Chapter 2

Ignazio said, "She made Chiara suffer, so she deserves to suffer the same kind of discomfort."

My entire body instantly stiffened. It felt as though my heart had been torn out of my chest and crushed over and over again. It hurt so badly that I could barely breathe.

The next day, Chiara and I were discharged from the hospital together.

Ignazio came to pick us up personally. I didn't want to ride in the same car with them, but he pushed me into the vehicle anyway.

But not long after we set off, the steering wheel suddenly malfunctioned. The car sped straight toward the roadside guardrail.

At the most critical moment, Chiara suddenly threw herself in front of me to shield me. As a result, she slammed hard against the car seat.

By the time Ignazio reacted to what was happening, he saw Chiara protecting me with her body. His hand instinctively reached toward her, but when his gaze met mine, he suddenly came back to his senses.

"Carlotta, thank goodness you're okay," he said.

Even as Chiara was taken away in the ambulance, he didn't look at her again.

But in an empty hospital room, Ignazio pinned her beneath him, his eyes filled with suppressed anger.

He growled, "Why did you play the hero and throw yourself over her? You're a pregnant woman! Are you trying to drive yourself to an early death?"

The next second, Ignazio kissed her fiercely.

So Chiara was pregnant again.

My heart had already gone numb by then. Silently, I turned and walked away.

…

That night, Ignazio didn't come home. It wasn't until the next morning that he stood by my bed with eyes full of disappointment.

"I checked that car. Someone tampered with the steering wheel," he said.

I looked up at him in disbelief. "You suspect it's my doing?"

Ignazio let out a sigh and said, "I told you before. I'm only using Chiara. Once I'm done with her, I'll send her away. She can't threaten your position. She even risked her life to protect you. Why can't you tolerate her?"

In the middle of the sweltering summer heat, I felt a chill creep deep into my bones.

Ignazio didn't trust me at all. In the days that followed, he began deliberately neglecting me.

However, I no longer cared. In just two more days, I would be taking Antonio with me and leaving for good.

The day before my departure was the fifth anniversary of my marriage to Ignazio. I had thought he would continue ignoring me.

To my surprise, he chartered a luxury cruise ship to celebrate with me. But the moment we boarded, one of his men informed him that Chiara had gone missing again.

That night, Ignazio practically turned the entire city upside down searching for her, but he still could not find any trace of her. He smashed a vase, and its shards scattered across my feet.

"Honey, tell me where Chiara is," he demanded.

I shook my head and mumbled, "I don't know… I really don't know…"

This wasn't the first time he had suspected me because of Chiara. Still, my chest ached as if it were being torn apart.

Soon, someone handed over Chiara's phone from before her disappearance. The last call she had made was to me.

Ignazio rubbed his throbbing temples and barked, "Carlotta Zucco, the evidence is right here. Are you still going to deny it?"

I laughed coldly and retorted, "Just because of one phone call, you've decided that I hired someone to kidnap Chiara. Is that it?"

I remembered the phone call Chiara had made to me before she disappeared.

She had confessed shamelessly, "I caused the allergic reaction myself, and I deliberately damaged the steering wheel too. I knew I wouldn't really get hurt, so I threw myself onto you and put on a show.

"A man's sympathy and guilt are the strongest shackles. I'm going to make Ignazio soften toward me little by little and compensate me bit by bit until I completely replace you."

Her ambition had been unmistakable through the phone.

She had gone on, "Carlotta, I know you and Ignazio have a child. Do you dare make a bet with me? Let's bet on which one of us is more important to Ignazio—you and your child, or me and my unborn child in my belly."

Her disappearance was nothing more than a performance she had staged herself.

Sadly, Ignazio didn't believe a single word I said.