The next morning, Elena got a call from Tanya Verga, Henry's grandma. Her anxious voice boomed loudly in the room.

"The Leone family needs an heir, Elena! Hurry up and do something about it. Do as I say and make the first move tonight. You must produce an heir by this year. Are we clear?"

Elena quickly tried to lower the volume, but Henry heard Tanya anyway. He stepped out of the bathroom. As he was drying his hair with a towel, he paused and questioned, "Just how desperate are you, Elena?"

She hastily tried to explain, "I'm not—"

Before she could finish speaking, Henry had approached her and pinned her down against the bed. His fingers wandered along her collarbone, then trailed downward...

"You're not? Why are you dressed like that, then? Who did you get all dressed up for?"

Only then did Elena look down and notice what she was wearing. She'd gotten drunk last night and had fallen asleep wearing the black lace lingerie she found.

She looked very tempting in the black lingerie, and from Henry's position, he could see the perfect curves. Gulping, he recalled what his friend had teased him with last night.

"She's freaking hot, Henry. How are you still holding yourself back? If I were you, I would've had my way with her ages ago."

Henry shot backward and looked away, saying, "Don't waste your time. You want a child, right? I've made the arrangements to get that over with."

Elena was stumped. He'd made the arrangements for a child? What did that mean?

Half an hour later, a black Maybach pulled up outside a private hospital.

Once Elena looked through the car window, her expression stiffened.

"Why did you take me to a hospital, Henry?"

Henry didn't bother responding.

Several dozen hospital staff were waiting to greet them. Upon seeing Elena, one of them, a doctor named Eric White, came forward and said politely, "Please change into the hospital gown in preparation for the surgery, Mrs. Leone. We'll be giving you a hormone injection shortly to stimulate ovulation and prepare for the egg retrieval. You might feel a little discomfort."

Brows slightly creased, Elena turned to Henry and asked, "Egg retrieval?"

"For the IVF procedure," Henry replied indifferently. "What? Do you think I'd actually touch you?"

Elena stood frozen. "You… Why are you insisting on having this child?"

He was also planning to divorce her, so why bother having a baby through IVF?

Frowning impatiently, Henry replied, "The child is part of the deal. Do you think I'd want one if not for that?"

His words destroyed all feelings Elena ever had for him. Her heart was stinging with pain, and her voice was icy as she declared, "I refuse."

Sneering, Henry got up and closed in on her like a predator.

"Are you rejecting the procedure because you're still holding out hope that I'll sleep with you?"

Grabbing Elena by the jaw, he said coldly, "Do you think I can't see through your little tricks? I'm not asking for your opinion right now. All that's required of you is to do as you're told."

Henry flung her mercilessly to the side and turned to Eric. He ordered, "Drag her in and begin the procedure at once."

Though Elena fought with all her might, she couldn't get away from the people who were holding her down. The moment the needle pricked her skin, her tears fell.

How could Henry be this cruel?

The sedatives took effect quickly. Her mind turned groggy, and she soon lost consciousness.

…

When Elena woke up the next morning, Eric immediately came to check on her. "You're awake, Mrs. Leone. Your body had a strong rejection response earlier, but thankfully, your condition has stabilized."

"Where's Henry?"

"He left after his part was done," Eric replied with a stiff smile.

Elena's heart sank. She closed her eyes, reining in the wave of nausea that hit her. Did Henry do it while listening to Irene's voice again?

Eric continued, "I have some good news. The embryo matching was a success."

He opened up a refrigerated case to reveal six test tubes.

"Once you've recovered, we will choose one of the embryos for implantation."

Staring dazedly at the test tubes, Elena clutched the blanket so hard her nails nearly tore through it.

Just as Eric was about to inform Elena about the upcoming procedure, she abruptly sat up.

"Mrs. Leone! Please put it down!" Eric cried out in alarm.

Elena grabbed the test tubes and threw them onto the floor, instantly covering it in glass shards.

"I don't want the child!" she yelled, her gaze sharp. "The Leones own this hospital. You'll get into a ton of trouble if Henry finds out about this, so you'd better keep this a secret."

Terrified, Eric started sweating. "But… what if Mr. Leone asks…"

"I'm the sole heir of the Shaw family. If he asks you about this, I'll protect you."

Since Elena had decided to leave, she wasn't going to do anything that would keep her attached in any way. Looking down at the broken test tubes, she teared up. She had once dreamed of having a child with Henry, but not like this.

Wiping her tears dry, she got up to leave. She desperately wanted to go somewhere to get her mind off things.

After packing some of her things, Elena drove to a private off-road park up north. Back when she was growing up in Etolia, she loved off-road biking and target shooting in the wild the most.

When she moved to Newshire, she wasn't allowed to use the private park the Shaws owned, and she couldn't find a place where she could hunt freely either. Gianna was the one who stepped in and bought a patch of forest land in the northern part of the state, complete with a mountain. She had even spent a great deal of money turning it into a private training ground.

The massive estate was done up rather lavishly. Once it was open for business, it became a secluded haven for the elites of Newshire. Even among the mafia families, it was known for being the place to have a luxurious retreat while remaining discreet.

As soon as Elena arrived, she saw a familiar black Maybach parked at the entrance. The door opened, and Henry carried Irene out of the car. After setting her down, he turned and saw Elena standing at the entrance in form-fitting gear.

Henry frowned. He thought Elena was still recuperating at the hospital. After all, according to Eric, the administration of the hormonal injection had elicited a strong rejection response from her body. How could she be here now?

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm testing out a gun," Elena replied coldly.

Meanwhile, Henry's friends had gotten out from the car behind him. After hearing Elena's response, they all started cackling.

"A gun? What gun is she talking about? Probably one of those pink plastic toy ones, huh?"

