His pretty Karma.

~ DANIELLE ~

Darkness.

Silence.

There was a distant, rhythmic heart monitor in the background.

Beep-beep-beep.

Muffled voices, unclear words, like people were speaking underwater.

Fluorescent lights threatened to blind my eyes as I forced them open. The acrid scent of medicine whipped through my nostrils as I caught a glimpse of the soft, muted blue of a nurse’s uniform.

“Doctor, I think she’s awake.”

The voice sounded faint but near at the same time. I swallowed forcefully, feeling an aching pain at the back of my throat.

The sterile, antiseptic scent reminded me of the familiar environment. I felt the faint, comforting warmth of an unseen hand, instinctively moving over my stomach.

It was mine, but it didn’t feel like it.

W-what had happened?

Images flashed through my mind in replay: the papers shoved in my face and the photos of Sorayah and Elijah. His cold words and expressions. The painful betrayal and the awful news I’d received in the car.

Those were the only things I could remember.

“Mrs. Harrington, can you hear me?”

A tear escaped my eye. I heard the doctor clearly and noticed the grave countenance on his face.

But when I tried to part my lips in reply, my throat went dry.

“W-wh-at… M-my b-b-ab-y.”

That was the only thing I could think of, the only thing that mattered to me.

"Your baby is stable," he reassured me, but his voice sounded uncertain until he added, “At least, for now.”

For now? Did that mean…?

“W-h-hat—’

“Don’t force your speech, Ma’am,” the nurse urged me with a concerned tone. “Don’t say anything. You’re too weak for that.”

Weak? My baby was in danger, and I couldn’t do anything.

I couldn’t even remember what happened, but my head… it was pounding heavily.

“You suffered a severe injury,” the doctor continued, and I kept struggling with the pain as I clutched my stomach firmly. “And it’s left you in a critical condition. But… there’s a procedure you need to undergo as soon as possible.”

A procedure? Would that help my baby?

I had so many words to say, but I couldn’t.

“It’s a very complicated procedure, Mrs. Harrington.” I hated being called that, but I had no choice at that crucial moment. “We’re looking at about a fifty-fifty chance of success. There are risks to you, and unfortunately, risks to the baby.”

I screamed internally since I couldn’t be heard. My breath caught up in my throat, as well as my voice, drowned beneath the surface of my stomach.

Risks?

Fifty-fifty?

Those words were enough to make me slowly drift to the other side of life.

But… I needed to survive.

There were so many things I hadn’t completed yet, so many people to get back at. And a baby to keep alive.

I needed that surgery; I wasn’t going to hesitate to undergo it.

The doctor seemed to know every question that burned in my mind.

“Unfortunately, someone needs to take this decision and stand in for you. We’ve called you husband, but…”

Ex-husband. Hadn’t they heard about the news?

I noticed he trailed off his sentence, and it got me thinking hard while awaiting his complete response.

He said that he’d called Elijah. What was his response? He must have heard about the complicated injuries I’d sustained.

Was he going to help me? And our baby?

I struggled to form my words, eager to know whose hands my fate was in.

“M-my h-husband?”

The doctor nodded, a faint and pitiful smile carved on his face. “He refused to have anything to do with the procedure, which means someone else has to approve.”

Tears streamed down my cheeks uncontrollably. How could Elijah hate me to the extent of letting me rot on my deathbed?

“Do you have any next of kin, Mrs. Harrington, or someone you trust deeply who could make this decision on your behalf?”

No.

There wasn’t anyone else.

All I had, and all I thought was enough for me, was him.

Elijah Harrington.

*

~~ FOUR YEARS LATER ~~

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, my fingers trailing over my face. My once soft and gently curved jaw had been altered and was now replaced with a sharper and sculpted jawline.

My cheekbones, once rounded, had turned subtly pronounced and lifted. And with the new face, I didn’t feel like a complete loser.

Rather, I felt powerful.

Unstoppable.

Different and perfectly hidden in an identity that would help me take revenge.

I was no longer Danielle Foster.

I had taken a new identity as a renowned businesswoman and one of the top and most successful entrepreneurs in the country—Davina Thorne.

The accident from four years ago had left my face completely shattered and bruised, and I was forced to undergo surgery that replaced my face entirely.

I’d struck a deal with the doctor after my surgery and had made him announce me as ‘dead.’ After all, I was going to die in a few years, and I wanted to take my revenge before I took my last breath on earth.

The news of my ‘fake’ demise had spread like a wildfire, and I saw it in the headlines, in the news, and heard it on the lips of people who wagged their tongues.

‘Ex-wife of billionaire, Danielle Foster Harrington, dies after a brutal car crash.’

Nobody knew that I’d survived.

