carsick lately. You don't mind if I sit in front, do you?"

I didn't argue.

I simply reached for the back door.

Before I could get in, three of Julian's men climbed into the back seat, filling every available space.

They looked at me without the slightest intention of moving.

"Anne is still weak," one of them said. "We're coming back to the Moretti estate too. Someone needs to look after her."

I glanced at Julian behind the wheel.

His jaw tightened.

But he said nothing.

A bitter smile touched my lips as cicadas screamed beneath the brutal summer sun.

Why had I still expected anything from this man?

Julian's men had never liked me.

Everyone around him believed Anne was the woman who truly belonged beside him. To them, I was the outsider who had somehow taken the place that should have been hers.

Even after I became Julian Moretti's wife, they treated me like a servant in my own home.

Julian had never stopped them.

Even when I was carrying his child, they had still forced me to give Anne my blood.

Afterward, no one thanked me.

One of them had even said that saving someone important to the Moretti Family should be considered an honor.

This wasn't the first time they had humiliated me.

It was simply the first time I no longer had the strength or desire to fight back.

"Fine. I'll get home myself."

I closed the car door and walked away.

It was rush hour, and I couldn't find a cab.

Only days after terminating my pregnancy, I spent nearly an hour walking beneath the scorching sun before I finally reached the Moretti estate.

The moment I stepped through the door, irritated voices greeted me.

"Scarlett, what took you so long? We've been back forever."

"We haven't eaten all evening. Come on, make something. It's been a while since we've had your cooking."

I slowly looked toward Julian and Anne.

The summer heat was suffocating, but the air conditioning had been turned off because they were worried Anne might get chilled after surgery.

Julian sat beside her with a paper fan in his hand.

Sweat had already dampened the collar of his shirt, yet he seemed not to notice. He kept fanning Anne patiently, making sure she was comfortable.

I stood there silently.

Sam finally lost his patience.

"Julian, we're starving. Tell your wife to make us something to eat."