Chapter 4

Violet promised me that someone from the hospital would contact me the moment they hear anything about Wendy's delivery. At about 10:00 pm, the family group chat, which I had forgotten to leave, started getting rowdy as texts kept coming in.

A soldato asked: [Is there any news about Wendy Jeffords?]

Someone replied: [Nope. My wife said that the first baby usually takes longer to be delivered.]

Several others joined in the conversation.

[I bet that Clay Colton must be out of his mind right now.]

[He probably hired the best gynaecologist in Charleston to help with the delivery.]

[That baby will have a security team the moment it's born.]

That text was followed by several laughing emojis.

[The most important thing is that the baby is healthy.]

[Wendy Jeffords is a good person. God will bless someone like her.]

At this point, Clay suddenly tagged me. [Ciara, you should do something for Wendy after everything that has happened."

Someone asked: [What do you mean?]

[Ciara refused to help Wendy when she went into labor. She should at least visit Wendy with a bouquet, shouldn't she? Or at least help with the medical bills.]

[You owe Wendy an apology, Ciara.]

Eve immediately voiced her support: [That's right. Doesn't Ciara feel even a little guilty about this?]

[I'm guessing she never sold her car. She just didn't want to help Wendy. How malicious of her.]

Many others started to tag me, but I ignored everyone. These were the people in my last life who had been friendly with me, but backstabbed me at the first chance they got. This time, they were already turning their backs on me before anything happened to the baby, as they started to discuss how I should redeem myself for what I did to Wendy.

My phone vibrated. It was a voice note from Violet. She sounded anxious. "Wendy Jeffords lost her baby, Ciara. The doctor confirmed that the baby suffocated from its umbilical cord wrapped around its neck. They suggested that Wendy have a cesarean a few hours ago, but Wendy Jeffords rejected the suggestion. They failed to save the baby."

I was unable to snap out of it as I gripped my phone. This was when my nightmare started in my last life.

I stayed vigil outside the ICU for hours back then, apologizing over and over for something that was never my fault, while Wendy cried her heart out in Clay's arms as he held her tight. Everyone in the hospital looked at me like I was a murderer.

This time, I did not drive Wendy to the hospital, and I wanted to know how Wendy would play this out without me in the picture.

The next morning, I was woken up by an emergency call. The underboss sounded exhausted. "You need to make a trip to the medical center. Wendy Jeffords has submitted a complaint to the family court."

I sat up right away. "Who is the complaint directed at?"

There was a bitter laugh on the other end of the call. "Everyone."

At noon, the court's waiting area was filled with capos, consiglieri, lawyers, and fearful-looking mademen. The court was about to start when I arrived, and the atmosphere inside was so tense that it was suffocating.

Wendy was seated in the middle of the room with a black veil covering half of her face. Her voice was trembling as she choked back a sob, "All of you are accomplices to the murder of my baby! Give my baby back to me! How can such a huge mafia family torture a pregnant woman?! Why do I have such a tragic life?!"

Her accusations caused a huge commotion as everyone started to defend themselves. No one was willing to bear responsibility for the baby's death. Don Silvio Salvatore was seated in the main seat with a dark look on his face. He slammed his cane hard onto the ground. It sounded like a gunshot that shocked everyone into silence.

"Who was with Wendy Jeffords on the day she was in labor?"

Clay stood up. His eyes were filled with red veins, looking like he was still in a state of misery. "We were all present, but this shouldn't be our responsibility to bear. If Ciara Snow had driven Wendy to the hospital, the baby might have survived. Everyone knows that Ciara recently purchased a Bentley, and she would have gotten Wendy to the hospital faster than the ambulance."

Eve nodded anxiously in agreement. "This is Ciara's fault. If she hadn't refused to help Wendy, none of this would have happened. Ciara is the real murderer here, Wendy. Don't point your fingers at the wrong people!"

Everyone was relieved when someone mentioned my involvement in this.

"They're right! Ciara abandoned a pregnant woman!"

"She was the one who caused the baby's death!"

"I would have driven Wendy right to the hospital if it were me."

The accusations against me got louder and angrier.

Silvio frowned and swept a cold look across everyone present. "Where is Ciara Snow?"

The underboss wiped the sweat off his forehead and said in a small voice, "She left the family yesterday."

There was another commotion, and Wendy cried even louder. "I knew it! Ciara left out of guilt! You have to catch her and bring her back, Don Salvatore! Why is she allowed to escape punishment when my baby died?!"

That was when I spoke up from behind the crowd. "I'm right here, everyone."

Dozens of heads turned to look at me as I strode forward with determination to face Wendy. I waved a folder in my hand.

"All of you are blaming me for the baby's death because I refused to drive her to the hospital in time, but how was I supposed to drive her when I sold my car three days ago?"