Reborn to Seduce the Devil CEO

The sound of my own bones cracking against the marble was the last thing I heard before my world went sideways.

I hit the landing at the bottom of the grand staircase, the impact driving every bit of air from my lungs. For a few seconds, there was only silence and a blinding flash of white behind my eyes. Then the pain tore through me, sharp and heavy, tearing straight into my lower belly.

"Julian..." I gasped, trying to pull air into my chest. "Julian, please..."

My fingers scraped against the cold floor. A warm, thick wetness was already spreading between my thighs, soaking through the thin fabric of my dress. I looked down with trembling hands and saw dark red staining the white stone.

"Look at her," Chloe’s voice drifted down from above, light and amused. "She looks like a broken doll down there."

Slow footsteps clicked down the stairs. Julian came first, his silk shirt open at the collar, followed closely by my younger sister. Chloe was wearing my husband's jacket over her shoulders, her bare legs flashing with every step. She had her arm tucked neatly around his elbow, resting her chin on his shoulder as they walked down to where I lay broken.

"Julian," I choked out, a warm wave of blood rising in the back of my throat. "Call an ambulance. Please. The baby... I'm bleeding..."

Julian stopped two steps above the landing and looked down at me. His face was completely calm. There was no panic in his dark eyes, no fear, not even a flicker of regret.

"Why would I call an ambulance, Evelyn?" he asked softly.

"Our child..." I wept, clutching my stomach with both hands as another violent cramp ripped through me. "It’s your child, Julian! You have to save our baby!"

Chloe let out a sharp, mocking laugh that bounced off the high ceiling of the foyer. She stepped down onto the floor, walking around me until her expensive heels stopped inches from my face.

"You really are stupid, aren't you, Evie?" Chloe tilted her head, smiling down at me with genuine pity. "Did you actually think Julian wanted a baby with you?"

"Shut up," I whispered, blood spilling over my lips. "Julian, tell her to shut up..."

Julian didn't look away from me, but he reached out and casually slid an arm around Chloe's waist, pulling her close against his side.

"She's telling you the truth, Evelyn," he said, his voice flat and steady. "I never wanted a child with you. When you told me you were pregnant this morning, do you know what I felt? Disgust. Pure disgust."

"No..." I shook my head, tears burning my eyes. "You said you loved me. You said we were going to build a family..."

"He said what he had to say so your father would hand over the company shares," Chloe interrupted, leaning into Julian's chest. "And now that Daddy signed them over to Julian last week, what good are you? You're just an annoying, boring obstacle."

"You pushed me," I said, the horrific truth settling heavy in my chest. "You pushed me down the stairs on purpose."

"You wouldn't stop screaming," Julian replied, as if he were explaining why he had swatted a fly. "You walked into our bedroom, made a scene, and threatened to expose us. Did you really think I would let you take half of everything in a divorce? Did you think I’d let you raise an heir that could take my company away from me?"

"It's your flesh and blood!" I screamed, though it came out as a wet, ragged cough. More blood bubbled up, staining the floor beneath my cheek. "How can you be so cruel? It’s an innocent life!"

"An innocent life that would have cost me millions in child support and inheritance battles," Julian said, his lip curling in disgust. "No, Evelyn. It's much cleaner this way. A tragic accident. A grieving husband. And Chloe will be right by my side to comfort me through my terrible loss."

"And don't worry about the baby," Chloe added, crouching down just out of reach of my bloody hands. Her eyes sparkled with pure malice. "Even if that little monster had survived, I would have made sure it suffered every single day. A child with your blood in its veins? Disgusting. It’s better off dying inside you right now."

"You monster," I wheezed, trying to crawl toward her, wanting nothing more than to wrap my hands around her throat. "You sick, vile monster..."

Chloe just smiled and stood up, stepping back carefully so my bloody fingers wouldn't brush against her shoes. "Julian, look at her. She’s getting blood all over the carpet near the doorway. You're going to have to hire cleaners before the police come."

"I'll handle it," Julian said. He checked his watch with chilling indifference. "We should wait another ten minutes before I make the call. Just to be sure."

"Ten minutes is plenty of time," Chloe agreed, resting her head on his shoulder. "She's already losing so much blood. Look how pale she is."

I lay there, helpless, listening to them talk about my death as if they were discussing the weather. Every breath I took felt like breathing in shards of glass. My lower body felt completely numb now, but the empty, hollow ache in my womb was louder than any physical pain.

My baby was gone. I could feel the coldness spreading inside me, the fragile little heartbeat slipping away into nothingness.

"Julian..." I tried one last time, my voice barely a whisper against the cold marble. "Please..."

Julian didn't even look at me this time. He just pulled Chloe closer and kissed the top of her head.

"You brought this on yourself, Evelyn," he said coldly. "If you had just kept your mouth shut and stayed quiet, you might have lived a comfortable life. But you were always too needy. Too clingy. I was sick of looking at your face three years ago."

"And now I get him all to myself," Chloe whispered, her eyes locked on mine, gloating until the very end. "Your husband, your money, your life. Goodbye, big sister."

The darkness began creeping in from the edges of my vision. The pain in my chest was fading into a deep, freezing cold. I couldn't move my fingers anymore. I couldn't save my child. I couldn't stop them from taking everything that was mine.

Tears of blood and agony slipped down my temples, pooling on the floor beneath my head.

If there is a god, I prayed silently into the encroaching void, my teeth grinding together with the last ounce of strength in my dying body. If there is any justice in this world or the next, let me come back. Let me drag them both into the dirt. Let me make them suffer a thousand times worse than this.

With my very last breath, my eyes fixed on their smiling faces, and I made a vow to the dark:

Even if I have to crawl out of hell itself, I will destroy you both.

Then, my heart stopped, and the world went black.