Chapter 1

The background noise woke me up.

I opened my eyes and found my twin sister, Lea Conte, and me being rushed toward the operating room by a cluster of nurses.

But when we reached the doors, there were no doctors.

One nurse snapped, her voice sharp with anger, "What's going on? Where is everyone? These two are severely injured! If they don't get surgery right now, they won't make it!"

Another nurse answered, looking conflicted, "Dr. Bellini had pulled every doctor for an emergency consultation. He said his sister was sick."

Dr. Bellini?

That was Lea's husband, Roberto Bellini.

Lea dialed his number. It rang for a long time, nearly cutting off before Roberto finally picked up.

Lea gasped, her voice barely a whisper. "Roberto, Mia and I were attacked. We're hurt. We need a doctor…"

Roberto's voice was ice-cold over the line. "Who would dare attack anyone from our family? And right when Ingrid needs the medical team most? Lea, there's a limit to how far you can take a lie."

"I'm not lying—"

"Enough. I don't have time for you two sisters to play games."

He hung up, ignoring Lea's desperate pleas.

I couldn't hold on any longer, and the dark pulled me under.

…

When I woke up again, I never expected to still be alive.

Lea was in the bed next to mine. She was deathly pale, as if she were already dead.

I tried to push myself up to check on her, but a nurse gently held me down. "Careful. You have a deep abdominal wound. You shouldn't move."

Abdominal wound?

My hand moved to my stomach as realization hit. "Where's my baby?"

The nurse looked away, pity heavy in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. You were brought in too late. The baby…"

I lay on the hospital bed in despair, tears streaming as I stared at my flat stomach.

"I'm sorry, baby. I couldn't protect you," I thought to myself.

"How's my sister?" I choked out.

The nurse replied, "She lost a lot of blood, but we managed to bring in two doctors from another hospital just in time. She's out of danger for now."

So both my husband, Vincenzo Bellini, and her huaband Roberto had abandoned us for their adopted sister, Ingrid Ferri.

Once I calmed down, I pulled out my phone and texted Vincenzo. "Our baby's gone."

I expected him to ignore it, but Vincenzo called instantly.

"Mia Conte, what are you trying to pull this time? If you're going to act, pick a better lie! Our baby is gone? You'll say anything just to get my attention, won't you?"

"Vincenzo—"

Before I could get a word in, Ingrid's soft voice came through the receiver. "Vincenzo, is that Mia? I get why she's upset. She's your wife, after all. You've been spending all your time taking care of me, so it's only natural she'd get jealous and try to pull you back… Please don't be mad at her."

"You're always so understanding, Ingrid," Vincenzo replied, his tone instantly softening.

Then he switched back to me, saying impatiently, "Mia, I promise I'll come see you as soon as I'm done here with Ingrid. Stop making up stories to cause trouble!"

With that, he slammed the phone down.

While Vincenzo's angry voice was still ringing in my ears, Lea slowly opened her eyes.

I looked at her pale face and asked quietly, "Lea, where's Roberto?"

Lea fought back her tears and shook her head. "He never showed up. We almost died."

She squeezed her eyes shut.

After a long pause, she opened them again. "Mia, let's both get a divorce."