* FREEBIES * Chapter 147 : I swear, I’ll kill you, you curse!

Serena’s phone buzzed just as she was leaving a meeting. The hospital's name flashed on the screen. The voice on the other end was clipped, urgent. Josh had fallen into a coma.

The doctor had been reaching out to everyone on Josh's contact list, one by one—standard protocol in emergencies, but the kind that never felt routine.

By the time Serena arrived at the hospital, the sterile hallways echoed with sobs. Araminta was already there, curled in on herself like a grieving wraith on one of the stiff waiting room chairs, her eyes puffy and red, her cheeks streaked with mascara. She clutched Josh’s phone as if it were his lifeline.

The moment Araminta spotted Serena walking through the glass doors, her sorrow twisted into rage.

“You bitch!” she screamed, eyes blazing. “Did you set him up? You murderer. I’m calling the cops on you!”

Before Serena could say a word, Araminta charged like a fury unchained, arm raised to slap. Serena’s reflexes kicked in. She caught Araminta’s wrist mid-air and shoved her backward with enough force to stagger her.

“Have the test results even come back yet?” Serena snapped, her voice sharp with frustration. “I came here to talk business, nothing more. The Morales company is tanking—everyone knows it. What’s wrong with messaging him about a deal? He was the one chasing after me, Araminta. You know that. You know what he was up to.”

But logic was wasted on grief.

With Josh unconscious and Kenny still missing, Araminta’s composure shattered. She lunged again, fists flying, wild and blind with fury. Serena stumbled back, her spine slamming into the hard plaster wall, pain blooming through her chest and making bile rise to her throat.

Araminta was relentless. She clawed, kicked, screamed—a storm of desperation and violence. Serena raised her arms to shield herself, but one of Araminta’s nails raked deep across her right hand, drawing blood. Sharp pain made her gasp. The scratches felt worse than knife cuts, raw and hot, destined to throb and inflame.

“I’ll kill you!” Araminta shrieked. “I swear, I’ll kill you, you curse! You jinx! I should’ve strangled you the first time I saw you!”

The hallway descended into chaos. Nurses ran from the station, shouting and trying to pull the women apart, but Araminta fought like an animal cornered, her rage unstoppable.

“Security! Get security up here!” one nurse yelled into her comm device.

It took two large security guards to finally restrain Araminta. She flailed even as they held her arms, still trying to kick Serena with venom in her eyes. Her nails were caked with blood, her voice hoarse from screaming.

Serena stood frozen, panting, clutching her bleeding hand. The stinging cuts pulsed with pain, and the skin around them had already started to swell. The kind of wounds that would leave marks. The kind that infected easily.

Just then, a voice echoed from down the corridor.

“Alfonso is awake! Quick! Come over—he’s awake!”

The noise cut through the tension like a blade.

Araminta froze, mid-scream. Her mouth hung open, stunned.

Serena blinked, forgetting the ache in her ribs and the blood on her palm. Without a word, she turned and bolted toward Alfonso’s room.

She reached the door just as a nurse stepped aside, letting her through. Inside, the room was quiet except for the soft beeping of monitors. Alfonso was awake. His eyes fluttered open slowly, dazed but alert—alive.

The nurse leaned over him gently, removing the tubes with careful, practiced hands. The sterile smell of antiseptic filled the room, but this time, it was a comfort.

Serena exhaled deeply, her pulse finally slowing. He had pulled through. For now. 

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Alfonso looked gaunt, the hollows of his cheeks more pronounced, his skin pale under the hospital's cold fluorescent lights. His eyes, once sharp and commanding, now held a fog of confusion as they landed on Serena.

“Serena…” he rasped, his voice coarse and low, like it hadn't been used in days.

Tears welled in Serena’s eyes as she rushed to his side, taking his frail, calloused hand into hers. “Dad, you’ve been unconscious for a while. How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened?”

He coughed harshly, a dry, painful sound that echoed in his chest. His brows knitted, as if trying to piece together fragments of memory, but nothing surfaced—only a burning frustration that clawed at his insides. He didn’t respond, continuing to cough instead.

The doctor stepped forward gently. “He’s suffered significant trauma—physically and emotionally. It’s best not to overwhelm him with questions just yet. He needs rest.”

Serena nodded, relief flooding her features simply from seeing him awake. But Alfonso’s mind was already racing.

