Chapter 3

Julian's smile froze when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

He answered, and Sam's urgent voice filled the quiet bedroom.

"Julian, get over here. Anne passed out on the way to the hospital. They're asking for payment before they continue with the private treatment."

Julian's expression changed instantly.

Without hesitation, he reached for the bank card on the bedside table.

It was the account where we'd been putting aside money for our baby.

I stared at him in disbelief.

"Have you lost your mind, Julian?"

I stepped in front of him.

"You're taking the money we saved for our child to pay Anne's medical bills?"

Impatience darkened his eyes.

"Enough, Scarlett. Someone's life is at stake, and you're still obsessing over money."

He brushed past me.

"Stop being so selfish."

Something inside me exploded.

I grabbed his arm and struck his shoulder desperately.

"Selfish? She's your childhood friend, Julian, not mine. Why should my money pay for her?"

His expression turned vicious.

Before I could react, Julian shoved me away.

My weakened body couldn't keep its balance.

The shattered porcelain from earlier still hadn't been cleaned up.

I fell straight onto it.

Pain tore through my back and arms.

When I lifted my trembling hands, blood was already running down my skin.

Julian was gone.

He didn't even look back.

I stared at my blood-covered hands and used the last of my strength to call the Moretti family's private medical service.

Then everything went black.

Somewhere in the darkness, I dreamed about the boy Julian used to be.

Years ago, before blood and power had hardened him into a Moretti capo, he had climbed the hill with me to the old church overlooking the family territory.

He had knelt before the altar, clasped his hands, and made his vow with complete sincerity.

"I'll protect Scarlett for the rest of my life. If I ever break that promise, may God punish me for it."

When I woke again, it was already late at night.

The private hospital room was dark.

I was alone.

A nurse came in, poured me a glass of water, and carefully helped me sit up.

Her gaze fell on the bandages covering my arms, and she sighed.

"Mrs. Moretti, you just had an abortion, and now you've injured yourself this badly. Your body can't keep taking this. You need to rest."

I closed my eyes.

Bitterness spread through me until there was almost no pain left.

After quietly thanking her, I picked up my phone.

The first thing I saw was a post Sam had made in the private circle shared by Julian's men.

"At the end of the day, Julian is the only one who truly cares about Anne."

Below it was a photograph.

Julian sat on the edge of a hospital bed.

Anne was lying with her head in his lap, smiling up at him with complete contentment.

I stared at the picture for several seconds.

They really did belong together.

The pain in my chest slowly faded into numbness.

I wasn't going to cry anymore.

Neither of them deserved another tear from me.

I opened my banking app and checked my private account.

Thankfully, the fourteen thousand dollars I'd saved separately was still untouched.

I transferred the money into an account Julian couldn't access.

The moment I confirmed the transaction, I knew my marriage to Julian Moretti had ended along with our child.

Then I made another call.

"Lily, is the position at headquarters still available?"

Lily managed one of the Moretti Family's legitimate corporations, where I had worked for years without relying on Julian's name.

A week earlier, I'd been offered a promotion and a transfer to the company's headquarters in another city.

I had turned it down.

I had been pregnant then, and I hadn't wanted to leave Julian.

None of that mattered anymore.

"Scarlett?"

Lily sounded surprised.

"I thought you turned it down because of the pregnancy. Don't worry about work right now. Take care of yourself. There will be other opportunities."

I took a slow breath.

"I lost the baby."

Silence filled the line.

"I want to go back to work as soon as possible. If the headquarters position is still open, I want it."

Another brief silence followed.

Then Lily's voice softened.

"I'll put your name back on the transfer list. But losing a child isn't something you recover from overnight. Take a week to rest. After that, report directly to headquarters."

My fingers tightened around the phone.

"All right."

My voice trembled slightly.

"Thank you, Lily."