The moment I hung up the phone, footsteps echoed from the corridor.

“What are you doing?”

I quickly hid the phone under me. Gideon let out a cold laugh as he walked closer.

“What’s the rush? You think I’d confiscate your phone?”

He opened the cell door and crouched down. He examined my exhausted, hollow face with a slow, deliberate gaze.

“Evelyn, I know you’re planning to run. But without my permission, not even a fly can get in or out of this place. My advice? Have your food and behave.”

There was the usual arrogance in his tone—the same cold confidence that made him feared as a Don.

When I looked into those icy eyes, all I saw was unfamiliarity.

“Gideon, why are you doing this to me?”

For a split second, he seemed taken aback by the crack in my voice.

Then, fury flared in his gaze. “If you hadn't forced Bella to study abroad, she never would’ve left me! And if she hadn’t left, you never would’ve had the chance to worm your way in! Evelyn, you’ve been lying to me from the very beginning!”

His grip tightened, his fingers digging into my chin so hard I thought he would crush it.

“Anyone who lies to me doesn’t live to regret it. You should be grateful I’ve spared you this long.”

I turned my head in stunned silence. “I forced her? I lied to you?”

A broken laugh escaped my lips.

So, that was it. That was why Gideon hated me so much. It was because he had been living in my sister’s lies all along!

A thousand words crowded in my throat, but I did not say a thing.

Gideon was not a fool. He was sharp and cunning, the kind of man who ruled empires. The only reason he fell for my sister's trap was because he was in love with her.

There was nothing I could say that would change that. Arguing would only bring more humiliation and pain.

I did not want to be hurt again. I refused to let my unborn child die with me a second time.

I turned my head away and remained silent, refusing to spare another glance at the man in front of me.

Gideon froze for a moment. He did not expect me to react this way.

I was cold and detached, as though his words meant nothing to me.

He stood abruptly and replied in a cold voice, “Seems they were right about you. Fine. Stay here and think about what you’ve done. When I’ve cooled off, maybe I’ll let you out.”

He left, and the cell sank back into silence.

I pulled out my phone. There was already a reply waiting.

Zerrick: [Alright. In three days, I’ll pick you up with a private jet.]

I let out a long breath, letting the faint glimmer of hope wash away the stale, suffocating air of the cell.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the cell door, and Randel entered with food. His head was bandaged, and he looked pale.

“Boss asked me to bring you this. Madam, he still cares about you.”

I was taken aback for a moment, then opened the lunchbox. To my surprise, everything inside was my favorite.

“Don’t joke with me. No one locks up the person they care about.”

He opened his mouth to say more but fell silent.

I gave the lunchbox back to him. “This must be from you, not him. I appreciate the gesture, but don’t get yourself hurt for my sake. I... I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”

He looked at the lunchbox in his hands and immediately explained, “No, really. It was the boss’ order.”

I shook my head and said nothing.

He let out a sigh. “Madam, don’t lose hope. The boss is just blinded right now. I’ve been gathering evidence—”

I coughed sharply, cutting him off. “Do you have a death wish? The walls have ears. If he finds out, you’re done for.”

Randel understood how complicated these family matters could be. He immediately shut his mouth and left.

In the end, a loose thread remained, and somehow, his words reached Bella.

Later that night, Bella stormed into the cell. “So, you’re planning to team up and expose me? You really don’t want to live, do you?”

My parents followed her in. Their gazes were cold and sharp, as though they were looking at an enemy and not their own child.

“Out of our shared blood, we didn’t want to be this merciless, but to think you’d try to destroy your own sister and tear apart the Quinn family! In that case, we’ll show no mercy!”

They stepped closer and closer until I was pressed against the wall.

“What are you going to do? Kill me? There are cameras everywhere…”

Bella suddenly pulled a fruit knife from behind her back, raising it high. I instinctively shielded my belly and shut my eyes.

Yet, the pain never came.

When I opened them again, my breath froze.

Bella was on the floor, and the knife was buried in her abdomen. Blood spilled everywhere.

