Chapter 4

Stella

“Clara is Adrian’s first love! She is the reason that he built the pharmaceutical company! He wants to save her, to bring her back to life!”

My world shatters from all around me.

I hate the way they look at me. The way they so easily laugh at the concept of me being a bag of spare parts for them use. I hate that they are so casual about this.

I close my eyes. My mind turns in on itself, desperately running through every memory that I have with him. Every interaction, every moment, every text sent, every word spoken, our vows…it was all for Clara.

Did he see her in my face? Or was I just a pawn in the chess game he played with life.

When I open my eyes, divorce papers fill the entirety of my vision. I take them in my hands, the weight of the packet feeling heavy, ready to drop me towards the center of the earth. A pen is placed on top of the white papers and I look up at my parents.

“Don’t waste our time. Sign them,” my father’s gaze attaches to mine. “He doesn’t love you, never has.”

“If you have any self respect, Stella, you’ll sign these papers and step side. Let Clara take her rightful place as his wife,” my mother continues.

I hang my head down low, hair falling into my face. They lean in, eyes narrowed on me. I look up and shake my head, taking a single step backwards.

“No,” I shakily breathe out.

I cannot let them win. They can’t use me and cut away pieces of my body whenever they see fit. They can’t get what they want every time they see fit.

They have stolen my health and my life away from me. These past five years have been filled with suffering, pain, and anguish. It is all because of them.

I take one last look at the divorce papers. My chin tilts up, arms raising in the air. I throw the papers at them; the white pages fly into the air, slowly descending to the ground in a disorganized mess.

“I am going to stay as the CEO’s wife for as long as possible,” I inform them, sneering at their shocked expressions. “Every extra day that I spend with him means more money for me. It doesn’t matter if I love Adrian or not.”

Their jaws drop. They take a collective step forward and I match it by taking a step backwards.

“You are shameless!” My mother screeches.

“Yeah? Where do you think I learned it from?” I snap back.

I move to turn around but she grabs my wrist, yanking me back. I free myself from her grasp and point a finger at her, my voice echoing throughout the nearby area.

“For the past five years, my body has been cut open and sewn back together again all because of your precious Clara! The parts of my body that you have taken from me should be payment enough. I’m done with you and this sad excuse of a family!”

“Be careful, Stella,” my father narrows his eyes at me, “Adrian is smart. He’ll eventually freeze all of his assets and bank accounts. You’ll be left with nothing. With the state your body is in, you’ll come crawling back to us soon enough.”

I laugh, my body shaking as I hunch over, grabbing my aching stomach to ease some of the pain. I look back up at them, shaking my head as I straighten my back.

“Then let Adrian come talk to me. It’s the least he can do since he also stole my body from me,” I spit the words out at them.

They open their mouths to retort but a nurse steps in. I look around, noticing that other patients and visitors stare at us with bewildered expressions. I purse my lips and step in the direction of my hospital room.

“You two need to leave. Now!” The nurse points to the doors that lay at the end of the hallway. They try to argue but the nurse calls for security, which gets them to leave.

They head in the direction of the doors. They look over their shoulders, eyes trained on my face. My father tries to reason with the nurse that I’m the problem, not them, but they aren’t having it.

The doors swing open and they take a right hand turn, disappearing from my sight.

A small and meek sigh leaves my lips but the whole interaction leaves me feeling exhausted, like my body is about to give out on me. My body sways back and forth, eyes fluttering, when a pair of hands catch me.

“I got you…come on, let’s get you to bed,” the nurse’s voice is calm and soothing. I nod and allow her to guide me into my room, slowly getting into bed. As soon as the door is closed behind her, a tired cry leaves my lips.

Never in my life have I felt so…numb. So empty. So…worthless.

My phone vibrates in my robe pocket. I slip it out and press the green button without looking at the caller I.D..

“Hello?” I weakly say.

“Stella?” The man’s voice is gentle and caring. “How are you?”

I suck in a breath, my lungs shaking. My throat feels so sore as tears begin to freely flow from my eyes. My body is racked with uncontrollable sobs.

I sit up and lean over. The phone presses into my ear, the voices of my chosen brothers on the other line. They are the heirs to the Obsidian Pact, the men who have made me feel so safe in desperate times.

“I-I,” my voice is barely coherent. I choke the words out, “I just found out that I’m adopted…I have no family.”

On the other end of the line, multiple voices grow loud, shouting at each other. I can hear the phone be dropped and the sounds of multiple pairs of feet stomping all around from the device. A small laugh escapes my lips, shaking my head at the idea of them fighting over the phone.

“Quiet!” The voice from earlier yells.

The line falls quiet. A few seconds pass. I listen in as the men on the other side of the call settle into place.

“You still have us.”

“But you’re just my sworn brothers,” I sniffle into the microphone, wiping my eyes.

The silence on their end makes me feel uneasy yet I remain calm, knowing that there is always a reason for their hesitant responses. I sigh into the phone, shaking my head as more tears fall from my eyes.

“Stella…you are our real sister.”

I sit up straight, my back as straight as a wooden board. I blink into the nothingness of the room, slowly processing his words.

I’m their sister? Their real sister?

This has become incredibly real so fast. Their power and influence is great across the city, particularly in the criminal underworld.

“I got close to you to keep you safe but we didn’t tell you about this before because we were afraid of other gangs finding out and coming after you. We didn’t want to put you in danger or be killed because of us,” my brother explains.

Danger…that’s a part of the mafia life, isn’t it? Always looking over your shoulder, never wanting to upset the wrong person. My heart pounds inside my chest, my head feeling faint.

“Are you willing to come home?” One voice asks.

“No matter what, we will protect you with our lives,” another calls out.

I sit in silence while their calming and reassuring voices fill my ear. I nod, wiping away the shocked tears that fall from my eyes.

“Yes,” my words are choked between breathless sobs and cries. My hand claws at my chest, trying to steady my pounding heart. “I want to come home!”