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Ninety Nine Voicemails From the Deathbed
Ninety Nine Voicemails From the Deathbed
Author: Shirley

Chapter 1

Author: Shirley
Every time I texted my husband, all I got back was money.

This time, facing terminal brain cancer, I received a $50,000 deposit alert right before entering the operating room.

In his eyes, I was a gold digger. A woman who would do anything for a payout.

I took a bullet for him. I broke down over my terminal diagnosis and sent 99 voice messages. Yet all I ever got back were cold bank transfers.

I smiled bitterly and pulled the IV needle from my vein. Dominic, this time, I will give you your answer with my death. I will set you free.

The metal needle slid out of my vein, leaving behind a bright bead of blood.

A nurse rushed over and pressed down on the back of my hand. "What are you doing?"

I just smiled calmly at her. "Please cancel the surgery."

My attending doctor was quickly called over. He stared at me for a long time, not even trying to change my mind. Eventually, he reluctantly prescribed a bottle of strong painkillers and approved my discharge.

Walking down the corridor, I heard the nurse complaining in a hushed voice.

"Doctor, if she doesn't have the surgery, the cancer will shut down her organs. She won't survive a week."

Less than seven days left. It seemed I would be free very soon.

The doctor gave a sad smile. "You know? Her father died on this very floor years ago. The exact same disease."

I stopped in my tracks. "She's been coming here alone to endure this for over six months. I have never seen a family member by her side."

"Other women have husbands to take care of them. When she curls up in a ball and sweats from the pain, she has to suffer alone."

"I've known her for so long, yet I still don't know who her husband is. One night she called him. A woman answered."

The doctor's voice dropped. "Some people are just dealt a bad hand."

I clutched the prescription. A sharp pain shot through my chest.

Yes, this was probably my fate.

Just like when my father was diagnosed. Even when he convulsed in pain, he still held my hand tightly to comfort me.

"Don't be afraid, Hazel. Dad's been through it all."

In the end, he still died in my arms. He was nothing but skin and bones.

Just like when I asked Dominic for that three hundred thousand dollars on our wedding night to save my dad.

I still remember the shock in his eyes to this day. "Hazel, am I just an ATM to you?"

"My mother, my brothers, even Vivian said you were only after my last name. I didn't believe a single word of it."

"I withstood the pressure from the Commission. I turned down an arranged marriage. I risked everything to bring you into the family."

Dominic sharply cut me off. His dark eyes were bloodshot and filled with pain.

I shrank back from his volatile outburst. Tears stinging my eyes, I reached out in shock to hold his hand.

"It's not like that, Dominic. My father, he..."

"Tonight's our wedding night."

"Hazel, did you really have to trample on my feelings at a time like this?"

"Dominic, I swear I'll pay you back! If it bothers you, I won't ask for it. Just don't be mad, okay?"

He didn't say another word. He just pressed a no-limit black card into my hand. His thumb brushed against my ring finger before he let go.

"No limit. The PIN is your birthday."

His voice was terribly hoarse.

"We had a deal. Hazel, you were only in it for the money after all."

He turned and walked away. The door slammed so hard the chandelier shook.

That was supposed to be our sweetest night.

I sat numbly in the empty compound until three in the morning. Then Vivian walked in.

Dominic reeked of alcohol as he leaned on her. His shirt was slightly unbuttoned. It revealed a lipstick mark on his collar.

The lighting was dim, yet the mark looked exceptionally glaring.

Vivian looked up and smiled at me. She looked apologetic but innocent.

"Hazel, I'm taking care of Dominic tonight. Go back to your room and get some sleep."
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  • Ninety Nine Voicemails From the Deathbed   Chapter 11

    A decade turned to dust. Dominic was now forty.That day, the family elders were gathered around the long table for a meeting. He was listening to a report about the docks. Suddenly, his hand loosened. His glass shattered on the floor.He slumped to the side and collapsed.The scans came back. It was terminal brain cancer.The doctor held the report. He looked up at this man with greying temples and empty eyes, and sighed.Some things really couldn't be explained."I know there's no cure."Dominic was surprisingly calm. A morbid sort of release surfaced in his cold gray eyes."The exact same disease that took my wife. And her father."The doctor nodded silently."This is good."The man chuckled softly. A trace of real warmth finally appeared in his weather-beaten eyes."This bastard finally has the right to experience exactly how much pain she was in."He refused all aggressive chemotherapy options. He rarely even used strong painkillers.He handed over the reins of the family to his t