“I’ve been in here too long... the company—what's happened? Has Taylor called?” he asked, attempting to sit up with growing urgency.

Serena lowered her gaze. “You should rest now.”

Alfonso’s voice grew sharper, more anxious. “Where’s my phone?”

There was no avoiding it now. Serena steadied herself. “Taylor… he passed away.”

Shock overtook his expression. His eyes widened and his coughing intensified, his entire frame shuddering. “That’s impossible—Taylor was always in perfect health.”

Serena swallowed. “The police said it was alcohol poisoning.”

“Taylor quit drinking years ago,” Alfonso protested, panic overtaking reason.

“Dad,” Serena said gently but firmly, “the police have closed the case. We can’t reopen it.”

The news of his oldest friend’s death hit him like a physical blow. Trying to shake off the helplessness, Alfonso began to rise from the bed, but Serena reached to stop him. In the scuffle, he batted her hand away, and her body jerked with pain.

Blood stained her palm.

Alfonso froze. “What happened to you?”

Before Serena could answer, the door opened and Araminta swept in, crocodile tears glistening in her eyes. She had been listening outside and stepped in at the perfect moment, her voice trembling with theatrical grief.

“Josh… he’s in a coma, Alfonso. You have to do something! This—this is all Serena’s fault!” she wailed. “Look at the messages on his phone. He went to meet her. His car was tailing hers… They were driving like maniacs!”

Her voice rose in pitch, thick with accusation, but her eyes kept flicking toward Alfonso, gauging his reaction.

When he didn’t explode or dismiss her immediately, a cold satisfaction bloomed in her chest. Perfect. Even God is on my side.

“Josh is my only son!” Araminta shrieked. “How am I supposed to live like this? I might as well die!” She staggered dramatically toward the wall, slamming a hand against it as if ready to throw herself into it.

Alfonso moved to stop her, but the sudden motion tore at his healing wounds. His face contorted in pain.

A nurse nearby rushed in and held Araminta back as she collapsed into more sobbing, loud and exaggerated, practically shaking the walls with her grief.

Alfonso gasped through another harsh cough, clutching his side. “Is Josh really… in a coma?”

“Yes,” Serena answered quietly.

In the very next instant, Alfonso raised his trembling hand and struck her across the face.

The slap was weak, barely more than a tap—but to Serena, it felt like the world had split in two.

“Serena,” he demanded, his voice cracking, “did you really set this up?”

Tears stung her eyes, but her voice remained even. “Dad, you don’t know what Josh did. He tried to corner me at the company. He chased me down the highway—why do you think his car was behind mine? He was desperate. I was just trying to get away. If he had stopped, none of this would have happened.”

“You liar!” Araminta shrieked, launching herself at Serena. “You’re making excuses! You and your whore of a mother—both the same!”

Both Alfonso and Serena flinched at the words.

Araminta immediately realized her mistake and tried to backpedal. “Alfonso, it’s not like Serena says. Josh always treated her like a sister. He would never…”

Serena had had enough. Her voice cut like a blade. “Then why was he chasing me like a madman?”

“You must’ve seduced him!” Araminta accused, her voice dripping with venom. “You’ve always been shameless—leading him on!”

Serena laughed bitterly, exhaustion sinking into her bones. She had nothing left to give.

She stood slowly, her voice flat. “I haven’t slept in days. I’m going home.”

“You put Josh in a coma and now you want to leave? Bitch! I’ll kill you!”

Araminta lunged again, but this time Serena didn’t flinch. Her hand snapped up and delivered a hard, echoing slap.

The crack of palm against skin rang through the room. Araminta staggered back, dazed, blood trailing from the corner of her lip.

She pressed a trembling hand to her cheek, staring at Serena like she didn’t recognize her.

Alfonso, stunned, grabbed the water glass on his side table and hurled it at Serena. It struck her chest, splashing water across her clothes.

“You ungrateful brat!” he spat.

Soaked and shaking, Serena stood motionless. She looked at Alfonso with a mix of sadness and clarity. No more words could fix what had just been broken.

But Alfonso’s anger faltered. A terrible, creeping regret slipped through the cracks of his rage.

Serena turned and walked out, silent, her footsteps echoing in the hallway.

As the door swung open, she collided with Valentina entering the room. Her eyes flicked over Serena’s drenched figure and bruised dignity, and a flicker of satisfaction danced across her face.

Finally, she thought. I don’t have to move out of the Morales family house after all!