Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Two weeks after the insemination, Katherine sat beside Massimo's motionless form on the massive bed. She'd been told by the doctors, it might not result to pregnancy but she should still hope. It was said, Massimo had never been able to father a child.

Her fingers moved with gentle precision, dipping a soft cloth into warm, scented water, wringing it out, and carefully wiping his pale skin. It was an intimate ritual she’d never imagined becoming so familiar.

“It’s been so long already… Are you ever going to wake up?” she whispered.

A faint twitch.

Her heart skipped a beat. His fingers moved, a slight, almost ghostly stir. Katherine leaned closer, breath caught in her chest, eyes locked on his hand.

Was it real? But just as suddenly, the motion stilled.

“Are you trying to pass a message, Massimo?"

Her phone shattered the fragile moment. The screen flashed with an unknown number.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Is this Mrs. Katherine?” a stranger’s voice asked, calm but urgent.

“Yes.”

“Your father has just had an accident. He’s in the hospital.”

The stranger mentioned the name of the hospital.

The world seemed to lurch beneath her. Katherine’s vision blurred for a heartbeat.

Then, she bolted from the mansion, ignoring Madam Elizabeth’s startled calls. The driver barely had time to react before she was in the car. “To the Saint Theresa's hospital. Now.”

But just as the car sped away, her phone rang again and it was the doctor handling her little sister, Thelma. It was so strange, he hardly calls.

Her pulse pounded in her ears as she answered.

“Madam Katherine,” the doctor's voice whispered, cold and tense. “Your sister, who was admitted to our hospital… she’s been kidnapped.”

The air seemed to vanish. Her phone slipped from her trembling hand, hitting the car seat with a muted thud.

“Madam Katherine, are you okay?” the driver’s voice seemed to come from miles away.

Katherine stared blankly at the driver, managing only a stiff nod. But inside, chaos raged.

Her father was in the hospital. Her sister had been kidnapped. What was she going to do? Who'd dared to kidnapp her sister? Where do she start from? Then, remembering she wasn’t just Katherine McQueen anymore but Katherine Hollingsworth, she steeled herself.

“Take me to the nearest police station,” she ordered, despite the panic clawing at her chest.

Upon arrival at the station, at first, the officers dismissed her when they got there like she was just another desperate woman with a missing relative.

Katherine stared at the officer, her voice cracking as she pleaded for help. But the cold indifference in their eyes told her everything until one of the guards whispered her name. Recognition flared, and everything changed. Politeness replaced dismissal, and officers straightened, tripping over themselves to assist her.

Phone calls were made, instructions barked, and within moments, she was ushered into a private office, promises of a full investigation repeating around her.

But Katherine had no time to stay behind at the station.

Arriving at the hospital, a sense of dread clawed at her when she saw her father, a sob escaped her lips. He lay still, his body bruised, his face ashen, his leg encased in thick bandages.

“Will he be okay, doctor?” Her voice trembled, barely holding back tears.

The doctor’s expression was grave. “He’ll will, ma'am, but the damage is severe. His ankle bone is shattered, and the nerves are compromised. Even with surgery, he’ll likely be confined to a wheelchair for life.”

Katherine’s world tilted. Her father, once so strong was now reduced to this. Her eyes burned with unshed tears, but she forced them back, pushing the ache deep down. There was no time for weakness.

She moved to the next room, where the driver who'd drove her her father in his cab was. He also laid with a bandaged forehead on the bed.

“How did this happen?” Katherine asked.

“He… he was returning from visiting your sister at the hospital,” the driver stammered. “We were almost home when a car came out of nowhere with speed and crashed right into us.”

Her chest tightened, her pulse quickening. Was this an accident? Or something far darker?

Then her phone beeped. She pulled it out with a shaking hand. It was a message from an unknown number:

"This is only the beginning, Katherine Hollingsworth. If you don't do what we've demanded of you, If you do not start now, your sister’s corpse will be delivered at the front gate of the Hollingsworth mansion in the next five days. And don't bother stressing the cops, they can't get to the root of it."

Her blood ran cold. We? Who were they? What do they want from her?

“Ma’am Katherine!”

A guard burst into the ward, his face filed with excitement. “Master Massimo has woken up! At the mansion!”

Her mind whirled. Her father was critical. Her sister was a hostage. Her family's life were being threatened. And now Massimo, the husband she never wanted was awake. Alive.

Every instinct screamed at her to choose, but which crisis did she rush to first?

No. There was no choice. Massimo was the axis upon which everything spun now. The power, the protection, the influence she needed to save her family, all depended on him.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to her feet and walked out of the hospital.

