Stefan was sitting right by my side when I woke up. He had taken off his tailor-made suit and changed into a black turtleneck. "You're finally awake, Elena."

For some reason, he sounded joyful while Corey looked grim. He gave me a troubled look before saying, "Congratulations, Donna Gallo. You're three months pregnant."

My mind went blank as I slowly looked up to stare back at Stefan, who misunderstood my reaction. He pulled me gently into his arms and tightened his embrace around me, unable to suppress the happiness in his voice. "This is wonderful! I can't believe I'm going to be a father. You've given me such a beautiful surprise, Elena."

I had never seen him express his happiness this way before, but I found it difficult to smile.

That day, Stefan accompanied me for a long time at the hospital. It was only when he had 30 minutes left before his meeting that he finally left in a hurry. Before leaving, he said to Corey, "Increase the budget for the medical team. From now onward, your main focus is guaranteeing Elena's safety."

Corey agreed in a low voice, and Stefan failed to notice his chilly tone. Stefan turned back to look at me with tenderness in his eyes, just like he did when we first met. "I'll visit you again later tonight, Elena. Have a good rest." I nodded as I watched him leave.

When the door closed behind him, the room turned silent once more. It was so quiet that I could hear our breathing. I clenched my fists and remained silent for a long time before looking up at Corey. "Dr. Dickson, please help me abort this baby."

This time, Corey did not ask any questions because he had witnessed what Stefan had done that day. He nodded and replied with determination, "Don't worry about it. I'll help you." He paused before continuing, "But it's best that you take medication to cause the miscarriage before you leave, so you won't attract any attention.

"But…" He glanced at me and looked like he could not bear to imagine what I would go through. "Getting the abortion and having the plastic surgery afterward will cause you a lot of pain, and it has its risks."

I smiled softly as if I had just heard something that had nothing to do with me. "It's all right. I'll do anything to leave this place."

This baby had come at the wrong time, but to me, it was just an extra obstacle to remove in the process of my escape.

Since that day, I started to focus on nurturing myself and keeping my body healthy as I prepared for the surgery in accordance with the doctor's orders. In Stefan's eyes, I was being protective of our baby. He treated me lovingly during this time and would personally join me for all checkups conducted by the medical team.

Stefan would caress my belly when he came home at night, and he even customized a few precious toys for the baby before it was even born. He acted as if our baby were everything he wanted in life.

Unbeknownst to Stefan, I threw all those toys into a metal box after he left. Right at the very bottom of the box was the black, lacey underwear I found in his car. Whenever I saw it, the warm feeling I had when I received those toys would vanish. Once I was gone, I would return everything in the box to him. I wanted him to witness how dirty his love was.

Time passed quickly, and only two months were left until my surgery. That was when I suddenly received a call from the family elders. They sounded grim as they talked about what happened after the dinner event.

Trixie had posted a picture on her social media that revealed half of Stefan's face. The lighting on his side profile showcased his aloof yet handsome charisma, which instantly garnered millions of likes. This was causing distress within the core members of the family.

"Don Gallo has never revealed himself publicly."

"The high exposure will disrupt the family's discreet organization."

One of the elders paused before lowering his voice to say, "Besides, there has been a recent problem with the underground casino. If public opinion continues to spread, it's going to cause greater trouble."

They were silent before softening their tones. "Donna Gallo, we have no idea how to talk to Don Gallo about this. Do you think you'd be able to talk to him about keeping his distance from Trixie Carter?"

I laughed bitterly after listening to their request. "You should know how the Don can be. No one can interfere with his decisions."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the call. An elder lowered his voice. "But Donna Gallo, you're pregnant now. If…"

"That's enough," I interrupted him. "I won't involve myself with any of the family's internal affairs." I hung up after that.

All I wanted was to spend the rest of my time here quietly. Whatever happened within the family no longer had anything to do with me.

However, the matter eventually blew up. Reporters had snapped photographs of Trixie and Stefan getting into a car together outside the casino, and Stefan's face was clearly visible. News of this spread rapidly, and even though the media was quickly silenced and most of the pictures removed, it was still a fact that they had been exposed to the public from outside the casino.

Another family meeting was called under intense pressure.

"Why were there so many reporters around the casino? Our family's security has never made such a mistake before."

"We should focus on public opinion now that the situation has escalated. Sigh! If this continues, and the casino list is leaked, we'll be in big trouble. Plenty of politicians and public figures connected to our family have expressed their utmost concern."

