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002 The Viper’s Voice
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-04-21 13:38:03(Ava)
I push myself up in bed. “I’m going to see my baby.” I start to rip off patches.
The doctor puts his hand on my arm. “Ava… Your mental health is in question. Legally, you aren’t allowed to see her.”
His words cut through me like a sword.
How can they think I would ever hurt my baby?
“I am her mother. I will never hurt her! She needs me right now, I have to see her!”
The doctor offers a subdued nod. “Ms. Lancaster, I’m sorry. I truly am. But I could lose my job if I take you.”
I whisper, voice hard. “I’m going to see Lila, now. Even if I have to crawl there and end up in jail.”
“I’ll take you.” The male nurse fixing my IV says with a smile, “Nico, nice to meet you.”
He looks like he should be on a most wanted poster with that neck tattoo. But he is my only choice.
The doctor holds up his hands. “Okay. I never heard anything,” and leaves the room.
***
Nico pulls the door open and pulls my wheelchair backwards into the room. He turns the chair to face the bed.
And my heart shatters.
Lila looks… so small. So pale.
Tubes and IVs snake from her tiny body. Machines beep in quiet, rhythmic intervals.
Her favorite stuffed bunny is next to her, the same one she’s had since she was a baby.
Tears blur my vision. I can barely breathe past the ache in my chest.
Nico pushes me closer, and I lean over taking her tiny hand in mine. Tears pour down my face.
“Oh God. Lila. Mommy’s here. Lila, don’t give up. I love you, baby. I love you so much.”
Without her, my life is meaningless.
I sat stiffly in the chair beside Lila’s bed, my fingers curled around her tiny hand, tracing the soft skin, memorizing every inch of her.
My chest feels hollow, as though someone has punched through my ribcage and ripped everything out.
She’s dying. My baby is dying.
“Call her father. I want to talk to him,” I demand.
“We left messages,” the nurse says, hesitant. “We spoke with Mrs. Lorne. She knows the gravity.”
Sienna won’t tell Zach. I know she won’t. Why did I ever trust her?
All that time she was acting the dedicated friend, how we could all exist as a blended family. Lies, all lies. Like a viper, she was waiting to strike.
Zach and I were so happy. So happy.
I try again with the nurse, she has kind eyes. “Our daughter is at the end of her life. Have a heart…I’m begging you…”
The nurse hesitates and then her shoulders slump. “I’ll go get the phone.”
It rings. And rings. Then—
“Hello?”
Sienna’s voice.
I clench my teeth. “Where’s Zach?”
She sighs dramatically. “Oh, it’s you. I heard you’d woken up.”
My grip tightens. “Where. Is. Zach.”
“He’s busy,” she drawls. “It’s Kai’s eighth birthday, you know. We’re throwing a huge party. We all need a rest from hospitals.”
My blood boils. I hate her so much. She has ruined my life. Taken my daughter’s life from me. “Lila is not going to make it. Zach should be here.”
Sienna yawns. “We’ll visit tomorrow.”
“Put him on the phone.”
“Patience darling. Be thankful I let you wake up in time to see Lila again,” her voice is lowered. The words shock me.
What?! Did she just admit that she is responsible for my coma?
“It was you. It was all you.” It was Sienna. She drugged me somehow.
“No one will believe you. You’re crazy. Everyone knows that.” I hear her laugh and the line goes dead. She hung up.
I want to hurl the phone at the wall, but I know if I do, they’ll stop me from seeing Lila.
I’m not going to stop calling until I get Zach. I hit the redial button and it rings out over and over. I try again.
Zach finally picks up.
“Zach.” I say, not able to get anything else out. I’m so angry, so sad.
“Ava,” he sighs. “Sienna told me you’re awake. She said you’re spiraling. I’d hoped you were over these manic, paranoid episodes.”
My hands shake with fury. “Lila has sepsis. She’s dying, Zach.”
A pause. Then— “Are you hallucinating again? I’ve just talked to a nurse, and they said Lila is stable. I hear you’re refusing medication.”
“Stable? She’s dying, Zach!”
He sighs. “You’re hallucinating. Take your meds. We’ll visit Lila tomorrow.”
“You used her for spare parts,” I spit, tears pooling in my eyes. “And now you’ve abandoned her. I told you she was yours.”
