Fake Sickness, Real Consequences

I woke up with a warm, tingling sensation running across my back.Luca’s hand was pressed against the soft skin at my waist, his fingertips lazily tracing circles. The touch was so hot that it made my breath hitch.Instinctively, I tried to shift forward, hoping to escape the heat of his palm. However, the arm he had wrapped around my waist tightened sharply.“Why are you running?” he murmured against my ear. “You were obedient enough last night.”I bit my lip and didn’t respond, curling my fingers into the silk sheets underneath me.He seemed pleased by my silence. His fingers drifted to my most sensitive spot, testing and teasing to send a shiver through my entire body.My breathing scattered instantly. It felt like someone had shoved a burning coal into my chest, heat rising all the way to my throat.Just when my mind was about to blur, his phone on the nightstand buzzed loudly.The screen lit up, and Helena’s smiling face flashed across the lock screen.Luca’s movements ha

There were no windows in the attic. Only a dim yellow bulb hung overhead, its light catching countless specks of dust floating in the air.I was thrown onto the floor. Dirt clung to the open wounds on my knees, and I curled in on myself in pain.The door locked with a click. From outside, Helena’s voice drifted in, clear through the wooden panels. “Luca, don’t be too harsh on Eva. What if she starves?”“She brought this on herself.” Luca’s voice was cold and flat, completely emotionless. “When she admits her mistake, she’ll get to eat.”Their footsteps grew distant. The attic fell silent.I pressed a hand against the wall, trying to push myself up. However, the moment I put weight on my legs, pain stabbed deep into my knees. The skin had already been scraped raw when they dragged me earlier. Blood stuck to my torn pants, tearing painfully with every movement I made.I had no idea how long had passed before the lock suddenly clicked again.Helena wheeled herself inside, holding

When I woke up, I was on a hospital bed, wrists strapped tightly to the rails.Luca sat beside the bed, staring at me with a grim expression.“Awake?” he said coldly. “Helena said you tried to kill her and even hurt yourself to threaten her.”My head still throbbed from where the wheelchair had slammed into me.I looked at him, and suddenly I laughed, feeling pathetic. “You actually believe that?”“She has proof.” He tossed his phone onto my lap. On the screen was a photo of my neck bleeding, taken from an angle that made it look exactly like self-harm.“What else do you have to say?”“That photo was taken by her. She pushed the wheelchair. I never even touched her!”I tried to reach for the phone, but the restraints dug harder into my skin. “Luca, can’t you just check the security footage? There’s a camera right outside the attic!”“It’s broken.” His tone didn’t waver one bit. “The nurse said Helena got so scared that she needs an emergency transfusion, and you two have the s

The medical wing in Marcus’s mansion smelled of antiseptic and blood.A doctor had just finished bandaging the lash wounds across my back when Marcus walked in with a file in hand.His brows were drawn tight.“Helena can’t sit still in the hospital anymore. She contacted the remnants of the rival family and is planning something at a warehouse. Probably wants to steal the evidence and take your life along with it.”I immediately sat up, pain shooting through my ribs from the speed. “She still won’t stop?”“She’s a rabid dog now.” He tossed the file onto the nightstand. Inside were records of Helena’s call with the rival family’s don.“She’s terrified you’ll get the evidence first. She’s even more terrified that once Luca learns the truth, he’ll kill her. So she’s striking before you can.”My fingers clenched around the papers.Helena’s voice crackled from the record, sharp, venomous. “Bring Eva’s corpse back. I want to tear her eyes out myself! Three years ago, we allowed Marcu

The crystal chandelier in the Vittori family’s living room was blindingly bright.Luca sat on the couch, twirling a gold‑plated gun in his hand. The moment he saw Marcus and me walk in, he stood up, raised the gun at Marcus, and snapped, “Hand Eva over!”“Hand her over?” Marcus tossed the metal box onto the coffee table. “Take a look at what your precious Helena has been doing, then we’ll talk about handing her over.”Luca kicked the box open, and the photo slid across the carpet.He bent down to pick it up. When he saw who was in it, his face went pale. “Fake! You forged this!”“Forged?” I picked up the photo and strode to him, slapping it against his face. “During that shootout back then, Marcus recorded everything. Want to watch it? Helena slipped off to meet the rival family and even gave them the Vittori family’s defense map. “You thought she was in a coma for ten years? She woke up long ago! She pretended to be sick just to make you hate me and drive me to death!”“Im