"Oh, right. She came back from Etolia, didn't she? The only mode of transport out there in the rural countryside where she's from is buses. She probably has never even seen an ATV before."

Anthony and Gianna, Elena's adoptive parents, ran a Mafia family back in Etolia. However, Elena kept a low profile and never revealed details about her adoptive family, so everyone thought she'd been taken in by an ordinary family out in the Etolian countryside.

"Shall we teach you how to shoot a gun? I promise we'll be super hands-on. We'll even hold the gun for you if it's too heavy for you."

The men snickered while staring pointedly at Elena.

Uninterested in dealing with them, Elena picked out a narrow path and went up the mountain. Soon after that, it started raining. The rain kept getting heavier, making the mountain paths incredibly slippery. She immediately turned around and headed back.

When she got back to the main building, she saw the men from earlier standing around looking distressed.

Frowning, she walked up to them and asked, "Where's Henry?"

"Elena! Help! Henry's stuck up on the mountain!" Irene cried out in a panic.

She tearfully explained that she saw a pretty snow leopard up on the mountain, so Henry went after it in spite of the rain. However, he was caught in a landslide and was now missing.

"Did he get kicked in the head?"

Elena's expression darkened at once as she snapped, "The mountain terrain becomes incredibly dangerous when it rains, and there are even more predators roaming about after dark. Has he lost his mind?"

One of Henry's friends retorted sarcastically, "Why are you yapping away, huh? Don't tell me you can fly over to him right away. The bodyguards have already gone out in search of him, and the nearby search-and-rescue teams will be here in four hours. It's not like you can be of any help."

He was still talking when everyone saw Elena jumping onto a modified tactical ATV with ease.

Turning around, she said, "I'll save him."

Then, she rode off on the ATV, kicking up a cloud of gravel and mist.

Everyone was stunned.

"What the hell? She knows how to ride that thing?"

There were two reasons why Elena chose to save Henry, and love wasn't one of them.

First of all, the park belonged to her. If someone were to die here, it would be a hassle for her to settle things. And secondly, she figured she had to repay her debt.

When Elena first returned to the Shaws five years ago, she and Irene had both been abducted. It was Henry who came storming into the abductors' hideout and saved her. He got shot twice in the process and was in surgery for an entire night. She would never forget the fact that he had saved her life.

Thus, in the middle of a storm, Elena spent five hours searching for Henry before finally locating him inside a cave. Despite running a high fever and being basically delirious, he was firmly clutching the body of a dead snow leopard while murmuring, "Give this to Irene… It's hers…"

Elena snorted. He was willing to risk his life just because of something Irene said, huh?

Shaking her head, she began dragging him off. Just as she was about to leave with him, she looked up and saw a black bear in front of them.

Elena cursed under her breath before grabbing her gun and immediately firing at the bear while shielding the unconscious Henry behind her. After two whole hours, the bear finally fell unmoving to the ground.

Elena was now sporting five bloody gashes on her body, and her blood kept flowing. Gritting her teeth, she hauled Henry onto the ATV before climbing on herself. She forced herself to keep it together as she rode back down the mountain.

Everyone was shocked when they saw her returning to the park's main building.

Covered in blood, Elena stumbled off the ATV and passed the unconscious Henry to Irene.

"Tell him I repaid him for saving my life five years ago," she said before passing out.

…

When Elena woke up, she found herself in the hospital. Her wounds had been dressed, and the anesthetic had worn off as well. After inquiring with a nurse, she dragged her still-weak body to Henry's hospital room.

As soon as she got near the door, she heard the conversation that was happening on the inside.

"Henry, when you went missing, it was Irene who rushed into the forest to save you! We were all shocked! She loves you so very much!" Derek Silva, one of Henry's friends, said.

Elena's hand stilled over the doorknob. She was the one who saved Henry. Why was Derek now claiming that Irene did?

Inside the hospital room, Irene said gently, "Henry was only in harm's way because he wanted to catch the snow leopard for me, but…"

Purposely making her voice sound choked, she continued, "To be honest with you… I've always known that you care about Elena the most. All those years ago, you risked your life to save her because—"

"That's not true!" Derek interrupted excitedly. "It was Henry who set the whole thing up back then!"

"What did you say?" Irene exclaimed in shock.

Derek happily explained, "Henry had purposely arranged for people to abduct you two while pretending to be your family's enemies. He did it so that your parents would realize who they truly cared about the most.

"Him rushing in to save Elena was just part of the act. He did it so that she would marry him and help him claim full control over the Leone family. His marriage with her is just a strategic move for the benefit of his family. He also did it to seek revenge on your behalf. He's been planning on divorcing her for ages now. Right, Henry?"

After a few seconds, Henry's low voice rang out.

"That's right."

Outside the hospital room, Elena had to use the wall to hold herself steady. She'd nearly crumpled to the floor.

It turned out that what she thought was Henry risking his life to save her was nothing more than part of an elaborate scheme. Staggering away, she walked to the end of the hallway before she took a call.

"Sweetheart, the private jet will be there tonight. You can leave anytime tomorrow," Gianna said to Elena, who acknowledged the information softly.

After ending the call, she gripped her phone tightly and smiled bitterly. It was even better that she never owed him anything. From now on, they would no longer have any ties with each other.

…

Elena began settling her matters. Once she'd signed the divorce agreement her lawyer, Lawrence Wagner, had prepared for her, she had a meeting with Calvin Hudson, the man who had been handling her private assets in the country for her.

They met up for dinner and drinks. A little tipsy from the booze, Calvin said half-jokingly, "They rely on the companies under your name to keep their businesses going. Are you sure you want your companies to terminate all dealings with the Leones and the Shaws?"