“Yes, she’s mine but you’re mentally unstable. You’re a drug addict. I can’t have that in my life, in my kids lives.”
“I love Lila more than anything in this world.”
He chuckles bitterly. “You tried to jump off a bridge with her… what loving mother does that?”
Tears form in my eyes as I have flashbacks of Lila screaming and me holding her on the edge of a bridge. My body collapses again. What have I done?
“You’re a joke, Ava. I’m done feeding into your delusions. I wish I’d never chose you.”
My blood turns icy while he hangs up on me.
I’ve never hated anyone as much as I hate Zach right now. He doesn’t deserve Lila. He doesn’t deserve her love, or mine.
I knew what his reputation was. I knew he was a feared and ruthless businessman. I knew he was a player who discarded women when he was done. But I wouldn’t listen. I thought he’d change, for me. He did.
No affairs. No temper. He was the most patient and loving husband and father.
Deep down I know I still love him and maybe a part of me always will. That young, hopeful, starry-eyed virgin part of me.
I’m so far removed from who I was, it really just a stupid dream. It always was.
Sometimes, this time, love is just not enough.
I’m done with him.
Bab terkait
Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 003 A Mother’s Last Wish
(Ava)The machines beep in slow, steady rhythms, a cruel mockery of the life slipping away from my daughter.Her doctor clears his throat. I barely glance up.“Ms. Lancaster, we’ve done everything we can.” His voice is measured, careful. Like I might shatter if he speaks too plainly. I swallow the lump in my throat. “You’re saying she’s going to die?”He hesitates. “Yes.”The air is thick, suffocating. My ears ring.“I can call a priest if you’d like,” he offers. “For last rites.”I blink, staring at him like he’s speaking a foreign language.Last rites? What good is praying to a god that could let this happen?“No.” My voice is hoarse, raw. “She’s not dying here.”The doctor’s expression falters. “Ava—”“She’s not dying in this place,” I snap, sharper this time. “She’s coming home.”His brows knit together, hesitating, clearly not wanting to argue. “I understand how you feel, Ava, but the law—”“Don’t speak to me about the law,” I cut him off, my voice ice. “Look at her! My baby has
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-21Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 004 A Fiery End
(Ava)What do I do now? I am a woman who just “kidnapped” her daughter from the hospital and watched her die in my arms. The police will be here anytime to take me away. Then I'll no doubt be put in a mental institution forever, courtesy of Sienna.I don’t want that. In fact, I don't want anything in this world that I can't share with Lila.I should scream. I should rage. But all that’s left is silence.I head to the shed.I find gasoline.I move through the house, pouring gasoline around the perimeter of each room.I let the gasoline cover the memories I have in each room.The smell is awful but that doesn’t matter now. Lila can’t smell anything anymore.I wash my hands and light some tea candles, and I throw them on the floor.I watch the flames catch and spread slowly.I go back to Lila.The other candles I place safely on the sideboard near the window away from the gasoline-soaked floor. For now.I snuggle into the cushions and blankets and lift my daughter onto my lap and rock
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-21Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 005 Going Back
(Ava)My skin is damp with sweat, my pulse pounding in my ears. The first thing I see is my bedroom ceiling, the bedroom I shared with Zach as a happily married woman. I whip my head around, my gaze darting across the room in frantic disbelief. I haven’t been in this room for so long. Not since Zach kicked me out after the divorce.Everything is here. The familiar four-poster bed, the pale pink walls, the scattered stuffed animals across the floor—Lila’s toys, as if time has stood still. I clutch the sheets in my fists, my mind spiraling. Was it all a dream? A hallucination? Did I imagine everything? No. The fire. The smoke. Holding Lila’s limp body in my arms. The searing pain in my lungs as the flames devoured everything around us. I can still feel it. I can still hear Zach screaming my name from outside the burning house. But… I’m here.A soft whimper cuts through my thoughts. I listen hard and hear a noise I know well. Lila when she’s sleeping. I watched her countless tim
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-21Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 006 What’s Up With My Wife?