  • Ninety Nine Voicemails From the Deathbed   Chapter 10

    He grew increasingly quiet.Every year on the anniversary of Hazel's death, he would disappear for a few days.He would bring her urn to the spots where they secretly dated. The dilapidated outdoor cinema. The alleyway where they shared their first kiss. The hilltop where he proposed to her.The tall, cold man would sit on a bench. He would murmur continuously to the urn, report on mundane family business, and pour out how much he missed her.He told her how he saw a blonde on the street today. From behind, she looked so much like Hazel. He chased her like crazy for several blocks, only to find it was just a passing stranger.As he spoke, tears covered his face.His body soon broke down.Drinking hard liquor like water and skipping meals caused irreversible damage to his stomach and liver.He ignored the severe warnings from his private doctor.It was a slow, agonizing suicide.He collapsed in his study from severe internal bleeding and was rushed to the ER. His consigliere guarded the

  • Ninety Nine Voicemails From the Deathbed   Chapter 9

    He pulled the front door open and walked out into the night.Vivian screamed desperately. Her shrill cries echoed throughout the entire penthouse."Where are you taking me? Let me go! I am the Principessa!"She tried to grab Dominic's pant leg. But she was pinned firmly to the floor by the armed bodyguards.It all happened too fast.The man who had once indulged her had turned into a ruthless tyrant, casting her straight into hell.The elevator doors closed, shutting those screams away in another world.Dominic leaned against the cold elevator wall. He felt no thrill of revenge in his heart, only a deeper, bottomless desolation.Even torturing Vivian to death couldn't bring his Hazel back.Dominic went to the hospital morgue. He signed his name and claimed Hazel's body. He had her cremated and brought her back to the compound.He had his men erase all traces of any other woman in this house. He completely restored the master bedroom to how Hazel liked it best.He placed her urn at the

  • Ninety Nine Voicemails From the Deathbed   Chapter 8

    He didn't know how much time had passed. He pushed himself up using the edge of the bed and washed his face with cold water. He stared dead-on at the utterly haggard man in the mirror.That passionate Dominic who proposed to her in the rain at twenty years old was gone. He had died on the floor of that old apartment.What stood there now was just an empty shell hollowed out by regret.Dressed in a sharp suit, but walking like a corpse.That night, he went to Vivian's penthouse.As soon as the elevator doors opened, four armed men stepped out first. They spread out to stand in the four corners.Vivian had clearly dressed up. Her silk robe slipped off her shoulder to reveal just the right curve of her collarbone. An elegant anklet graced her ankle.On the dining table sat an open bottle of red wine and two lit candles."Dominic," she greeted him with a smile. Her fingers reached to hook his tie. "I knew you would come tonight..."Dominic sidestepped her like she was something filthy.He

  • Ninety Nine Voicemails From the Deathbed   Chapter 7

    "No... don't do this to me, Hazel...""I would be sad... Hazel, I would be sad...""I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm a monster."He pulled her cold body into his arms and muttered incoherently."What do I do without you?"Then he scrambled for his phone like a madman to call for an ambulance. He got the address wrong three times while reporting it.The ambulance sirens soon tore through the dead silence of the night.The paramedics rushed into the room with their equipment. After an attempt at resuscitation, they could only shake their heads at him in regret and declare the time of death."Shut up!"Dominic roared with red eyes. He grabbed the doctor's collar in a death grip and pulled desperately."She's not dead. Save her. I will give you whatever you want. I will give you this whole city...""Tell me she's not dead!"They forced a sedative into his veins. This was a man who made the entire city tremble in the dark. Yet now, he struggled madly as he was pinned firmly to the floor by three o

  • Ninety Nine Voicemails From the Deathbed   Chapter 6

    The chilling realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.He suddenly recalled that Hazel had sent him those exact same words a few months ago.Dominic's breathing fell into complete chaos.He abruptly remembered that day at Vivian's penthouse. Vivian was playing with his private phone.The Mafia princess had smiled coyly at him. "Dominic, Hazel's asking you for money again. I'll just wire some to get rid of her, so she doesn't ruin our mood."He had just grunted in agreement while taking a drink.And then? Then he completely ignored her text.He hadn't even bothered to read what Hazel had actually sent.So back then, something had actually happened to her father! It was never a lie fabricated to bleed him dry!He had been kept in the dark by Vivian's manipulation all along.So much so that he didn't even know what was wrong when her own body started failing.For so long, he had used the most degrading methods to trample on and brutally humiliate the only woman he had ever truly lo

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