Chapter 3

At my mother's bedside, I clung to her hand and whispered through my tears, "Mom, it's me... Please, for one last time, open your eyes and look at me..."

However, my pleas were met with silence. She was gone. She would never look upon me again.

Time passed, and with no tears left to cry, I gathered the strength to stand and arrange for her cremation.

Holding her ashes, I went to the cemetery, intending to lay her to rest by the sea she so loved. However, before I could say my final goodbye, a car screeched to a halt in front of me. Bodyguards sprang out, dragging me away to face Adrian.

Adrian glared at me with a venomous look. "Liliana, you've become quite the escape artist!"

I met his gaze, my eyes blazing with defiance. "You think you can imprison me?"

He was the reason I had lost the last family I had.

My defiance only fueled his rage. He grabbed my chin, his voice laced with malice as he said, "You owe me, Liliana, and don't you forget it!"

I could not help but laugh, a bitter sound mixed with my tears. "Adrian, I've paid my dues in full."

My mother had forced him into a divorce when times were tough, a mistake for which she paid dearly.

His anger erupted. "You'll never be able to settle your debt with me, Liliana. Not in this lifetime!"

"What's this?" Macie's voice cut through the tension as she picked up the urn, toying with it carelessly.

Panic surged within me. "Put that down. It's my mother's—"

The urn crashed to the floor with a loud thud, sending a cloud of gray-white ashes and broken porcelain flying in all directions.

Macie coughed violently from the dusty cloud, quickly grabbed a water glass nearby, and drenched the powdery mess, turning it into a sodden lump.

I shot Macie a glare filled with pure loathing. My body surged with a sudden burst of strength, and I wrenched myself free from the bodyguard's grip. I lunged at Macie, hands closing around her throat, my mind screaming for vengeance.

Gasping for air, Macie's eyes rolled back as she pleaded for help. "Mr. Jones, save me..."

Adrian was on me in a flash, yanking my hair and tossing me aside like a rag doll.

"Liliana, you've lost it!" he roared.

I hit the ground hard, a streak of blood marking the spot where my forehead met the floor. However, the physical pain was nothing compared to the ache in my heart. I scrambled to collect my mother's ashes and the shattered pieces of the urn, my fingers bleeding without care.

Adrian's gaze wavered as if he wanted to say more, but Macie's whimpering cut through the tension. "Mr. Jones, my head is spinning, my neck... It hurts so much..."

Without a second thought, Adrian scooped Macie up and turned to me with a stern command. "You're going to stay in this villa and think about what you've done until you're ready to apologize."

Then, he carried Macie away.

I cradled the ashes close, whispering, "I was wrong. My mistake was loving you, marrying you..."

After a day and night of solitude, the villa was shattered by the sound of breaking glass. Fiona's men, dressed for a mission, stormed in.

They dumped a woman's body inside and set the villa ablaze, flames engulfing everything in a fiery roar.

I slipped the ring off my finger and gently placed it on the woman's cold hand lying still before me. Then, I followed the others up to the rooftop and escaped in the waiting helicopter.

Below us, the fire raged on, lighting up the night sky with its fierce, untamed dance.

It did not take long for the bodyguard to spot the blaze. He wanted to dash in and play the hero, but the flames were too hungry, too fast.

Panicked, he dialed Adrian, and after what felt like an eternity, a deep voice answered.

"Did she admit her mistakes?"

His voice shook as he delivered the grim news. "Mr. Jones, Mrs. Jones is... She's gone. The fire took her..."