“Bella! Bella! My daughter!”

My mother’s screams echoed off the concrete as my father bolted for the door.

“Call the Don! Tell him Evelyn stabbed Bella! Now!”

Guards scrambled in a panic and immediately ran out.

“Dad, delete the footage… before they see…” Bella’s voice quivered as she reminded him.

I lunged forward to stop him, but it was too late.

Moments later, the door burst open.

“Bella!” Gideon’s voice thundered through the cell. “What the hell happened here?!”

My mother collapsed into tears. “Bella said Evelyn was starving. She didn’t even change before rushing over with food. The moment she came in, Evelyn grabbed a little knife from the serving tray and stabbed Bella, saying it was all her fault and that she should die.”

“Starving?” Gideon repeated slowly. His gaze suddenly turned vicious, sharp enough to cut through the air. “I thought you refused to eat because you were sulking. But now I see you were just trying to win sympathy before hurting your own sister.”

He walked toward me and kicked me hard, sending me crashing to the ground.

Pain ripped through my stomach.

My mother cried and shouted, “You can't deny it! We saw it with our own eyes! Bella came to apologize and even said she’d plead with the Don in a couple of days to get you released, yet instead of being grateful, you actually went and hurt her!”

Gideon’s rage boiled over.

Randel suddenly said, “Boss, Madam is still recovering. It’s unlikely she could attack anyone. Maybe we should check the security footage first.”

Gideon glanced at me as I trembled all over, then turned his cold gaze to the guards. “Go. Pull the footage.”

The guards rushed off.

Gideon then crouched beside Bella, gently pressing a bandage to her wound. He gently brushed the sweat from Bella’s forehead. His voice dripped with tenderness. “Does it hurt? Don’t be afraid. The doctor’s on his way.”

When I got kidnapped back then, I was shot twice in the arm and leg. He had barely looked at me, leaving me with a private doctor.

He had claimed it was my own fault for standing out too much, that those two bullets were a lesson I would never forget.

The difference between pretense and genuine feeling was always in the details.

I thought my heart was numb already, but now, it clenched in pain once more.

I stared down the empty hallway, holding on to the tiniest flicker of hope.

My father had not returned. The security footage might still exist. If Gideon could see the truth, perhaps…

“This is bad, Boss! The footage was deleted!”

The last flicker of hope in my heart was snuffed out.

Gideon looked down at me with a cold, detached stare. “Evelyn, you really have gone insane.”

Then, he stepped closer. With deliberate cruelty, he crushed his boot down on my arm. “Which hand did you use to stab her?”

I did not respond. I did not even have the strength to open my mouth. My body felt lifeless, like a corpse.

“Not talking? Fine.”

He drew a silver pistol and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger.

Two deafening shots exploded.

A bullet in each hand.

The pain ripped through me, white-hot and unbearable. Tears burst from my eyes.

Gideon did not even flinch. He simply slid the gun back into its holster.

“Evelyn, that was your final warning. If you ever hurt Bella again, we’re done.”

My parents’ smiles faltered when they heard his last sentence. They rushed to speak.

“This vile woman will only cause more trouble, Don Wade! You should get rid of her at once. How can we ever feel at ease while she’s still around?”

My parents took turns hurling insults. In their eyes, I was trash, a burden, and a disgrace—someone who deserved to die.

However, I was their daughter too.

When Bella left home, I was the one who stayed behind to care for them. I was the one who took them on trips, who sat by their hospital beds when they were sick, and prayed for their recovery.

After everything I did for them, all I got in return were insults.

“Don Wade, the family doctor is here!”

Soon, Bella was lifted onto a stretcher.

The doctor suddenly froze. Her white pants were soaked red, yet the stab wound was clearly in her abdomen.

Gideon noticed immediately. He seized the doctor’s wrist. “What’s going on? Why is she bleeding there? Did… she stab her somewhere else?”

The doctor examined the wound. “Please calm down, Don Wade. From what I can tell, Ms. Bella might have suffered… a miscarriage.”