(Zach)Sunday mornings at the Lorne estate are sacred—my one carved-out moment in a life otherwise owned by contracts, shareholders.Sienna takes the kids, leaving Ava and I to catch up on more personal affairs for a few hours. And usually we fill those hours focusing on the pleasures we have to offer each other.Sundays are not for work. My home is not for business. That is my one hard and fast rule.Which is why I’m two seconds away from smashing my phone when I see the name on the screen. Michelle. My new trainee assistant. She’s been on the job for a month. The company policies are made very clear. The only person who can contact me is my PA Cal, and it would have to be life or death. I step into the hallway outside our bedroom door, lowering my voice. “This better be good.” She stammers immediately. “I-I’m sorry, Mr. Lorne, but the Berlin contract needs your approval—the European board’s pressing for confirmation before noon on the 18th—” I grind my molars. “Michelle, the e
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-21Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 007 Protecting Lila
(Ava)Zach and Kai are still at the ice cream truck when I notice Sienna drifting my way. She stops a few feet from our blanket and waves at Lila with a sugary smile. Then she shifts her weight from one foot to the other. “They’re taking forever. That line is ridiculous.”I don’t respond right away. Lila tries to grab my necklace, and I gently guide her hand to my shirt instead. My heart thumps, but I keep my face neutral.Sienna lowers herself onto the blanket, smoothing her sundress over her knees. “Mind if I join you?” She doesn’t wait for my answer, just tucks her legs underneath her. She’s so perfectly poised. Everything about her is perfect. Outwardly.I watch her from the corner of my eye. “Sure,” I say calmly. “We can wait together.”She turns to look at Lila. “Hello, sweet girl. Want Auntie Si Si to hold you for a while?” Her arms stretch toward my daughter. “We always have so much fun together, don’t we?”“She seems a little clingy today.” I say as Lila hugs into me a
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-21Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 008 Planning Ahead
(Ava)My shoulders square. “I do want them to have everything, yes. But not at anyone’s expense.”She narrows her gaze. “Meaning?”I swallow. “Just that no one in this family should have to sacrifice too much for the others.”She laughs lightly, but it sounds hollow. “Sacrifice is part of parenting. You’ll learn that more and more with Lila. You do whatever it takes to protect your child.”I hear an edge in her words and feel a chill. “I agree. I’ll do anything for Lila.”“And I’ll do anything for Kai,” she says. Her gaze flicks toward the ice cream truck line, where Zach and Kai are clowning around. Then her eyes shift back to me. “Sometimes, hard choices have to be made. You understand that, right?”I focus on Lila’s rhythmic breathing, the warmth of her tiny body resting on my lap. “I understand hard choices,” I say quietly. “I also understand the difference between doing what’s right and… crossing lines.”Sienna’s lips curve into a slight smile. “Of course, everything is black a
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-21Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 009 Torn Desires
(Ava)I’m pacing the edge of our rooftop terrace, our private haven. We don’t sleep up here. It’s more for… intimacy. I’m as nervous as I was on that first night as a virgin at my twenty-first birthday party. But for different reasons. Now, it’s because of what I do know, not what I don’t know.Watching the neon haze of the Las Vegas skyline sprawl out in the distance. Just a few miles down the highway, the Strip glitters like a mirage in the desert night. We were married in Vegas. Conceived Lila that same night, my first time.From here—our mansion perched on the outskirts of Henderson—you can see everything: shimmering lights, endless roads, the hush of a city that never truly sleeps. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. But I can’t seem to enjoy the view I always loved tonight.My heart pounds. Lila’s asleep in her nursery two floors below, a baby monitor screen placed on a small glass table nearby, the volume turned low. I glance over every few seconds, half-expecting some shri
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-21Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 010 Uncontrollable
(Ava)I tense more. He notices my frown. “Hey,” he murmurs, voice gentler now. “I’m here, Ava. Talk to me.”Like I can speak when his lips are on my neck, nibbling my ear lobe.I can’t tell him the truth—that I’m terrified of losing Lila again, that I’ve lived an entire future he hasn’t.Instead, I lean into my natural reaction to him. I try to close my thoughts off just for now and simply feel.I slide my arms around his neck. “Kiss me,” I manage, desperate to drown out my thoughts in the one thing that has always felt real between us.He doesn’t hesitate. His lips capture mine in a rush, fervent and insistent. His tongue brushing mine. But not hard. More gentle and inquiring than insistent.My fingers tangle in his hair, and for a moment, I let myself get lost in the taste of him, the warmth, the sense of belonging that used to be the cornerstone of our marriage.Every breath is an intoxication of what we once had—of what could still be, if I manage to stop the betrayal that thr
