LOGINClarissa didn't stop there.Her voice grew even sharper, as if every word that came out fueled her own anger further."She's just pretending to be sick so everyone would pity her. So your father would keep paying attention to her."Junior stared at his mother, not believing what he'd just heard."And because she failed to get what she wanted," Clarissa continued, "she just ran off with another man. Do you know—" she paused for a moment, as if deliberately choosing the most hurtful words, "—that baby in her belly might not even be your father's. It could be someone else's child. So don't ever ask about her again. A woman like that has no self-respect. It's better that she's gone and never comes back to this house.""No!" Junior shouted, his voice trembling with an anger he'd never felt this intensely before. "Alina is not a bad woman like Mom is saying!"All this time Junior had known Clarissa disliked Alina. He could feel it in the way Clarissa spoke, in the tone of her voice that alw
Meanwhile, Junior was beginning to feel Alina's absence.All this time, even when Alina wasn't in front of him, Junior always knew she was somewhere in this house. Her presence was like air—not always seen, but always felt.Now, that air was gone.And even though the house was full of people working, serving, passing back and forth in every corner, Junior felt alone.He also began to notice something else.Daniel, his father, hadn't come home in a long time either.Junior tried to remember. The last time he recalled his father being home was the night he woke up unexpectedly from thirst, then heard Daniel's voice—firm, hurried—talking to someone on the phone. Junior hadn't even gotten a glimpse of Daniel's face. He'd only heard his voice briefly before going back up to bed and falling asleep again.Since that night, Junior no longer knew where his father was. Even when he woke up in the middle of the night hoping Daniel had come home, he never found him.There was no sound of the fron
Two days on the ship felt like two weeks.But the moment Alina stood on the main deck and watched the land slowly drawing closer on the morning horizon, all that exhaustion seemed to dissolve at once.The air was different here. Cooler. Fresher. Carrying the scent of earth and wet grass drifting on the sea wind. The sky stretched wide in a calm, pale blue — no city noise, no shadows of skyscrapers closing in around her.Alina drew a deep breath.For the first time in a very long while, the air felt like something she could actually breathe freely.Renee stood not far behind her, quiet as always, but ever watchful.A few minutes later, a crew member came to inform them the ship would be docking soon. Alina nodded, then turned and made her way back inside to collect her small bag before disembarking.But before she could descend the steps to the pier, her feet stopped.Salvatore Russo was standing in the main corridor, as though he had been waiting.Alina approached him and gave a sligh
Renee walked half a step ahead of Alina, guiding her back through the ship's quiet corridor. The sound of waves murmured faintly through the walls. The ship continued moving, cleaving through the night in steady calm. The crystal lamps along the corridor ceiling cast a warm glow that felt worlds apart from the darkness that had shadowed Alina's life for so long. Back in her cabin, Alina sat on the edge of the bed after Renee closed the door softly behind her. Alone. Yet for the first time, the solitude did not feel frightening. Her hand slowly came to rest on her stomach, still barely changed in shape. "We're safe," she whispered quietly, speaking more to her unborn child than to herself. "At least for tonight." She lay back, closed her eyes, and let the sound of the ocean carry her into the kind of sleep she had long forgotten — sleep that was truly peaceful, with no fear waiting in the dark. --- Meanwhile, at the top floor of Blackwood Enterprises, well into the early hours
Alina remained frozen, her breath caught somewhere between her chest and her throat. The man's dark eyes studied her with an unreadable calm—the kind of stillness that came from someone who had spent decades learning to control every flicker of expression on his own face. "Salvatore Russo," she finally managed to whisper, more to herself than to him. A faint, almost amused smile touched the corner of his mouth. "So you know who I am." "Everyone knows who you are," Alina said, her voice trembling despite her best effort to keep it steady. "You're—" She stopped herself, suddenly aware of how dangerous it might be to say the word aloud in this room, on this ship, surrounded by his men. "A mafia boss," Salvatore finished for her, his tone utterly unbothered. "Go ahead and say it. I've been called far worse by people far less polite than you." Alina's hands curled tightly into the fabric of her dress. Her heart hammered against her ribs. Every instinct in her screamed that she should b
Three days had passed since Alina disappeared from the hospital, and two days since Daniel had completely lost her trail on the outskirts of the city. Daniel had hardly slept at all. His eyes were bloodshot, his jaw perpetually clenched, and his voice rarely came out soft anymore. He had mobilized every resource at his disposal—checking every CCTV camera in the city, tracing every suspicious financial transaction, even contacting old contacts in the police force to check immigration records. But there was nothing. It was as if Alina had simply vanished off the face of the earth. The mounting frustration drove him to recklessly show up at Richard's house, even though he knew there was a good chance the old man wouldn't give him any answers whatsoever. Daniel's car stopped in front of the modest Hayes family residence. He got out without waiting for his driver to open the door, striding quickly toward the front entrance. Daniel knocked hard. No answer. He knocked again, harder th
At eleven o'clock at night, the mansion was already quiet.The staff had returned to their quarters. Daniel was still locked in his study with his laptop and bourbon. Margaret had gone to bed in her own wing. Alina was locked in her room as usual.And Clarissa stood outside Junior's room with her h
Alina stared at the tray before her with empty eyes.The chicken soup was still steaming. White rice neatly arranged. Warm tea in a fine porcelain cup.But she wasn't hungry.Not after the conversation with Emma. Not after hearing the words "divorce" and "custody battle" spoken aloud for the first
At the opposite end of the corridor, in the master bedroom that had just become hers, Clarissa Sterling stood before the large mirror with a practiced confident smile.Maroon lingerie—delicate lace that barely covered anything, with strategically placed details—hugged her body perfectly. She turned
Alina struggled—hands pushing Daniel's chest desperately, head trying to turn away from the lips pressing firmly against hers.But Daniel's hand behind her head was too strong. His position too calculated.She couldn't break free.Water from Daniel's mouth flowed—carrying the bitter medicine forcib







