تسجيل الدخول122Fragments of sound drifted through Vanessa's unconsciousness.Beeping machines.Footsteps.Distant voices speaking rapidly in another language.Then pain.A sharp, unbearable pain that spread through her entire body like fire beneath her skin.Her brows twitched weakly.A low groan escaped her dry lips.The room around her remained blurry as her eyelids slowly opened.White ceiling.Bright lights.Sterile smell.Hospital.Vanessa blinked slowly.Confusion clouded her expression.Her throat burned terribly.She tried moving slightly.But pain exploded through her ribs immediately.A soft gasp escaped her.“What…”Her voice sounded cracked and weak.Nothing like herself.That was when all the memories suddenly slammed back into her mind.Her breathing quickened instantly, and her eyes widened.She tried sitting up.The machines beside her started beeping loudly.And pain shot violently through her lower body.“Ah!”The hospital room door opened immediately.A nurse rushed inside.“Mis
121Several streets away, Pedro adjusted the delivery bag strapped behind his motorcycle.“Last order of the night,” he muttered tiredly.His voice carried a slight accent.The twenty-six-year-old delivery rider rubbed his freezing hands together before checking the address again on his cracked phone screen.Apartment 6B.Third building.He sighed deeply.“Why do people order soup at midnight during a storm?”The old woman at the food stall laughed loudly.“Because lazy people still need to eat!”Pedro chuckled weakly.“You’re right.”The woman handed him the packaged food carefully.“Go home after this one. The storm is getting worse.”Pedro nodded.“I will.”He placed the food inside the thermal delivery box and climbed onto his motorcycle.The engine roared softly.Rainwater dripped from his helmet visor as he drove into the nearly empty streets.The city looked completely different at night.Lonelier. Colder. And More dangerous.Pedro had learned that quickly after moving here. A
120Vanessa stumbled through the freezing rain, her soaked clothes clinging heavily to her body as pain shot through every step she took.Her breathing came out ragged and uneven. Blood stained one side of her sleeve from where she had scraped herself escaping the van.Ahead of her stood an abandoned, half-finished building hidden in the shadows of the city. Exposed concrete pillars stretched upward into darkness while loose tarps snapped loudly in the wind.Vanessa quickly crawled inside, shivering violently.The place smelled like dust, cigarettes, and damp cement.The rain had finally stopped by now.That was when she saw him.A rough-looking man leaned against one of the unfinished walls, smoke curling lazily around him. His beard was unkempt, his leather jacket worn, and the scar across his eyebrow made him look even more dangerous beneath the dim construction light.The man narrowed his eyes the second he noticed her.“Well…” he muttered in Russian-accented English, taking an
119The nurse’s hands trembled so badly that the syringe nearly slipped from her fingers. Tears clung desperately to her lashes as she stared at Vanessa again.“P-please…” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Don't make me do this,” She knew Vanessa met no good and that the content of the syringe is met to hurt Isabella.Vanessa’s expression remained cold an sdeadly.The gun pressed harder against the nurse’s temple.“You will do it,” Vanessa hissed. “Or you die first.”Isabella lay frozen on the hospital bed, her wrists trembling against the sheets. Her breathing came out in short, painful gasps as she watched the nurse slowly approach her.The syringe gleamed under the fluorescent light.“No…” Isabella croaked weakly, shaking her head. “Please…” she said but the words died in her subconscious as she couldn't speak out loud.The nurse sobbed quietly. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”Vanessa smirked. “Good girl. Now inject her.”The nurse moved closer, her entire body shaking violent
118Andrea's PA glanced at his watch again.Thirty minutes.Then forty.Still no sign of Andrea His phone was still in his hand, but there was no response. As every call he made to Andrea went unanswered.His jaw tightened.“What is keeping him?,” he muttered under his breath.Something was wrong, and he could feel it.He stare at Isabella who was lying still on the hospital bed. Andrea had given him strict instructions not to leave Isabella. But he needed to find Andrea.Besides, there were two security already guilding the entrance to the ward.So he was convinced Isabella was safe.He glanced towards Isabella and without thinking twice, he stepped out of the ward, eyes scanning the busy hospital corridor.“I’ll find him myself,” he said sharply, already moving.The moment he was gone, a nurse walked calmly towards the ward.Her steps were slow, and controlled.But it was not really a nurse.It was Vanessa.Dressed perfectly in a nurse’s uniform.She adjusted her cap slightly, he
117Andrea brought Lucas to the hospital to see Isabella.The moment Lucas stepped into the room, he ran straight to her.“Mom!” he cried.He hugged her carefully, but the moment he felt how fragile she was.With bandages covering her head, her face, her arms, and even parts of her legs, his emotions broke completely.Isabella couldn’t speak.She was still too weak, still recovering.But her eyes softened the moment she saw him, filled with pain and love she couldn’t express.Lucas held on tighter, crying quietly.A doctor stepped in shortly after.“She needs rest,” he said gently. “You’ll have to step out now.”Reluctantly, Andrea guided Lucas out of the room.The moment they stepped into the hallway. A fist came swinging.Andrea barely dodged in time.Ethan stood there, furious.“Stay away from my girlfriend!” he snapped. “You don’t get to play husband in her life like you owe her !” he roared.Andrea’s expression hardened. “What are you talking about?”Ethan stepped closer. “Li
023Miguel and Ethan stared at the doctor, there were already growing impatient, the doctor had asked them to come to his office few minutes ago, which they did and instead of telling them how the surgery went, he was busy scribbling what they had no idea of into a sheet. Miguel sigh in frustration
021It was the seventh time Miguel had called Isabella, but there was still no response. His thumb hovered over the phone, trembling slightly. This was unusual. He remembered that the last time she didn’t pick his calls, she had been kidnapped by Andrea. That thought alone made his chest tightened
020“Madam, you look so happy. Care to share the good news?” the driver asked, staring at her through the rearview mirror.Isabella didn’t answer immediately. She leaned back in her seat, her head resting lightly against the window as her eyes followed the passing streetlights. The city lights refle
019Andrea was unsettled after handing over Isabella the divorce papers.If I had known, I wouldn't have given it to her, he thought.The fear of letting Isabella go was so overwhelming but Andrea refused to accept that he wanted her to stay back.After few hours of thinking, he walked back toward