“What?” Gideon’s head shot up. His hands shook uncontrollably.

My mother collapsed to the ground, crying out, “The baby… The baby’s gone?”

Gideon frowned. “What baby? When did she get pregnant?”

My mother wiped her tears. “It was right after the party. She wanted to surprise you with the news in a few days…”

With every word she spoke, the pain in Gideon’s eyes deepened.

As he looked at the blood streaming down Bella’s thigh, for the first time, the usually stern and unflinching man teared up.

“No… My child…”

Everyone in the family knew that years ago, Gideon had taken a bullet to the abdomen during a gang shootout. The doctors said it left him nearly infertile.

I understood everything now.

My parents’ desperation to make Bella his wife was because she was pregnant.

However, why would she risk losing her own baby just to set me up…

Before I could make sense of it, Gideon’s bloodshot eyes turned to me. There was grief in them, but also bitter, crushing disappointment.

How ironic.

His voice was hoarse when he said, “She killed my child. She’ll pay for that. No one is to treat her wounds.”

The room fell silent.

Randel looked at him with disbelief, but Gideon’s icy gaze silenced him instantly. “If anyone dares speak for her again, they can die with her.”

Then, he turned around and walked away. His silhouette grew smaller and smaller until the world around me dimmed to black.

When I woke up again, the cell was empty. The blood on my body had already dried.

Tears streamed down my face. It was not from the pain but from the hollow ache in my chest.

I realized the heartbeat that once fluttered inside me was gone. My baby was dead, killed by his own father.

I had no idea how many days had passed. All I remember was that the guards had brought food twice, and the sun outside that tiny window had set twice.

Today, another lunchbox was tossed inside.

I did not turn around. The last two times, it was nothing but dry, choking bread, and even the water they gave me was cloudy.

If I kept eating that, I probably would not survive a third day.

“Hurry up and take it!” the guard snapped at me impatiently. “Special treat for you today.”

That made me turn around. There really was something extra in the box, a few pieces of fish.

My body moved before I could think. I crouched down and started devouring it like I had not eaten in days. The guard let out a mocking laugh. “Look at you. You were once Mrs. Wade, but now, you’re worse off than a guard like me.”

I ignored him and focused on eating.

I had to survive. I had to stay alive until Zerrick came for me. Nothing else mattered.

Then, at the very bottom of the lunchbox, I noticed a small folded note.

[Evelyn, Gideon and I are getting married.]

It did not take a genius to figure out who had sent the meal.

I stared at the words for a long time before tossing the paper aside and continuing to eat.

There was no need for Bella to go through all this trouble to get under my skin. The moment I was left to die in the snow in my previous life, I stopped expecting anything from Gideon.

Their marriage, whenever it happened, had nothing to do with me anymore.

Word of my reaction quickly reached Bella, and I heard she flew into a rage, smashing everything in the house that she could get her hands on.

…

The next day, the cell door swung open. Bella stood there, looking proud and radiant.

The little wound on her stomach had already healed, and her complexion was glowing. Clearly, she had been well taken care of.

She grabbed my arm and yanked me out.

“You’re going to witness my wedding with Gideon. You’ll see the kind of love he shows me—the love you've never had. We’ve invited all the elites from every circle. He’ll stand before the world and announce that I’m the one he loves.

“And you, his so-called wife, will only get to watch from afar.”

I listened quietly without saying a word.

I secretly opened Zerrick’s chat window and shared my location. Leaving the cell was not a bad thing. It meant I would have a better chance of escaping.

I doubted Gideon knew Bella had secretly taken me out.

I once overheard a guard on the phone. The voice on the other end was cold and familiar. “She’s still refusing to eat?”

The guard had grunted, and Gideon had just heaved a sigh. “Stubborn as always. Just keep sending her the things she likes. Oh, and has the doctor been treating her wounds quietly?”

Gideon said a lot. He even sounded concerned.

However, I knew better. He was just afraid I would die too quickly.

He did not care beyond that. His mind was already consumed by his upcoming wedding.