"If this continues to escalate, it might affect our political ties…"

As the disagreements in the meeting room became louder, Stefan frowned with his hand against his forehead, as if trying to figure out a solution. That was when someone slammed the table and said, "We can get Trixie Carter to admit that she's been gambling and issue a public apology to pacify the public."

Everyone looked at each other when this idea was presented. It was a great idea that was both effective and minimized the risks. It would even pacify the public. They looked at Stefan, but he shook his head. "I can't sacrifice her."

Some of the family members' expressions changed slightly, but Stefan continued in a composed tone, "She's an important asset for connections in the family's entertainment business. With her current top-celebrity status, she's capable of gathering copious intel from the public. Keeping her safe is a part of strategic intel gathering."

Everyone looked at each other as if they had more to say, but I suddenly smiled at Stefan. "You heard the Don. Don't worry, everyone. He'll handle this well."

Stefan was taken aback as he did not expect me to speak up for him in the meeting. After all, the picture of Trixie and him showed how intimate their relationship was. After the meeting was over, Stefan came to me to gently place his hand on my belly. "Is your morning sickness still bad?"

I shook my head. "The baby has been good to me. It has stopped making a fuss in there."

Stefan nodded. He was silent for a while before saying in a low voice, "There's nothing between Trixie Carter and me. She came to the casino that day to report some intel." I grunted a reply but did not ask any questions. Stefan frowned slightly. "It doesn't bother you?"

I gave him a small smile and replied, "No, it doesn't. I trust that you'll never cheat on me because you promised during our wedding that you'd only love me and me alone in this lifetime, remember?"

Stefan was taken aback, but he quickly smiled as he looked at me with conviction. "Of course I do. Loyalty has always been the family's most important rule."

I laughed softly without replying, and Stefan quickly changed the topic by mentioning our wedding anniversary, which was a month away. "I'm planning to organize a party and use the opportunity to liaise with our family's clients and stabilize the situation." He lowered his head to kiss the corner of my eye as he held me in a gentle embrace. "Thank you for speaking up for me. To be honest, this is a tricky situation to handle."

It had been a long time since Stefan revealed his fragile side to me, but it felt like a joke to me now. Was it really that tricky? All he had to do was get Trixie to apologize and retire from the social scene to minimize the risk of public opinion, but he could not bear to do it. He could not bear for Trixie to even shed a tear.

My heart slowly sank as the smile on my face vanished, but he could not see my expression as he hugged me.

The family paid a heavy price because of this. Controlling public opinion required substantial capital, and many long-term partners, including politicians and business allies, decided to end their business relationships with us, creating a gloomy atmosphere among the core family members.

A month later, at the anniversary party, none of the guests looked relaxed, and all of the elders looked cold and distant. Trixie had her head down. She was no longer the center of the party as no one wanted to be near her, except for Stefan. He raised his glass at her as usual, acting as if nothing had happened.

Someone suddenly pulled me aside and said in a low voice, "Don't you think Don Gallo has given in too much to Trixie Carter, Donna Gallo?" She swept a glance over Trixie and continued unhappily, "Don Gallo exiled the people who were previously a threat to the family, and even until today, they're still living difficult lives.

"Meanwhile, she's still living glamorously. I heard Don Gallo not only helped squash all public opinion about her, but he even helped her snag several endorsement deals. If this continues, things will escalate even further."

She paused before lowering her voice even further. "Should we…" Before she finished, she swept a finger across her neck.

I pressed her wrist down. "Don't say anything like that. We're not allowed to discuss such matters when we're with the core family members." I turned to see Stefan and Trixie chatting at a distance, and when I spoke next, my voice was almost drowned out by the party's music. "Even if things escalate to a point where nothing can be salvaged, it would still be the Don's responsibility to face the consequences. It will have nothing to do with us."

The woman got anxious and raised her voice. "But you're his wife!"

I would no longer be his wife soon, but I did not say it out loud.

Halfway through the party, Stefan presented me with a priceless pearl necklace in front of everyone. I took out a present as well. Just as he was about to open it, I stopped him. "There's no hurry. You can open it in a month."

"Why?"

"The contents will be more meaningful a month from now."

Stefan was puzzled but chose to kiss me gently on the forehead. "All right. As you wish."

The party continued as guests kept coming up to me to congratulate me on my pregnancy. I could see Trixie looking at me with hate and jealousy through the crowd. However, when she noticed my gaze, she quickly lowered her head and expertly put on a fake smile.

