A Ring of Hellfire

"Please take good care of them, Selena. They are the future of Velmond. No one will ever be able to erase them!"

The voice was gentle, almost like a breeze brushing against her ear, but behind that softness lay a burden heavier than any request. Selena lowered her gaze, eyes fixed on her belly, which was now being gently caressed by her mother-in-law. 

"I'm sorry, Mom. But I don't think I can go on without William's love. Even now, he still—"

"Please, Selena. For their sake."

Tears began to fall. Selena reached out, returning the warm, loving touch. But before she could open her mouth to speak, a loud explosion tore through the calm afternoon like lightning striking the earth without mercy.

"Ah!"

"Mom!" Selena cried out, catching her mother-in-law just before she collapsed to the ground. 

Her hands trembled as she noticed the blood soaking into her palms. Warm, thick, and all too real.

"Mom, hold on!" 

Instinctively, she turned toward the garden. A fleeting shadow disappeared into the distance, causing her heart to race. 

"I’ll get help and—"

"Trust no one, Selena," a weak voice is heard that makes anyone feel touched to hear it. "Our family circle is like a ring of hellfire. I’m sorry for dragging you deeper into this."

"No, Mom. You didn’t..."

Before she could finish her sentence, her mother-in-law’s eyes closed. Selena shook the growingly cold body in her arms, her lips trembling as she tried to suppress her sobs.

"No! No, please!" she shouted, voice cracking. Her ivory gown was now stained with red, but she didn’t care. She screamed for help, only to be yanked back violently by a pair of hands.

"So this is why you left the house without protection while your husband’s away?"

Selena spun around and was startled. Her eyes widened, not because of the sharp, accusing voice of the woman with the golden C pin on her blazer, but because of the man standing behind her. His eyes burned with fury as they bore into her.

"William..."

"I told you." The woman beside Selena's husband struck first, further inviting tension. "I’m sorry, Will. I tried to save your mother, but I was too late."

"Will, this isn’t—"

"What exactly did you plan, Selena?" William’s voice was cold, accusing, and piercing. 

Selena shook her head, panic rising. She opened her mouth to explain, but before she could speak, her husband stormed forward, his towering presence knocking the breath from her lungs.

"This isn’t what Cassandra thinks, Will. I didn’t—"

"Didn’t what?" he hissed, his face inches from hers.

"I didn't—"

"Lure my mother to a quiet place so your men could finish her off?"

William's words struck like whips. Selena panted. Her lips were pale as the knuckles of his clenched fist.

"Stop lying!" he snapped, his breathing growing harsher.

William's eyes were wild. His jaw tightened as he stared once more at the lifeless body of the woman who had raised him.

"You were the last person with her, Selena! Where were the guards?! I told you, no one should be unguarded, not while that damned Serpentine is still out there!"

"Th–they were—"

"You killed her!" he roared, not caring for any explanation. "She was the only reason I agreed to marry you! And now she dies in your arms? How am I supposed to believe that’s just a coincidence?!"

Selena’s entire world shattered in an instant. She already knew that William never loved her, but it still hurt so much. It was like being stabbed in the heart with such a nasty accusation.

"Will, please, listen. I’m begging you," she whispered, gasping for air. She was crawling toward him, stripping herself of any remaining pride. "I didn’t plan this. I only—"

"Only aligned yourself with Velmond's enemies?" Cassandra cut in, a cruel smile playing on her lips.

"Let’s be honest, Selena. We all know what you are. A low-born woman with high ambitions. No matter how much a wealthy man like William Velmond tried to accept you, it was never enough, was it?"

"I'm not like that! Please, believe me!"

"Enough!" William’s hand snapped up, grabbing her face roughly. 

Selena's lips parted in pain. Her tears fell freely now.

"I’m divorcing you!" he growled, his voice cold. "Once this is over, I’ll make sure you never escape what’s coming to you!"

"No, please." Selena collapsed to her knees. "You can't do this, William. I'm pregnant with your child!"

"My child?" William grinned sarcastically with an increasingly heated rush of breath. "You think I still believe the son of a murderer deserves to be Velmond?"

"Will..."

"My biggest mistake was giving in to my mother's request to marry you and leaving Cassandra. I loved my mother so much that I didn't realize that you were planning to kill her!"

"I'm not a murderer!"

"Don’t beg, Selena. It’s pathetic!" Cassandra said, brushing invisible dust from her sleeve. "We both know you’ve been meeting with strangers these past few days. So don't continue your stupid drama anymore!"

Selena shook her head, but William didn’t care. He turned his head slightly. He spat onto the ground, then stepped forward again until his face was inches from his wife.

"Leave now or I swear, I’ll kill you myself!"

Before Selena could speak, two guards seized her arms and dragged her away. Her body was too weak. Her soul was too broken. She didn’t fight. She could only walk aimlessly as she was pulled through the gates of the estate and out onto the crowded streets.

"God, can I survive for them?" she whispered weakly with her body becoming unsteady. 

Selena could do was stare at the sky. No more tears came. Just the dull throb of pain in her stomach. 

Her limbs trembled, her vision blurred. The world faded in and out as the noise around her became distant. She almost collapsed as darkness consumed her, before a voice echoed faintly, chilling her to the bone.

"You came too late for me, Selena!"