Chapter 6

I rented a small apartment to stay in temporarily and started drawing again.

In university, I studied design and even won several prestigious international awards. But to be with Emilio, I'd chosen to work as an ordinary industrial product designer at his company.

Truthfully, I didn't enjoy it. I loved designing jewelry and clothing—beautiful things always brought me joy.

Life began to settle into a quiet routine, but Amber wouldn't let me have peace. Every day of her vacation with Emilio, she sent me messages.

One showed her lying on a beach while he massaged her with essential oils. Another showed a tangled bedsheet with their hands tightly intertwined. One more even showed scattered clothes on the floor and a trash can overflowing with condoms.

My heart, though already numb, still ached. My stomach twinged with pain, too.

But it was fine. Soon, it wouldn't hurt anymore. With a little more time, I wouldn't hurt anymore, either.

I blocked Amber everywhere and threw myself back into drawing.

…

A week later, Emilio and Amber's vacation ended, but only he returned.

Amber had been abducted.

Unexpectedly, the next time I saw Emilio was at my home. His hair was disheveled, his face was bruised, and his eyes were bloodshot.

He was frantic, almost deranged, as Christopher held him tightly, keeping him in place. "Have you lost your mind? You want to trade your life for hers? I've already sent people to investigate this, so don't worry! Amber will be fine!"

Soon, Emilio's parents arrived and ordered their bodyguards to pin Emilio down.

"If you dare go to that hostage exchange today, consider yourself disowned! Amber Granger is just an ordinary woman, but you're the Slater family's heir! Your life is worth millions of hers, and yet you want to trade it for her? You're insane!" his father yelled.

His mother, Mrs. Slater, sobbed beside him. "Exactly! I heard that Crimson Flame is the one who abducted her—haven't you heard of that gang before? No one comes out of their hands alive! Their hostages leave with missing arms or organs at best!

"You almost lost a limb racing for her before. Have you forgotten that pain and torment? I won't let you do anything stupid for her again!"

But Emilio wasn't listening. He thrashed like a madman, shoving past everyone as he bolted out of the house. In the chaos, he knocked me to the floor.

Blood instantly gushed down my legs, and I curled up in agony.

"Calista!" Christopher shouted and ran to me.

My vision blurred as I clutched my abdomen. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Emilio glance back at me. His gaze was shocked—he hadn't realized it was me he'd pushed.

But his attention was fleeting. He turned away after a brief pause and jumped into his car, speeding off.

The roar of the engine was deafening, and the thick exhaust fumes choked me until my nose prickled. I watched as the red Porsche vanished into the distance. Then, I slowly closed my eyes.

…

When I woke again, my stomach was flat. The heartbeat was gone. I'd already decided not to keep the child, so why did losing it still hurt so much?

Christopher sat beside me. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he hadn't slept in days. When he saw I was awake, he tensed. "Calista, you…"

He slammed his fist against the wall. "Damn Emilio! I wish he were dead! He caused your miscarriage!"

I smiled weakly. "It's okay. I didn't want the baby, anyway."

Judging from what he said, Emilio was probably fine.

Christopher showed me a video from the abductors. In it, Amber was bound tightly, while Emilio was pinned down by a group of men. He roared, "Let her go! Didn't we agree on a life for a life? I'm here now, so release her!"

The leader sneered. "Release her? It's not that simple. I hear you're the Slater family's heir. That's quite the prize—I've never had a rich boy kneel to me before. Do it and prostrate yourself before me, and I'll let her—"

Before the man finished, Emilio got to his knees and slammed his forehead against the floor so hard that it instantly drew blood.

The leader sat up, intrigued. "You're desperately in love with her, aren't you? Too bad I was just messing with you."

"You!" Emilio's eyes were bloodshot. He choked up as he asked, "What will it take for you to let her go? Name it, and I'll do it."

The leader twirled a knife before holding it inches from Emilio's eye. "Your eyes look nice. I want them."

Without a second's hesitation, Emilio said, "Deal."

The leader grinned and plunged the knife toward his eyeball.

Emilio screamed in agony, clutching his face as blood streamed down.

The video ended there.

Christopher locked his phone and sighed. "Thankfully, they were rescued. Emilio's eye is fine—the cut wasn't deep. He's insane for going that far for Amber. If she'd died, he'd probably have gone with her."

"She won't die," I said flatly.

I knew because I'd clearly seen her sitting in that chair and smirking as she watched Emilio struggle. She was far more terrifying than I'd imagined.

Christopher sighed and pulled a tiny piece of clothing from his bag. "I thought I was going to be an uncle."

I stared at the tiny garment, unable to snap out of it.

I didn't cry upon seeing Emilio and Amber's intimate photos, nor did I cry when he caused my miscarriage to save her.

But now, I couldn't take it anymore. I threw myself into Christopher's arms and sobbed until I couldn't breathe.

He stroked my head gently. "It's okay. I'm here for you. But if I find out who the bastard is who got you pregnant, I'll tear him apart!"

Suddenly, I realized that even without Emilio, there were still so many people who loved me.

While Christopher stepped out to buy food, I started opening the gifts my friends had sent to me during my hospital stay. Among them was a small box containing a piece by my favorite designer, Diske. It was an amethyst necklace.

It was a piece I knew Diske had refused to sell despite the bidding price going up to three million dollars. What was it doing here?

I searched for the gift card to see who sent it, but there was no name.

As I puzzled over it, the door was kicked open. Emilio stormed in, looking livid. He snatched the necklace and hurled it to the floor. "How can you be in the mood to mess with this junk? You almost got someone killed!"

I stared at him in disbelief. "What are you talking about?"

"Stop playing dumb!" He shoved me onto the bed. "Amber told me everything! She heard the mastermind talking to you on the phone! Tell me the truth—was it you who had her abducted?"

In that moment, it all clicked. I looked at him coldly. "Oh? She heard that? Did she tell you what I said?"

He froze.

I scoffed. "So, you don't even know what I supposedly said, but you're ready to condemn me because of something Amber threw out there. You've never explained your relationship with her to me from the start, Emilio. And now, you're attacking me for her…"

My voice trembled, and my abdomen cramped in pain. My face became as white as a sheet.

Emilio faltered. Just then, a nurse burst into the room and cried, "Ms. Granger's having a panic attack! You need to come now!"

When Emilio heard that, his face filled with panic and concern. He steadied himself against the wall and hurried off, but he paused at the door to look back at me. "I'll get to the bottom of this. If it really was you, we're done. I won't be with someone so vicious."

With that, he left the room.

The moment he was gone, my legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor.

When Christopher returned, he saw me on the floor and dropped the lunchbox he held. "Calista!"

After settling me back in, he grabbed the nurse. "What the hell happened? She was fine when I left!"

She stammered, "I-I don't know… All I know is that Mr. Slater was here, saying something about breaking up with Ms. LeBlanc. Then, she fainted…"

"Breaking up?" Christopher froze.

The next second, he charged upstairs like a madman. He kicked open the door to find Emilio at Amber's bedside, gently feeding her soup.

"Christopher? Why are you—"

Christopher knocked the bowl from his hands. "You want to break up with Calista? You're the bastard who got her pregnant, huh?"

"What? Pregnant?" Emilio was stunned.