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-21
Bab terbaru
Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 035 Showing Up For Myself
(Ava)I haven’t slept much.I kept thinking about Zach, about Sienna, about what he said to me—and what he didn’t. The way he made it sound like I started the whole thing.Like I’m the problem again.Why does he always have to just believe anything she says? He’s such an idiot that way. If she said that I’d beamed aliens down to attack her, he would believe her. I don’t even get the benefit of the doubt.By eight, Lila is playing quietly, and I’m sitting at the kitchen table, nursing my third coffee.I message the staff to take the day off—not because they did anything wrong, but because I don’t want anyone else in the house right now. I need space. I don’t want to answer questions or pretend to be polite. Not today.But also, Sienna cannot be trusted and I don’t trust she hasn’t got someone on her payroll right here in this household.I text Zach:I sent staff away. Need privacy. Can you let me know how Kai is?He calls almost immediately.I answer. “Hey.”“He’s in an induced coma,
Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 034 Flying Into a Storm
(Zach)I wasn’t supposed to be home until tomorrow, but the Tokyo deal wrapped faster than expected. The jet dropped me on the tarmac in Vegas just after 7 p.m.My phone lights up as soon as I switch it off airplane mode.Missed calls. Two voicemails from Sienna.The first voicemail plays while I’m still halfway to the car.“Zach—it’s Kai. He collapsed. He’s in emergency. Ava was visiting when it happened. It was bad. Ava started going crazy at me.”What the hell?I call Sienna back immediately. She picks up on the first ring.“Is he okay?” I demand.“He’s still unconscious. I’ve never seen him like this, Zach. I’m scared.”“What happened with you and Ava?”“She showed up with Lila, didn’t wait for a response to the text she sent. I buzzed her in anyway. She verbally attacked me in front of the kids.”I’m already in the car, heading toward the hospital. “Sienna, you promised, no more arguing.”“I didn’t want to argue. Ava is paranoid. I’m telling you. I’m the villain, I’m manipulative
Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 033 From Bad Day to Worse Day
(Ava)I press the intercom at the front gate and wait, one hand on Lila’s back. She’s got her face buried in my neck, little fists clutching my shirt.“I know, baby. I don’t want to be here either, but we have to do this for Kai.” This is the last place I want to show up after the day I had but I promised Kai a visit with Lila.Sienna’s voice comes through the speaker, clipped and sugar-sweet. “Yes?”“It’s Ava. I’m here to visit Kai. Like we agreed.”Silence.Then the gate clicks open.Inside, Sienna Sinclair’s residence is spotless and cold. High ceilings, white marble, soft music drifting in from somewhere near the back. The kind of curated comfort that doesn’t come with warmth.A staff member nods me toward the family lounge and then vanishes like a ghost.Kai’s curled up on the couch with a blanket and his tablet. He looks way better than he did at the hospital. His face lights up when he sees us.“Lila! Ava!”“Ava,” Sienna says, tone clipped. “Wasn’t expecting you this early.”
Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 032 Class Attack
(Ava)Luca slides the pickle off his burger and drops it onto my take out box without looking up.I pluck it off and pop it on my burger without a word.We’re having a quick bite before class resumes. We’re also finishing off our design details to hand in to the professor today for final assessment.“Rounded edge or squared off for the central island?” I ask.“Rounded. The rest of the space is straight lines. Needs some sexiness and curve.”“Exactly what I was thinking.”“You’re overthinking it. Just sketch what feels like the solution, not what looks like one.”“I’m trying to make it clean,” I murmur, biting my lip.“It’s too clean. Mess it up a little. That’s where your magic is.” He grins at me sideways. “We’re design soulmates.”“Or no one else can put up with our off-the-wall ideas…”“Either way, we have an edge.”Professor Moran’s voice pulls us from our rhythm. “Before we begin this class, I have an announcement you’ve all been waiting for.”Luca grabs my arm, mouthing, “Drumro
Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 031 Something I Can Build
(Ava)Zach calls just after seven the next morning.I’m dressed, sipping my second coffee, Lila still asleep. I’ll take her to Paige in a couple of hours.I answer, keeping my voice casual. “Morning.”“Morning,” he says. “You’re looking gorgeous.”“Thanks. You look ready to smash some deals today. I’ve got a lunch meeting.”“With Luca?”“Yes.”Zach has that look on his face. The one that he always gets when Luca is mentioned. “Is that really necessary?”“Zach—”“I know what he’s up to, Ava. He’s still in love with you.”I sigh, setting my mug down harder than I mean to. “You’re not serious. You’re really going there? After you kept secrets from me with Sienna, you don’t trust me?”“I do trust you. It’s him I don’t trust.”I shake my head. “Unbelievable. Sienna drugged you for sex and I have to trust her.”“I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Everyone has.”“He’s my future business partner. He’s also a friend. We’ve worked damn hard on this.”“A friend who wanted to be more. Maybe still
Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 030 Is It Me?
