Chapter 3

Angelica's POV

I could feel my heart finally calming down after I hung up. Then, I went back into my room to pack. After I was done, I couldn't stop myself from dry heaving a couple of times as I leaned weakly against the doorframe.

My pregnancy symptoms were just beginning to show. I gently stroked my lower abdomen, my eyes filled with tenderness as I soothed myself down.

Catia walked over to me in her loose clothing, looking at me in surprise.

"You're pregnant too, aren't you, Angelica?"

My hand on my lower abdomen paused, and my eyes suddenly turned cold.

She knew.

Her lips curled menacingly as she spoke in an even softer voice. "It's true, then."

She took a step closer, gently stroking her belly, as if showing off. She said in a piteous tone, "Don doesn't know yet, does he? Well, it's no surprise after all, since he's only been thinking about my baby the whole time."

I wanted to ignore her. So, I stepped back and tried to close the door. Yet, she leaned against my door, her tone filled with malice as she said, "You're still thinking about your dead child from a year ago, aren't you?"

Catia's voice pierced my ears like a venomous snake.

"Don said he'd love that child if it had survived, but unlucky you, you never got to keep it after all. So, did you really think that you'd be able to keep this one too?"

A blast seemed to go off in my head. I could hear my ears ringing as the bloody memory from last year tore to the surface.

I remembered the cold lights in the operating theater, Massimo's reddened eyes outside the door, and his trembling words of promise that he would never let me suffer like that again.

But now, someone else was pregnant with his child.

Because the Famiglia needed an heir.

But what about the child that I had lost? How was any of this fair to me at all?

A sharp, stabbing pain suddenly shot through my lower abdomen, like someone was ripping my organs right out.

My breath caught in my throat, my face turned deathly pale, and warm liquid slowly trickled down between my legs.

I instinctively clutched my stomach and slowly collapsed to the ground.

"My baby…"

My voice was barely audible. I sounded like I was on the verge of collapse. Yet, Catia's eyes flashed triumphantly when she saw the blood seeping down between my legs.

The next second, she clutched her stomach and screamed, "Donna! How could you fall over yourself and blame me for it?"

The commotion instantly alerted everyone in the manor.

Massimo was the first to rush in, just in time to see Catia helplessly clutching her stomach, trembling with sobs.

Meanwhile, I sat leaning against the door, my dress stained crimson with blood, a totally disheveled sight.

His gaze lingered for a moment on the blood. He mistook it for Catia's. The next second, he rushed to her without hesitation, pulling her tightly into his arms, his voice heavy as he said, "Where are you hurt?"

Catia buried her face in his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

"I don't know… I just wanted to comfort Donna, but she pushed me away and fell to the ground by herself."

Catia looked up, her tear-streaked face pitiful as she said, "Will you blame me for hurting Donna and kick me out?"

She suddenly gasped, collapsing weakly into Massimo's arms, exclaiming, "Ah, my stomach hurts so much! Do you think something might have happened to the baby?"

Massimo picked up Catia and turned to leave, his face grim and dark as thunder. I frantically grabbed his trouser leg, my lips trembling.

"Massimo, please… Save my baby…"

He looked down at me with eyes filled with only disappointment and anger.

"Haven't you caused enough trouble for everyone else, Angelica? What, do you think it's fun pretending to be pregnant like this?"

He didn't even glance at me again, leaving me with only a cold, dismissive line.

"You'd better pray that she and the child are alright. Otherwise, I won't let you off the hook."

The bustling manor fell silent the instant Massimo left. I finally collapsed limply on the cold floor. The throbbing pain in my abdomen felt like it was tearing my insides out.

I trembled as I reached out, clutching my stomach tightly, my voice hoarse and almost inaudible.

"It's okay, baby, don't be afraid. Mamma's taking you home…"

But the next second, more warm blood oozed out from between my legs and spilled onto the floor. Tears streamed down my face as I came to the realization that not every child had the chance to even be born into this world.

Also, not all cries for help were always heard.

Just as my consciousness began to fade, the roar of engines suddenly filled the air outside the manor.

It wasn't just from one car, but from an entire convoy of black cars, tearing through the night, driving straight into the main estate.

The roar of the cars told me that Papa had come to take me home.