A long silence stretched between us.
When he finally realized I wasn't joking, something vicious flickered in those fathomless eyes.
"Mia, your brother is still in the ICU. You know that. Half the hospitals in this city answer to the Delgado name. The other half used to belong to your father—but your father died three years ago..."
"You bastard."
Humiliation and hatred surged through my chest. My hand shot up to slap him.
But the moment I raised my arm, the wound tore.
Blinding pain ripped through my lower abdomen, radiating outward until my whole body screamed. The gauze around my waist bloomed crimson, soaked through in an instant.
"Mia..."
Howard saw the blood. He was at my side in a heartbeat, gathering me into his arms.
"I'm sorry. I know it's my fault—I failed to protect our child. I swear to you, nothing like this will ever happen again. I'll run the business properly from now on, I promise."
His voice dropped, soft and coaxing. "You said it yourself, Mia. We're each other's only family now. Don't leave me..."
He must have thought he had me again.
After I drifted off, Howard left.
The moment he stepped out, his assistant's voice carried through the door.
"Howard, I don't understand. She already asked for a divorce. Why won't you agree?"
A long sigh. Then Howard's measured reply:
"Old Mr. Gilbert only died three years ago. His remaining connections are still out there. If I divorce her now, I lose too much leverage."
"Then what you said about it being the last time...?"
"I meant it. That was the last time. It won't happen again."
I buried myself under the covers, shoving my fist into my mouth to muffle the sobs clawing up my throat.
So that's what it had always been. From the very beginning—nothing but use. Not a shred of real feeling.
After Howard's footsteps faded, silence blanketed the hallway.
With trembling hands, I found my phone and dialed the number I knew by heart.
"Dad... come back. I know I was wrong."
A long pause. Then a low voice on the other end:
"Alright."
The line went dead.
I curled into a ball under the blankets and wept—ugly, heaving sobs that shook my entire body.
All that stubborn pride, all those years of pushing him away... and I hadn't even managed to make myself happy.
In the end, I still needed my father to come save me.
But his answer let me finally breathe. I closed my eyes and let exhaustion drag me under.
I woke to chaos outside my door.
My eyes had barely opened when the door burst inward.
A hulking man stormed in, club in hand. Before I could scream, it cracked against my skull.
White-hot pain exploded at the back of my head.
Then—nothing.
"Hey! Wake up!"
A bucket of ice-cold water hit my face.
The world spun violently. I forced my eyes open, gasping.
I was in the abandoned warehouse. Rusted beams overhead. The stench of mildew and motor oil. And standing in front of me—the same man who'd broken into my hospital room.
"Mr. Delgado." He held up his phone, angling the screen toward my face. "This your wife?"
Howard's panicked voice crackled through the speaker. "Yes—yes! Who are you? Let her go now!"
The man lit a cigarette, a slow smirk curling his lips.
"Sure, I can let her go. All you have to do is cooperate, Mr. Delgado. I'll release her right this second."
"Cooperate—fine! How much? Name your price! I'll pay anything—even shares in Delgado Group! Whatever you want!"
My heart stuttered.
Howard was a self-made man. Power was everything to him. You could bleed him for money and he'd recover. But his shares? Those were sacred.
And yet he'd just offered them up without hesitation.
