Chapter 4

After Enzo left, I recovered on my own in the hospital.

Just when I had a moment of respite, there came a flurry of rushed footsteps outside the door before it was kicked open.

Luis stood there, visibly enraged.

“How dare you?” He strode to my bedside and grabbed me roughly by the chin. “How dare you kill my staff? Who gave you the right to kill Winona?”

Luis’ eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a rabid dog. He had spent the whole of last night with Bianca, and I could smell alcohol and perfume on him. The lapel of his custom suit even had a lipstick mark on it.

“Don’t you know how hard Bianca cried when she saw Winona? You wicked woman. I should never have married you!”

I wiped away the blood from the corner of my mouth and looked at him.

“Let’s get a divorce then.” The words came out much more calmly than I had ever expected.

Luis was stunned. In his eyes, I was still that pitiful woman who would get on her knees to beg him to stay, to never leave, and to please just take one look at her.

I could suddenly hear the clicking of high heels coming from the hallway outside. Bianca was here. She wore a cream dress, and it highlighted just how pale and fragile she looked. She walked to Luis’ side and put her arm around him like it was the most natural thing in the world. Tears streamed from her face.

“Luis, it’s all my fault. If it wasn’t for me, Cara wouldn’t…” She bit her lip, her words sticking in her throat. “What if I leave? I don’t want to bring you or Cara any trouble.”

Luis immediately held her in his arms. He looked very anxious about her tantrum.

“What nonsense is that? I only love you. Once she has the baby, I’ll divorce her and marry you.”

I looked at this horrible couple.

“I lost the baby,” I said.

The ward became silent.

Luis turned and frowned at me. “What did you say?”

“I lost the baby,” I said slowly and clearly. “It’s your darling Bianca’s fault. If she hadn’t thrown a tantrum and threatened to run off, you wouldn’t have left your post. Don Tomasi wouldn’t have met an assassination attempt, and I wouldn’t have gotten shot. The baby would have survived.”

Luis’ face went pale. He subconsciously let go of Bianca’s hand.

“How could that be…?” he muttered.

Bianca went white for a moment, but she quickly composed herself and returned to looking pitiful.

She grabbed Luis’ sleeve and said tremblingly, “What is Cara talking about? I was only trying to leave because I got scared when I saw her getting close to another man…”

“What other man?” Luis frowned even deeper.

“Well… Winona told me that a man was regularly visiting Cara. She even saw them…”

Luis whirled toward me, and I could see the temper rising in his eyes.

“You never let me touch you after you got pregnant. It seems you found a new man!”

I chuckled. I could not help when I saw the way Luis tried to rationalize things.

“Yesterday was the family’s charity gala. The only reason I lost the baby was because I took the shot meant for Don Tomasi. What were you doing at the same time? You were supposed to protect Don Tomasi, but where were you? Our baby wouldn’t be dead if you hadn’t gone to see Bianca!”

Luis did not believe a word I said. He pulled the gun from the holster at his waist with rage and held it against my forehead.

“You’re still lying! How dare you and your lover openly cuckold me? Am I dead to you? If you don’t tell me where he is right now, I’ll sell you to the seediest nightclub. I want to see if you’ll still be refusing to tell me what I want to know at that point! As for your lover, I’ll be sure to kill him and dump his body into the harbor!”

A flurry of loud footsteps came.

“Did you just say that you want to throw me into the harbor, Luis Marconi?”