Trixie approached me to give me a bottle of perfume. Her voice trembled slightly. "Happy anniversary, Don Gallo, Donna Gallo."

The perfume bottle design was intricate, but the scent was very strong. I could smell it through the packaging. As I was about to accept it from her, I suddenly heard someone next to me say in a low voice, "How could she give a pregnant woman perfume? If the ingredients aren't suitable, it might cause a miscarriage."

Trixie's expression changed. As she was about to put away the perfume, Stefan accepted it on my behalf. "Thank you." He looked at me while speaking naturally. "My wife enjoys using perfume on a daily basis. Am I right, Elena?"

I was taken aback but quickly smiled. "He's right. I do enjoy using perfume."

Everyone looked at us strangely as they noticed how differently Stefan was treating Trixie, but no one said a thing because they did not have the courage to.

After the party was over, Trixie was the last to leave. Her head was lowered as she slowly approached Stefan. "Wait for me in the car," Stefan said while looking at me. I nodded and turned to leave obediently, but Stefan frowned when he saw how quickly I was to respond. However, he did not stop me.

"Don Gallo…" Trixie called out with a sob, and it caught his attention.

I lowered my head to laugh as I personally closed the door to the event hall for them. The moment those doors were closed, I immediately curled into a ball on the floor. My belly had grown uncomfortable since I got a whiff of the perfume, and the pain had become sharper.

That perfume was questionable. I never expected her to be brazen enough to do something like this to me. I was about to fling the bottle away when the pain got worse, and I lost my grip on the bottle. The bottle smashed into pieces, and the pungent smell spread all around me.

The pain became worse as I fell to the ground, but all the guests had left, and all I could do was knock on the event hall doors while trying to shout, "S-Stefan…" However, no one from inside reacted to my knocking.

I had no choice but to use every ounce of strength I had left inside me to stand up by pulling on the handle. Finally, I was able to open up a crack. That was when my gaze stopped on the sight in front of me. Stefan was patting Trixie gently on the head inside the event hall, as if cajoling a child. "It's all right. It's all over now."

Trixie continued sobbing. "But I'm so scared! You saw the way they looked at me today. They must really hate me."

Stefan was silent briefly before saying in a low voice, "Don't worry. I'll make sure no one looks at you like that again at the next party."

The sobbing finally stopped as my fingers slowly slipped down the wall I was leaning against, and I fell to the ground with a crash. The thud from the corridor was loud, and it made Stefan and Trixie separate from each other right away.

When Stefan saw me fall at the doors, he quickly turned to run toward me.

My body was limp as I swayed on the stretcher, and it felt like I was being pulled off to somewhere far away.

I was eight when my father, who was a gambler, beat my mother to death right in front of me after she refused to loan him any money. He ended up with ten years in prison. The first thing he did after getting released was sell me to the casino just so he could gamble for one more round.

There were many girls like me there, wearing revealing clothes and their lips smeared with red-hot lipstick, moving from man to man.

Once the lights were turned off, we were all locked in an underground prison without ventilation. A girl even slit her wrists right in front of me, and her blood splashed onto my face. It was warm, and I could taste the blood, but I did not move and could not even cry.

One day, someone pressed his body against me roughly. I struggled with everything I had and screamed until my throat was injured and I could taste blood in my mouth.

Bang!

I heard a gunshot, and the man fell right next to me as blood slowly spread across his chest.

Stefan was standing at the door, placing his gun back into its holster. His expression was cold when he took off his coat and flung it at me. "Places like these are dirty."

It was only later that I found out he had busted the casino, and that I had been taken as a trophy for his victory. Stefan told me that he fell in love with me at first sight because of my eyes. I believed him and thanked God for blessing me with my eyes.

However, I later realized they were also a curse because I had to watch him turn away from me, time after time, through them.

My eyelashes flickered, and my eyes started to moisten with tears.

"Didn't I tell you to take good care of her? Why did she suddenly pass out?!" I could hear enraged roars as I started to regain consciousness and return to reality. Stefan was almost losing control as he grabbed Corey by the collar and growled at him.

However, Corey remained calm. "Donna Gallo's pregnancy was affected by inhaling large amounts of sensitive additives." He paused before looking right at Stefan. "The source is the perfume Miss Carter gifted her."

