Mia curled up in the cold corner, trembling all over.

The sting on her face was still fresh, but what terrified her more was the endless darkness and the suffocating confinement.

Childhood shadows and the nightmare from six years ago crashed over her in waves.

Her breathing grew shallow. It was like her heart was clenched by an invisible hand, nearly jumping out of her chest.

“Let me out… please… let me out…”

She pounded helplessly on the heavy iron door. Her nails scraped bloody scratches into the wall. Her throat was so hoarse she could barely make a sound.

She had no sense of how long time had passed until a soft click of the lock sounded and a beam of light cut through the darkness.

Her eyes brightened. She scrambled toward it. “James, let me out! I-I know I was wrong! Please…”

Her voice died as she saw who had come.

Zinnia stood at the doorway, elegant and composed, looking down at her in utter disarray.

She leaned slightly forward. Her delicate fingers flicked over the lavish sapphire necklace at her throat, seemingly without a thought.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Zinnia’s voice was low. Each word was laced with poison. “James gave it to me. He said the color suits me.

“Thirty thousand of your nude photos got it for me, I hear.”

The scars she had long buried, the wounds that had numbed her with pain were ripped open by James’s own hand.

This necklace, now on another woman’s neck, was flaunted to crush the last shred of her dignity into dust.

Zinnia crouched, lifting Mia’s chin with a fingertip.

“Did you really think James loved you? You’re just a stray dog he picked up on a whim. He plays with you when he’s amused, discards you when he isn’t. No matter what I do, he will always be on my side.

“No woman by the Don’s side should be as pathetic as you, shrieking and sobbing at every little thing.

“You… are simply not worthy.”

Mia’s pupils dilated. She had no strength left to argue; only endless despair and numbness remained.

Then, outside the holding room, a series of sharp thuds and the crash of heavy objects rang out.

A few masked, armed men broke through the perimeter without warning, storming into the underground area.

Their movements were precise. It was as though they knew every inch of this place.

“Don’t move!”

Cold gun barrels were pressed against Zinnia’s and Mia’s temples.

They were pinned down with brute force, cloth forced into their mouths, hands cruelly tied behind them.

“Don Yorick’s women? Perfect timing!”

Mia’s mind went blank. She could not understand what was happening.

She only felt the darkness swallowing her completely.

…

Then, she opened her eyes again.

She was in an abandoned warehouse at the dock.

The masked men shoved her and Zinnia to the center.

Across from them stood James, whose face was dark as iron.

“Let them go.”

From the shadows, a man in a crisp white suit stepped forward, calm and composed.

The man was Shawn Gray, the young don of the Gray family.

He clapped slowly with a playful smile on his face.

He signaled his men to push Mia and Zinnia forward. The ticking of explosives attached to the women echoed clearly in the silent warehouse, each second slipping away.

“Of course.”

His words came slow and measured as though he was discussing nothing more serious than the weather. “I’ve prepared the full transfer documents for the East Harbor Dock.”

A subordinate handed him a folder.

“Sign this, and you can take one of these two women. The choice is yours. As for the one you leave behind… she’ll go out with a bang, becoming history along with this old dock.”

He made an explosive gesture with his hand with a cruel smile on his face.

Tears streamed down Zinnia’s cheeks as she looked at James. “James, no matter what choice you make, I won’t blame you.

“Maybe… I should go to heaven too, to meet your brother…”

Mia lifted her head as well, staring at James through swollen, reddened eyes. Her gaze was filled with despair.

Her lips parted as though she wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

Would he choose her?

Even once?

James’s eyes darted rapidly between the two women.

Zinnia’s sobbing, his brother’s last wish, and the interests of the family…

Mia’s hollow, despairing eyes made his heart clench for reasons he could not explain.

However, the emotions were quickly smothered by a stronger thought.

She was always like this, bringing trouble, causing chaos. She was a burden, through and through. He had already done more than enough for her.

Besides, Shawn was probably just bluffing.

He would not dare…

That was right. He would not dare!

Second by second, time slipped away. The ticking of the bomb sounded like a countdown to death.

Finally, James made his decision. He almost roared it out, pointing at Zinnia.