(Ava)My phone buzzes just after I’ve cleared the kitchen bench. I’m still thinking about Kai, about how pale he looked earlier this morning.It’s eleven in the morning now. Have the doctors been to see him?Kai had Aplastic Anemia in the past time. Is it that again? Should I say something?Zach’s name flashes across the screen. Oh, at last. I answer.“Hey.”“Hey,” he says. It’s softer than I expect. “You home?”“Yeah. Lila’s with Paige. I’ve just been... regrouping. Going over my planner so I can fit in all my internships and classes. How’s Kai?”“The doctors did rounds. They’re sending Kai home.”My chest loosens a little. “That’s good.”“They’re still watching him, though. They said if anything else happens, they’ll start running tests—immune panels, marrow checks. I hate the thought of him having something serious.”My stomach turns. I sit down at the counter. “You must be so worried.”I know what it’s like to lose a child. But the marrow donation wasn’t the thing that killed Lil
Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 029 Making Life Normal Again
(Ava)Paige doesn’t ask why I’m not taking Lila to visit Kai.She just takes her from my arms, kisses her on the cheek, and says, “you don’t need to explain. Go. I’ve got her.”I nod, I’m tense. My heart is pounding remembering Lila in that same hospital. Small, fighting a battle for her life she could never win.“She’s safe with me,” Paige says. “You just do what you need to do.”I try to say thank you, but it catches somewhere in my throat. Instead, I turn and head for the car before I unravel in front of my daughter. I suck in a deep breath. I have to push through this.When I park outside the hospital, I don’t get out right away.I sit behind the wheel with the engine off, hands still on the steering wheel like I’m waiting for a green light that will never come. The glass doors to the pediatric wing are just ahead, automatic and indifferent.They’ll open the second I get close.Here I am in this same underground carpark Nico helped me into the taxi with Lila hidden under a blank
Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 028 Collateral Positioning
(Zach)The Tokyo skyline glows outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, but all I see in my mind is a hospital room three time zones away.Kai’s in there. I’m here. Still wearing the same suit I flew in with. Still pretending like this deal matters more than what’s happening back home.It doesn’t. But I can’t walk away. Not from this. Not with my father breathing down my neck. Not with everything cracking beneath the surface.Across the conference table, another exec launches into licensing terms like it’s a game of chess. Vincent, my CFO, nods like he’s tracking every move. I should be.But my brain hasn’t caught up since Ava picked up the phone and said, in that quiet voice she uses when she’s afraid and pretending not to be, “Are you okay, Zach?”She is literally the only person to ask me that and really care about the answer.I’m not.Vincent turns toward me. “Zach, you want to weigh in on the licensing schedule?”I glance at the numbers on the screen. My mind grabs the first safe c
Revenge From Ashes, Ruin for the Billionaire 027 Everything in the Gaps
(Ava)By the time Paige pulls into the driveway, the air in the house still smells faintly like Zach.Musk and citrus. Wood and heat. It’s been an hour and he’s already flown out now. But his presence still lingers like a bruise I can’t stop pressing. And the bruises are darkening where his hands gripped my body.But he has some marks that will keep him thinking for me for the next 3 days he’s away. I won that battle, Sienna. He’s still mine.Paige eyes me the second she walks in. “Well,” she says, popping Lila in her highchair, “you’ve been thoroughly defiled.”I don’t answer. I don’t need to. My hair is damp, my cheeks are flushed. Despite the shower, there are signs. She can read it all over me.“You want my judgment or takeout?” she asks. “But only one involves soy sauce.”“Takeout,” I say, following her. “Always takeout.”She doesn’t ask questions. She’s a true best friend.“She’s different now,” Paige says quietly as she watches Lila. “Her energy feels heavier. Older.”I nod.