*****

The moment Katherine stepped into the grand hallway of the Hollingsworth mansion, she was met by Madam Elizabeth’s radiant smile.

“I’ve heard everything, Katherine. Your father’s condition, your sister’s disappearance… Don’t worry,” Madam Elizabeth cooed. “I’ve already taken steps to ensure they’re taken care of. Your sister will be found.”

A wave of relief wanted to weaken Kathrine’s knees. Madam Elizabeth was a woman of immense power and a whisper from her could move mountains.

But beneath that relief was a gnawing unease. What exactly had she done? Why this niceness from Madam Elizabeth towards her family despite what’d led her here?

“But the most thrilling news, my dear…” Madam Elizabeth’s smile widened. “Massimo is awake. Come. He’s waiting.”

Katrine’s heart hammered against her ribs as she followed Madam Elizabeth down the lavish corridor.

They entered the room, and her breath caught. Massimo lay on the bed, propped up against a mountain of pillows.

“Oh, my son!” Madam Elizabeth cried, rushing forward and wrapping him in a tight embrace. Tears shimmered in her eyes,

Katherine lingered by the doorway, watching as Massimo’s family crowded around him, their faces painted with joy and relief as if they truly love him, except madam Elizabeth.

She stayed back, giving them their moment, watching and waiting.

“I never lost hope. I knew you would open those beautiful two coloured eyes again,” Madam Elizabeth’s voice trembled with emotion as she wrapped him in a tight embrace.

“We were so worried,” Uncle Daniel added, forcing a smile.

But Massimo remained eerily silent, his expression unreadable. Not a word, not even a faint smile or warmth.

“You should go in, ma'am Katherine." Ma'am Racheal, the head maid said to her, seeing she wasn't making any attemp to do so. “Madam Elizabeth wouldn't even remember to call you because she's too excited."

Katherine only nodded, not moving. Ma'am Racheal sighed, she putied this young beautiful lady. She've not even experienced half cruelness and manipulation of what the Hollingsworth family were capable of. They’re all vipers. She only hoped, God gives her strength when the time comes.

Massimo’s heterochromatic eyes, one a deep, obsidian black and the other a cold, stormy blue, swept across the room like a predator surveying its territory. He radiates so much domineering aura for a just conscious person.

The doctor stepped back, his examination complete. “It’s a medical marvel. Just earlier today, his condition was critical, with no signs of recovery. But now,” he gestured to the conscious man—“he’s awake. With the right care, he should make a full recovery.”

As the doctor spoke, Katherine took a tentative step forward. Her heart pounded in her chest, her palms damp with nervousness.

She had rehearsed this moment a thousand times in her mind, imagining his gratitude, perhaps even warmth. But this was reality.

Massimo’s gaze snapped to her, those piercing eyes locking onto hers. His sudden movement was almost violent, his body shifting upright with a force that sent a chill down her body.

She forced a polite smile. “Hello, I’m Kath—”

He cut her off.

“I know exactly who you are.” His voice was a low, venomous rumble. “You and your family, especially your father are the reason I’m here, trapped in this hell.”

Silence gripped the room. Madam Elizabeth’s joyous expression faltered.

“Be nice, Mass–” Madam Elizabeth was saying but he snapped.

"Not now, Aunt!”

Madam Elizabeth went mute. He haven't even been told the bigger news yet and he was already reacting this way.

Katherine’s heart plummeted. “Hmm, that’s not—”

“What the hell is your filthy self even doing in my home?” His voice was sharper now. “Tell me, did you come to gloat? Or did your family send you to finish what they started?”

His word hit her like a blow. Tears pooled in her eyes. Her legs wobbled, and before she could steady herself, they buckled, hitting the floor.

She've fainted.

“Katherine!" Madam Elizabeth screamed, rushing towards her. She glared at Massimo before looking at Daniel.

“I demand an answer!” Massimo’s voice boomed, not caring about the lady who was fainted and his aunt and uncle were now rushing out.

The grand doors shut behind them, leaving the doctor and the head maid, ma'am Rachael alone to feel Massimo’s wrath.

The doctor shifted uncomfortably, sweat beading on his forehead. He cast a desperate glance at the trembling maid.

“Master… she is… she is your wife now,” madam Rachael said. “Madam Elizabeth arranged for it when you…”

“When I was as good as dead?” Massimo’s lips curled into a bitter, cruel smile. “How considerate of her to wed me to my enemy..”

Ma’am Raphael didn't say utter a word.

“Now, let me make myself clear.” He leaned forward. “I don’t want to see her in this house. Not in my room. Not in the halls. Not in my sight.”

“B…but.”

He cut her off

“Tell Aunt that her little plan has failed.”