001: The Betrayal

Elena's POV

"Watch where you're going, you disgusting freak!" A woman's voice shrieked above me as I bumped into her while she was coming out of a restaurant.

"Don't you dare touch me with your filthy hands!" My legs gave out from tiredness as she pushed me because I hadn't eaten in days, and I fell to the ground.

I felt a sharp kick to my side that made me gasp in pain. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," I mumbled, trying to push myself up. "I didn't mean to…"

"Get away from me before I call security!" the woman spat.

I lifted my head to apologize again, and my blood turned to ice. Standing above me in a designer dress and expensive heels was Sophia, my step-sister. I hadn't seen her in two years since my husband Marcus died. She had held me while I cried at the hospital and I never saw her again after that day.

But that wasn't what made my heart stop beating. It was the massive pregnant belly stretching her dress, and the familiar hand that reached out to help her steady herself.

Marcus Martinez.

My husband.

My dead husband.

"Oh my God," Sophia's voice changed completely, like she just realized who I was. "Elena? Is that really you?"

I scrambled to my feet, my legs shaking so badly I could barely stand. My eyes were locked on Marcus's face. He had the same green eyes, the same black hair, the same smile that had once made me feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

"Marcus?" The word came out as a broken whisper. "How... how are you alive?"

That's when the both of them started laughing. Marcus threw his head back and laughed like I had just told the funniest joke in the world. Sophia clutched her pregnant belly, giggling so hard.

"Look at her face! She really thought you were dead!"

"I told you she was stupid," Marcus said, wiping tears from his eyes. "But this is better than I imagined. Look at what's left of her."

I felt like I was drowning. The world was spinning, and I couldn't breathe. "The accident... the hospital... Dr. Parker said you were dead. I saw your body. Your sister cremated you!"

"I am most certainly not dead. It was all staged to get rid of you."

"Get rid of me?" I repeated, my voice cracking. "What are you talking about? I'm your wife!"

"Were!" Sophia corrected, running her hand over her belly. "You were his wife. Now he's with someone who actually matters."

I stared at her stomach, and suddenly everything clicked. "You're pregnant. How long have you been together?"

"Since before your wedding day," Sophia said with a smirk. "I was actually in his bed the night before he proposed to you. We laughed about how pathetic you looked, so desperate for love."

The words hit me like a physical blow. I bent down, feeling like I was going to be sick. "That's not true. We were happy. We loved each other."

"Love?" Marcus scoffed. "I never loved you for one second, Elena. You were just a means to an end."

"What do you mean?"

"Your father's inheritance," he said simply. "That's all you were good for. A walking bank account that was stupid enough to hand over every penny."

"My inheritance?" I whispered. "You said you were investing it for us."

"I invested it alright," Marcus laughed. "Lost every cent of it though."

Then I remembered all I had gone through. "The mafia, they came for me to pay your debts after you were gone and I couldn't pay up. They took everything from me. They cut my face, broke my leg and even took my kidney." I instinctively touched my side where I had a scar.

"Your husband never existed," Marcus said coldly. "I played a role, and you were too stupid to see through it."

Sophia pressed herself against Marcus, her hand on her belly. "Poor poor Elena. Reduced to a smelly beggar on the streets."

I felt like I was falling into a black hole. Everything I thought I knew about my life had been a lie. "I helped you get your job. I trusted you. I loved you as a real sister would, because we swore to care for each other when your mother and my father left us."

"Step-sister," Sophia corrected harshly. "And I hated every second of living in your shadow. Perfect Elena with her perfect life and her perfect husband. Well, guess what? He was never yours to begin with."

I looked at Marcus, searching his face for any sign of the man I married. "Did any of it mean anything to you? Our wedding day? Our anniversary? The nights we talked about starting a family?"

"It meant I had you completely fooled and under my thumb," he said without hesitation. "Every kiss, every promise about our future, it was all an act. And you fell for every single second of it."

The pain in my chest was so intense I thought I might die right there on the street. "You destroyed my life. You let me suffer for two years while you lived comfortably somewhere else."

"And it was beautiful," Sophia said. "We got a house in the mountains, far from the debtors and the mafia and far from you. We've been married for months now and as you can see, we're expecting."

"You're married?" I choked out.

"Well, duhhhh. Of course," Sophia laughed. "Darling," she turned to look at Marcus, "I think we should leave. Her presence is making the baby uncomfortable." She said with a wicked smile as they walked away and entered their obviously expensive car.

I felt something snap inside me. Two years of pain, of hunger, of suffering in the hands of the mafia, all because of them. "I'm going straight to the police," I said, as I stood in front of their car. "I'm telling them everything."

Marcus's face went dark. "No, you're not."

"Yes, I am," I said, my voice getting stronger. "I'm telling them about the fake death, about Dr. Parker, about the money you borrowed and left for me to suffer for."

"With what proof?" Sophia asked. "You're a crazy homeless woman making accusations against a dead man. Who's going to believe you?"

"I'll make them believe me, I'll tell them about the money you borrowed from Victor Kozlov, about how you left me to rot while you faked your own death."

"You stupid bitch," he snarled. "You always had to push things too far."

"Marcus, maybe we should just go," Sophia said, looking nervous for the first time.

"You're right. Nobody will believe this homeless wretch anyway." He added.

"No," Marcus said, his eyes never leaving mine. "She knows too much. She's going to ruin everything we've built."

I backed away from his car, finally seeing the monster underneath the mask.

"You're a problem now, and I solve problems."

I turned and ran, but my malnourished body and my broken leg that never healed properly couldn't move fast enough.

I made it to the middle of the street before I heard the engine rev. I spun around and saw Marcus behind the wheel of their car, his face cold and determined. In the passenger seat, Sophia was smiling too as she was excited about what they were doing.

Before I could react, the car accelerated toward me, and I knew what was coming.

The last thing I saw was Marcus's face through the windshield, cold and emotionless as he ran down the woman who had loved him more than life itself.

But in that moment, I wasn't thinking about death. I was thinking about revenge. About making them pay for what they'd done to me. About making them suffer the way I had suffered.

"If I had a second chance, I'll make them pay."

And then everything went black.