“Let her go!”

Those three words were like a final verdict.

“As expected of Don Yorick, loyal and righteous. Truly touching.” Shawn clapped mockingly. He took the signed equity transfer agreement from James and gave him a satisfied but chillingly cold smile.

“Got what I came for.” He casually handed the document to a trusted subordinate.

“But…” Shawn’s tone shifted. His grin turned wildly arrogant. “I’ve changed my mind. Why should all the good things go to your Yorick family? I want the docks, and as for your people… I never said I’d return them in one piece.”

Before he could even finish his sentence, two of his men lunged forward, grabbing Zinnia, who had just had the bomb removed and was still in shock, along with Mia. They roughly dragged both women toward the rusted iron door at the back of the warehouse.

“Shawn Gray! How dare you!” James’s eyes were splitting with rage as he raised his gun.

“Game over, Don Yorick. Hope you like this little gift!”

Shawn laughed loudly as he fell back. His men retreated in a disciplined formation, taking turns to cover one another.

Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out again, but Shawn’s people were clearly prepared, fighting as they withdrew.

James chased after them. The moment he burst out the back door of the warehouse, he saw Shawn standing on a speedboat with its engine already running, several meters away from the dock.

Meanwhile, the two men bringing up the rear shoved the two struggling women down with brutal force.

Splash!

Splash!

Two splashes erupted on the pitch-black, churning surface of the sea.

“Hahahaha! James, until we meet again! I hope you’ve learned how to make the right choice next time!”

Shawn’s manic laughter faded into the roar of the engine as the speedboat tore across the water, disappearing into the night and sea mist.

“Zinnia!” James’s pupils shrank. Without a second’s hesitation, and without even glancing at where Mia had fallen, he leapt straight into the water toward Zinnia.

The sea was icy cold, sharp with salt.

Zinnia could not swim. Panicked, she flailed wildly and clung to James as though he was her only lifeline.

James struggled to support her, dragging her with all his strength toward the dock.

Less than five meters away, Mia’s body was slowly sinking into the freezing water.

Seawater flooded her mouth and nose. The agony of suffocation swept over her. It was far more terrifying than the darkness of the confinement room.

The deep sea felt like countless hands pulling her toward a bottomless abyss.

In the final moment before consciousness completely slipped away, through the blurred, wavering surface of the water, she saw shadows and lights by the dock. She saw James jump without hesitation toward Zinnia. She saw him giving everything to keep another woman afloat. She saw that he did not even turn his head to look her way…

All the pain, the struggle, the humble pleading, the ridiculous hope…

In that instant, they turned to ashes and sank into the icy depths.

Before the last gulp of seawater filled her lungs, she used the final trace of life left in her and screamed with everything she had,

“I hate you…”

James’s body stiffened for a split second, but he still did not stop.

Mia stared at the flickering figures on the dock.

Her chest was full of water now. Her body felt unbearably heavy as it kept sinking.

She saw James, soaked through, carrying Zinnia ashore. She also saw him take off his coat and wrap it around Zinnia’s trembling shoulders.

He scooped her up in his arms.

He never looked back, from beginning to end.

Not even once.

The last glimmer of light in Mia’s eyes finally went out.

So be it.

She slowly closed her eyes. Saltwater ran down the corners of her eyes, blending with the final tear she had left to shed.

So be it.

‘James, goodbye, forever.’

…

On the other hand.

James sat drenched on a bench outside the ER. A cigarette burned halfway down between his fingers. Ash fell onto his soaked pant leg, unnoticed.

Zinnia had been taken to a hospital room. The doctor said she had inhaled some water and suffered shock, but she would be fine.

“Boss, you should have your wound treated too.”

One of his men reminded him quietly, gesturing to the blood where a stray bullet had grazed his arm.

He did not seem to hear. Mechanically, he raised his hand to reach for his cigarette pack, only to touch something stiff inside the inner pocket of his coat.

His movement froze.

The paper had not been completely soaked by seawater, but the folded edges were soft and waterlogged. The ink had bled slightly, yet the bold title at the top was still clearly legible.

[Early Pregnancy Ultrasound Report]