Today wasn’t merely a meeting. It was my first presence in the world after four years of secretly working and planning my revenge behind closed doors.

I hadn’t forgotten about Elijah or the pain and suffering he’d made me go through. I’d taken four years of my life to plot my revenge.

And now? I was back.

Harringtons Corp., the very edifice of his power, was my target. It was a takeover, not a partnership, as I’d made them believe.

As the CEO of Thorne Groups, my reputation had grown stronger: a ruthless strategist, a deal maker, and an icy demeanor that few dared to challenge.

“The car is ready, Davina.”

Cameron’s voice cut through my thoughts as he strolled into the room, his husky voice sending my lips into a broad smile.

Cameron Hayes—the man who’d stayed by my side for the last four years. And the man who’d stepped in to save me at the hospital.

He was the ex-husband of the woman who I’d taken her face and identity. I was indebted to him till whenever I dropped dead.

I swerved around to face him, my fingers tucking the strands of my hair on my face behind my ears.

“How do I look?”

He stared at me, his mouth agape as he scanned his eyes over my figure.

I knew I looked stunning in the red blazer jacket and corporate pants to match. My hair cascaded over my shoulders in loose waves, and my makeup was perfectly done in the right proportion.

Cam’s voice struggled to compliment me without stuttering. “You—you look amazing.”

My new face might be completely different from the old one, but it was a hundred percent better and prettier.

Davina was a pretty, sophisticated bitch.

“It’s showtime.” I grabbed my purse from the table. “Let’s have a little fun, shall we?”

*

I stepped out of my sleek sedan, Cameron reaching for my hands while I walked gingerly out of the car.

Harringtons Corp—the place where I’d taken my first business lessons. And where the scene of my horrifying accident had occurred.

As I walked into the once familiar premises, the cold air seeped through my skin without remorse, reminding me once again, that I was back in the den of my past.

Not much had changed from the outside, but on the inside, it was a different interior from the one I’d always remembered.

I walked in front, with Cameron strolling behind me. This was my moment; I owned every bit of it, and I was taking it.

Carmen.

Still as lovely and loyal to her job as ever. She welcomed me with her usual warm smile, ushering me into the boardroom without hesitation or recognition, her head bowed slightly to the ground in acknowledgement.

That was the raw feeling of power.

“Mr. Harrington, Miss Davina Thorne has arrived.”

I heard the announcement as I strolled in, my heels clicking on the marble floor while my hips swayed in rhythm with my sophisticated walk.

My hand lingered on the cold handle, and I felt a final, internal surge of resolve flooding through me.

I hesitated for a second, my emotions betraying me. Suddenly it felt like I couldn’t walk in there and face them—Elijah and Sorayah.

Drawing in another deep breath, I pushed the door open and stepped in, a feigned smile engraved on my lips.

My eyes swept the room, taking in the familiar, opulent surroundings. My gaze fell on the polished table and the comforting but imposing chairs occupied by corporate professionals, and I felt the anticipation building up.

I saw him immediately. I walked in, and it didn’t take another second before our gazes locked.

His face remained the same but only got refined. His beard had turned fuller than I’d remembered, and his dimple was still as alluring as ever.

A cold fury washed over me as I matched his face with a stark ache of past love, already twisted into something cruel and hateful.

I feared he saw a recognition, but there wasn’t any visible on his expression. How could he recognize me? My face had completely changed from the usual soft and innocent one he knew and betrayed.

I let my gaze flicker to the ‘other woman.’

Sorayah.

Of course, she was next to him. Her blonde hair had gotten darker at the roots, and her blue eyes glared at me like she held resentment.

Her face reminded me of the core betrayal, and I saw the striking contrast to my past self as she carved a smug smile at me.

Elijah stood up from his seat, his eyes fixed intently on me. I watched him fidget, trying to find the right way to welcome me.

I flattened a smile across my lips, extending my hands to him.

“Davina Thorne,” my voice was cheerful and void of the annoyance I’d struggled to keep bottled up. “It’s nice to meet you finally.”

“Elijah Harrington,” he said curtly with a reciprocating smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Keyword—Heard.

He was about to see and experience more than what mere words had described.

The first phase of my plan was simple—he was going to sign the deal and give me access to fifty percent of his company.

He wouldn’t do that, right?

Well, you thought wrong.

Because just three months after I left him following the divorce, tragedy befell him and his young mistress.

Elijah had gone bankrupt, and his company was at the brim of crashing totally. I’d worked hard to build a company that had been his source of income and loans for the past four years.

I returned not only to take everything from him but also to torment him for every loss I had suffered.

Including the loss of the only part of him I looked forward to keeping forever.

My baby.