The air was tense with silence, and Stefan slowly loosened his grip on Corey. Trixie covered her mouth and said in a trembling voice, "I'm so sorry… I really had no idea…"

Corey sneered. "The additives in the perfume were listed very clearly."

"That's enough." Stefan stopped him, calming down. "She has no idea what my wife is allergic to. All you need to do is take good care of my wife. Anything other than that is none of your business." He turned away from me and said in a lower voice, "Don't tell Elena about this. I don't want them to fight, nor do I want this to escalate."

Trixie held his arm as if it were the most normal thing in the world, but this time, Stefan pushed her hands away in frustration. She was taken aback and looked upset, but she did not dare say a word.

"Is the baby okay?"

"The baby is fine."

Stefan was relieved, and he turned to Trixie. "Go home. I'm staying until she wakes up."

Trixie's eyes turned slightly red. "But you promised to be with me tonight…"

Stefan did not say anything. His silence had given her his answer, and she finally left in the end.

The hospital room was quiet once more, and Stefan looked at Corey, who was putting an IV drip on me. The look in his eyes was grim. "Our conversation just now…"

"I won't tell the Donna."

Stefan nodded approvingly. He believed that he had successfully taken care of things, but he had no idea that I knew far more than he realized. I just chose not to say a word. My time at the casino had taught me long ago that I should never cry but remain silent. The young women who managed to escape the casino were never the most pitiful ones, but the ones who could endure the longest.

Every time they suffered humiliation, they would quietly plan in the dark, waiting for the right moment to make their escape and never look back.

Leaving Stefan would not be as easy as leaving the casino by a long shot, which was why I did not ask about the perfume, Trixie, or about what happened behind that door after I woke up. All I did was grab his hand and ask anxiously, "Is the baby okay?"

Stefan comforted me in a low voice. "Everything's fine now. The doctor says your condition is stable." I sighed with relief as he stayed silent briefly before looking at me. "When did you pass out?"

I knew what he was trying to find out. He wanted to know if I had seen anything inside the event hall. I pressed my hand against my forehead and frowned. "I can't remember. All I remember is being in intense pain, and I blacked out after that."

Stefan stared at me as if trying to decide if I was telling the truth. He looked away after a while and said, "You should rest."

He stayed with me for a long time that day and did not pick up his phone, even though it was ringing constantly. It was not until I closed my eyes that he finally picked up his phone on the balcony. "All right. Stop crying. I'll come over right now." Stefan returned to my room and bent down to kiss me on the lips. He was gentle as always.

My eyes opened the moment he closed the door behind him, and I was wide awake. I picked up my phone and started calling every trader I knew to talk about converting my assets to gold. 90% of the assets in my name had been successfully transferred, and I was left with the final step now.

I had to erase my identity and start life afresh with a new one. This was also the most difficult step in my plan because the system would leave behind traces of anything I did. I could not gamble with this, and the only way I could get this done was to make a deal.

After making my decision, I made another call. The person on the other end of the call was silent for several seconds before speaking. "Have you decided?" He spoke in a low voice, making it difficult to read his emotions.

"What do you want?"

"An equal trade," the man replied with indifference. "You know the rules."

"I'll give you the list of informants Stefan has in your family."

The air was silent once again, but I could hear him holding his breath. "Are you sure?"

"I'll give you the entire list."

He laughed. "Donna Gallo is indeed calmer and more composed than the rumors make her out to be."

"A new identity, a legal background, restructuring of my family history, and complete erasure of my current identity and tracks." I was levelheaded. "I want the whole package."

"You know the price to pay."

"I can afford it."

The man was silent for a long time. "How do you plan on giving me the list?"

"In batches. I'll give you a part of the list first, and after my new identity is confirmed, I'll give you the rest of the list."

The man laughed softly. "You're smarter than I thought."

I turned to look out the window and laughed self-depracatingly. "I'm just trying to survive."

The man burst out with laughter. "Hah! That's interesting. Fine. It's a deal. Have you thought about your new name?"

I was silent for a while before saying softly, "Dawn Lenore." Lenore was my mother's surname, while 'Dawn' represented the dawn of time, when everything was back in its rightful place. I wanted to return to a time without my gambler father, without my cheating husband, and without the me who had been abandoned.

After I hung up, I stared at my sweaty palms and let out a long sigh. "Dawn Lenore… Dawn Lenore…" I could not help repeating my new name, and I started to tear up. I would soon be completely free of this life.

That was when the door was suddenly kicked open, and before I knew what was happening, a black bag was placed over my head.