The entire family was working around the clock to prepare. Even those out on missions returned to help.

The family had never been this lively before. Everyone was calling Bella 'Mrs. Wade'.

It was a title I had once dreamed of in my past life.

Only Randel occasionally used it out of habit.

The preparations went fast. Bella tried on a dozen wedding dresses in a single day. Each one was worth a fortune.

Watching her glowing with excitement only made me feel amused.

When she noticed I was not reacting, her smile faded. Then, it was as though something came to her mind. She leaned closer and whispered with a smirk, “Still pretending to be calm? Let me tell you another secret. The baby I lost that day wasn’t even Gideon’s.

“His family is strict about these things. If they were to find out later on, it'd be even worse. Better to get rid of it early, right?

“So really, I should thank you, my dear sister.”

My pupils contracted.

Everything suddenly made sense.

My hand went instinctively to my stomach. Would Gideon ever learn the truth someday?

I did not know if Gideon would ever learn the truth, or if he would ever realize that he had caused the death of his only child with his own hands.

“Don’t mention it. I wish you happiness," I smiled and replied to her.

She cursed at me, claiming that I was insane. Then, she lost interest and walked off.

I did not lose my mind. I just no longer cared.

Zerrick’s signal was getting closer and closer on the tracking map. I would be leaving this place soon.

Neither Bella nor the parents who gave me life would ever see me again.

…

Soon, the day of the wedding arrived, and I found myself outside the venue, watching the scene unfold.

I saw Gideon leaning against a tree, smoking one cigarette after another, looking lost in thought. I guessed he was still grieving for the child. After all, he would never be able to have another.

If he knew that I had miscarried too, would he feel even a little sorrow for me? I doubted it. He would probably just blame me for not telling him, for not protecting the baby.

For a fleeting moment, I almost felt relieved that the child was gone.

With a controlling and unloving father like him, that child would never have known happiness.

I tore my gaze away and walked inside. Halfway through the ceremony, a deep rumbling sound echoed through the air.

“A helicopter!”

The guests gasped in surprise. Bella turned to Gideon with surprised and shining eyes. “Gideon, is this your surprise for me?”

Gideon looked up at the helicopter, and his eyes darkened. Before he could speak, a rain of money fluttered down from above.

The crowd erupted in astonishment, and Randel rushed over. “Don’t worry, Boss. It’s a gift from the Shane family.”

“The Shane family?” Gideon frowned. “Zerrick Shane?”

Randel nodded.

Gideon clenched his fists as a trace of murderous intent flashed across his eyes. After all, this was his territory. Zerrick had somehow slipped past every layer of defense. His power was not to be taken lightly.

To him, the raining cash was not a gesture of goodwill but a provocation!

“Don’t frown, honey. It’s our wedding day," Bella said with a sweet tone.

Gideon’s expression eased slightly. He turned to Randel and instructed, “Tighten the security. Nothing else gets in.”

As expected of Gideon, he was meticulous in thought and ruthless in execution. Unfortunately for him, he missed one thing—nothing else could get in, but this helicopter could get out.

The helicopter landed on a mountain ridge, and Zerrick slowly stepped out of a cabin. Seeing my hands bound in bandages and my frail, weakened body, his eyes darkened with a sudden chill.

The next second, he lifted me into his arms and carried me back into the helicopter.

I clutched his collar and whispered, “I’ll repay you for this one day.”

He looked straight ahead and answered in a calm and steady voice, “I’ll be waiting.”

As the helicopter blades roared to life, I finally let myself breathe. Looking down, I saw my father walking Bella down the aisle.

Gideon stood at the altar, waiting for his bride.

My father placed her hand in his, and Bella said in a soft voice, “I do.”

The priest turned to Gideon. “And do you, Mr. Wade, take Bella to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

The wind grew louder. I could not hear their voices anymore.

I took a deep breath and looked toward the rising sun. The warmth of its light wrapped around me. I was finally heading toward freedom.

Everything beneath me was nothing but the past now.