Chapter 4

The moment I hung up the phone, footsteps echoed from the corridor.

“What are you doing?”

I quickly hid the phone under me. Gideon let out a cold laugh as he walked closer.

“What’s the rush? You think I’d confiscate your phone?”

He opened the cell door and crouched down. He examined my exhausted, hollow face with a slow, deliberate gaze.

“Evelyn, I know you’re planning to run. But without my permission, not even a fly can get in or out of this place. My advice? Have your food and behave.”

There was the usual arrogance in his tone—the same cold confidence that made him feared as a Don.

When I looked into those icy eyes, all I saw was unfamiliarity.

“Gideon, why are you doing this to me?”

For a split second, he seemed taken aback by the crack in my voice.

Then, fury flared in his gaze. “If you hadn't forced Bella to study abroad, she never would’ve left me! And if she hadn’t left, you never would’ve had the chance to worm your way in! Evelyn, you’ve been lying to me from the very beginning!”

His grip tightened, his fingers digging into my chin so hard I thought he would crush it.

“Anyone who lies to me doesn’t live to regret it. You should be grateful I’ve spared you this long.”

I turned my head in stunned silence. “I forced her? I lied to you?”

A broken laugh escaped my lips.

So, that was it. That was why Gideon hated me so much. It was because he had been living in my sister’s lies all along!

A thousand words crowded in my throat, but I did not say a thing.

Gideon was not a fool. He was sharp and cunning, the kind of man who ruled empires. The only reason he fell for my sister's trap was because he was in love with her.

There was nothing I could say that would change that. Arguing would only bring more humiliation and pain.

I did not want to be hurt again. I refused to let my unborn child die with me a second time.

I turned my head away and remained silent, refusing to spare another glance at the man in front of me.

Gideon froze for a moment. He did not expect me to react this way.

I was cold and detached, as though his words meant nothing to me.

He stood abruptly and replied in a cold voice, “Seems they were right about you. Fine. Stay here and think about what you’ve done. When I’ve cooled off, maybe I’ll let you out.”

He left, and the cell sank back into silence.

I pulled out my phone. There was already a reply waiting.

Zerrick: [Alright. In three days, I’ll pick you up with a private jet.]

I let out a long breath, letting the faint glimmer of hope wash away the stale, suffocating air of the cell.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the cell door, and Randel entered with food. His head was bandaged, and he looked pale.

“Boss asked me to bring you this. Madam, he still cares about you.”

I was taken aback for a moment, then opened the lunchbox. To my surprise, everything inside was my favorite.

“Don’t joke with me. No one locks up the person they care about.”

He opened his mouth to say more but fell silent.

I gave the lunchbox back to him. “This must be from you, not him. I appreciate the gesture, but don’t get yourself hurt for my sake. I... I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”

He looked at the lunchbox in his hands and immediately explained, “No, really. It was the boss’ order.”

I shook my head and said nothing.

He let out a sigh. “Madam, don’t lose hope. The boss is just blinded right now. I’ve been gathering evidence—”

I coughed sharply, cutting him off. “Do you have a death wish? The walls have ears. If he finds out, you’re done for.”

Randel understood how complicated these family matters could be. He immediately shut his mouth and left.

In the end, a loose thread remained, and somehow, his words reached Bella.

Later that night, Bella stormed into the cell. “So, you’re planning to team up and expose me? You really don’t want to live, do you?”

My parents followed her in. Their gazes were cold and sharp, as though they were looking at an enemy and not their own child.

“Out of our shared blood, we didn’t want to be this merciless, but to think you’d try to destroy your own sister and tear apart the Quinn family! In that case, we’ll show no mercy!”

They stepped closer and closer until I was pressed against the wall.

“What are you going to do? Kill me? There are cameras everywhere…”

Bella suddenly pulled a fruit knife from behind her back, raising it high. I instinctively shielded my belly and shut my eyes.

Yet, the pain never came.

When I opened them again, my breath froze.

Bella was on the floor, and the knife was buried in her abdomen. Blood spilled everywhere.

“Bella! Bella! My daughter!”

My mother’s screams echoed off the concrete as my father bolted for the door.

“Call the Don! Tell him Evelyn stabbed Bella! Now!”

Guards scrambled in a panic and immediately ran out.

“Dad, delete the footage… before they see…” Bella’s voice quivered as she reminded him.

I lunged forward to stop him, but it was too late.

Moments later, the door burst open.

“Bella!” Gideon’s voice thundered through the cell. “What the hell happened here?!”

My mother collapsed into tears. “Bella said Evelyn was starving. She didn’t even change before rushing over with food. The moment she came in, Evelyn grabbed a little knife from the serving tray and stabbed Bella, saying it was all her fault and that she should die.”

“Starving?” Gideon repeated slowly. His gaze suddenly turned vicious, sharp enough to cut through the air. “I thought you refused to eat because you were sulking. But now I see you were just trying to win sympathy before hurting your own sister.”

He walked toward me and kicked me hard, sending me crashing to the ground.

Pain ripped through my stomach.

My mother cried and shouted, “You can't deny it! We saw it with our own eyes! Bella came to apologize and even said she’d plead with the Don in a couple of days to get you released, yet instead of being grateful, you actually went and hurt her!”

Gideon’s rage boiled over.

Randel suddenly said, “Boss, Madam is still recovering. It’s unlikely she could attack anyone. Maybe we should check the security footage first.”

Gideon glanced at me as I trembled all over, then turned his cold gaze to the guards. “Go. Pull the footage.”

The guards rushed off.

Gideon then crouched beside Bella, gently pressing a bandage to her wound. He gently brushed the sweat from Bella’s forehead. His voice dripped with tenderness. “Does it hurt? Don’t be afraid. The doctor’s on his way.”

When I got kidnapped back then, I was shot twice in the arm and leg. He had barely looked at me, leaving me with a private doctor.

He had claimed it was my own fault for standing out too much, that those two bullets were a lesson I would never forget.

The difference between pretense and genuine feeling was always in the details.

I thought my heart was numb already, but now, it clenched in pain once more.

I stared down the empty hallway, holding on to the tiniest flicker of hope.

My father had not returned. The security footage might still exist. If Gideon could see the truth, perhaps…

“This is bad, Boss! The footage was deleted!”