Destroying Her.

Calla's POV:

The steady beeping of the heart monitor was the first thing I heard. The sound was oddly calming, as if each beat meant I was still alive because my lower abdomen felt like hell. My eyelids felt impossibly heavy and everything around me was blurry.

What…what happened??

My throat was dry and I tried to speak, but only a croak emerged from my shaky lips. As my vision slowly adjusted,I saw the outline of a man standing at the foot of the bed.

“Lucas?” I whispered and he came closer making me exhale in relief. I stared at his handsome face and charming blue eyes, trying to smile. “Baby.."

“You’re awake,” he said, coldly and my heart pounded crazily. What's with the unfriendly tone? Did something bad happen? My.. baby!!

My eyes fluttered open. “The baby…?” I asked in a shaky voice, my fists curling on the bedsheets in fear.

Lucas gave a small smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You gave birth,” he said. “A little girl.”

Tears welled in my eyes. “She’s okay?” oh goodness, I gave birth, I actually did. That's why everything throbbed painfully.

“For now,” he replied cryptically. He took a step closer. “But you won’t be, Calla.”

I blinked. “What?”

He moved to the side of my bed, towering over me. His face, once the source of comfort and passion, was now carved in steel. Every part of him was oozing with danger and I was already hyperventilating. There was no trace of the man who once loved me and kissed the ground I walked on.

“I’ll admit,” Lucas began,grabbing a scissor from a table. “you held on longer than I thought. You’re stubborn. I’ll give you that.”

My breathing quickened. “Lucas... what’s going on?”

He leaned in. “Your time is up, Calla.” he pulled out his wedding ring and tossed it on the floor.

A chill crawled across my skin. “What are you talking about?”

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small syringe, filled with a translucent blue liquid.

My blood froze. “No… Lucas, please—” I tried to move, to jerk away, but my body remained still and limp. My limbs wouldn’t obey me no matter what I did.

He chuckled, almost affectionately. “Oh, that? Muscle relaxant in your IV. I had the nurse dismissed an hour ago. You’re all mine now.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks as my lips trembled. “Why are you doing this to me? I’m your wife. I loved you.”

He sat on the edge of the bed, twirling the syringe slowly in his fingers. “Wife?” he sneered. “You were a placeholder. A naïve, wide-eyed fool who actually believed in things like loyalty, love... family. I played the role for as long as I needed. And trust me, it took a lot out of me! God, I couldn't stand you.”

We've been married for two years…all that was a pretense?

. “But… the baby? We made a family, Lucas.” I sobbed and he leaned in close, so close that I could feel his breath on my face.

“No, Calla. You made a baby. I made a plan.”

My lips parted in horror. “Was Petra…?”

He smiled at the mention of the name. “Petra was always mine,” he said. “From the start. Everything was carefully curated. The tears, the apologies, the late nights. We just needed you out of the way. And you kept surviving, like a goddamn cockroach.”

My breath hitched. “I don’t believe you.”

This is a nightmare. Lucas…none of this is real!!!

“You don’t have to. Truth doesn’t care whether you believe it or not.” His tone was glib, mocking. “Do you remember the night I proposed to you? By the lake?”

I closed my eyes, trying to suppress the memory. That moment had once been sacred and the best thing that happened to me. I was single for years.

“I told Petra the same night,” he continued. “We laughed about how easy you were. You really thought you were special.”

I couldn’t stop the sob that broke from my chest. “You lied to me… every single day.”

“Of course I did,” he whispered. “That’s the thing about people like you—you want to be lied to. It’s easier than facing how unwanted you really are.”

I stared up at the ceiling, willing myself not to break completely. I had to stay strong. For the baby. For myself.

“But why now?” I asked. “Why kill me?”

He looked at the syringe again, then at me. “Because Petra’s tired of waiting. Because you’ve served your purpose. Because, frankly, I’m bored.”

“You think this will end well for you?” I asked hoarsely. “You think Petra will stay loyal once I’m gone?”

Lucas smirked. “I don’t need her loyalty. Just her silence.”

I sobbed. “She’ll leave you. One day, she’ll wake up and realize she was just a pawn too. And you’ll die alone, Lucas. You’ll rot.”

His eyes twitched and he glared at me malevolently.

“I won’t be around to see it,” I added. “But I hope to God she’s the one who poisons your wine.”

He slapped me and I gasped out. It wasn't hard—but hard enough to snap my head to the side. “I always hated that mouth,” he muttered.

“You hate it because it speaks the truth. Because I saw through you before you could finish the job. You’re a coward, Lucas. And I hope my face haunts every moment of your miserable life.” I screamed out although my voice was raw.

The betrayal was deep, it burned my soul and crushed it. I had been so stupid to entrust everything to him! I should've listened to Jade! As an orphan, I inherited a vast portion of my parents wealth and stupid me, gave it all to my husband out of love.

I should've seen the signs!! I regret everything. And.. now he's going to kill me and take everything down me. I can't let this happen.”please Lucas…” I tried begging.

His hand trembled slightly as he held the syringe. “You should’ve died peacefully,” he hissed. “Now I’ll enjoy watching you fade.”

He pressed the syringe to my IV line but the door burst open and my heart surged with hope. Someone had heard me. A nurse, maybe a doctor. Someone would stop him. Someone would—

But it wasn’t help… It was her.

Petra.

She glided into the room like a wicked ghost cloaked in silk. And in her arms, swaddled in pink, was a newborn baby. My baby. My baby!

My chest constricted. My mouth opened, but no sound came out at first just a sharp, broken gasp. “No… no…”

Petra tilted her head, smiling down at the child. “She has your nose,” she said sweetly. “But hopefully she’ll grow out of it.”

Then she looked at me and laughed cruelly.

I screamed with every ounce of strength I could summon. “My baby!! Give her to me!!”

I felt so useless! I couldn't.. I couldn't even get up to touch my baby.

“She’s mine now,” Petra said simply.

“You—you can’t—” I choked on tears and rage.

“Oh, I can,” Petra cooed, rocking the baby slowly. “You see, I can’t have children. Medical tragedy, really. I tried IVF. Surrogates. Nothing worked. But Lucas? He brought me you. What a gift. You're a literal lifesaver.”

“Petra, please,” I begged, tears pouring down my cheeks. “She’s my daughter. Please…”

She smirked. “You shouldn’t have trusted me. None of this is personal, Calla. Well—except that it is.”

I looked at Lucas. “Why? Why are you doing this to me?”

His eyes darkened. Gone was the smirking mask of control. This time, he stepped closer, with an evil glare.“You want to know why?” he said frostily.

He dragged a chair beside the bed and sat, elbow resting on his knee, syringe still in hand. “I was eight years old when your father murdered my parents.”

My breath caught. “What?”

“I came home from school, excited because it was my birthday. I’d made a drawing for my mom. I still remember the smell—roast chicken in the oven..” His jaw tightened. “And then I opened the door… and found their bodies on the floor. Blood everywhere. Your father standing there, calmly wiping the knife.”

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head, eyes wide. “That’s not true. My father—he was a businessman—he would never—”

“He was a monster who made his money running weapons through dirty deals. When my father tried to back out, he slit his throat like it was a handshake.”

Lucas’s voice cracked just slightly. “I screamed. I begged him not to hurt me. He told me to ‘man up.’ Said life was hard and I'd get used to it. He left me there with their bodies.”

Petra stood in the background, silent now, eyes gleaming with twisted satisfaction.

“I spent two days hiding in that house with the corpses of my parents. No food. No water. Just the stench of blood and a child’s birthday cake rotting on the counter. I rather starved to death than to eat that, by the way.”

He looked at me, really looked at me, and for a split second, I saw the boy he had been—broken, alone, grieving. But I still can't believe he's going to kill me

“I grew up in foster homes. There was violence and pain. But I never forgot that name. Your family. The Vegas. I searched until I found you. Sweet, kind Calla. The golden girl who had no idea what blood your last name was built on.”

“I didn’t know—” I wept. “I didn’t know any of that—Lucas, I swear to you—”

“It doesn’t matter,” he whispered. “Your blood is still his. And I wanted him to feel what I felt… but he died before I could make him suffer.”

“So you chose me?” I whispered. “You used me, married me, made me love you, just to destroy me?”

Lucas leaned forward. “Oh, I didn’t just want to destroy you. I wanted you to fall so hard that when I ripped the ground from under you, you’d break in ways your father never did. I wanted you to feel every inch of that pain.”

My tears blurred everything. “I loved you. I carried your child—”

“Our child,” Petra interrupted. “And now mine.”

I turned to her, fury and anguish igniting my chest. “She’ll never be yours. You’ll never be her mother.”

“Doesn’t matter what you think,” she replied, voice honeyed with venom. “By the time they find your body, I’ll have adoption papers signed by your loving husband.”

Lucas stood now, towering over me, holding the syringe. “I should thank you,” he said. “You gave me everything I needed. A baby. Revenge and closure.”

I gasped. “Lucas, please… don’t do this.”

He brushed my hair back gently, like he used to do when I was falling asleep in his arms. “Goodbye, Calla.”

I screamed with my eyes, with my soul, because my voice was raw from screaming. I felt the cold sting as he slid the syringe into the IV line. A sharp chill rushed through my veins and my heart pounded furiously.

Blood pooled out of my ears and my eyes began to sting and something wet cascaded out. I choked on my blood, every part of my body burning with insane heat. I strained my eyes to stare at my baby girl…even if it's last thing I saw.

“Please…” I choked, coughing out blood, in great pains.

And as the world dimmed around me, the last thing I saw was Petra kissing the baby's wrist. A heart shaped birthmark was on her chubby wrists. “Say bye-bye to mommy forever,"