When I woke, the sharp scent of antiseptic burned my nose. The harsh hospital lights made my head throb, and for a split second, I didn’t remember anything. Then it all crashed down on me.
Celeste was gone.
Marco had been cheating.
Selena had killed my daughter.
And Marco had covered for her.
A sound built in my throat—something raw, something unbearable—but I forced it down. My fingers curled around the scratchy hospital sheets, gripping them so hard my nails dug into my palm.
This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. But it was.
A chair creaked beside me.
“You’re awake.”
Marco’s voice.
My stomach twisted violently. I turned my head, my movements stiff and mechanical. There he was, sitting by my bedside, his face filled with concern, his brows drawn together like he actually cared. I wanted to scream. To claw at his face. To make him feel even a fraction of what I was feeling.
But I didn’t.
I swallowed the pain, the anger, the horror clawing at my insides, and kept my voice steady. “How long was I out?”
“Just a few hours.” He exhaled like he’d been holding his breath. “You scared me, Olivia.”
I scared him?
I wanted to laugh, to scream, to tear the whole damn room apart. But I just blinked at him, my throat tight. “Oh.”
His expression softened. “It’s been a rough day for you. You should rest.”
Rest? My daughter was dead. My husband was a traitor. And he wanted me to rest?
I lowered my gaze, staring at my hands as they twisted in the sheets. I needed to breathe, to think, to get the hell out of here before I exploded.
I inhaled shakily. “I… I don’t remember much.”
His shoulders relaxed slightly. Good. Let him think I was weak. Let him believe I was lost in grief.
“It’s understandable,” he said gently. “You’ve been through so much. Maybe it’s best if you don’t think too hard about things right now.”
Don’t think too hard? Oh, I was thinking plenty.
I was thinking about how he’d whispered to Selena. How he’d covered for her. How he’d let our daughter’s murderer walk free.
But I just nodded. “Maybe.”
His relief was almost insulting. He really thought I was breaking. That I would accept whatever lies he told me.
He had no idea.
The nurse walked in then, flipping through my chart. “Mrs. Rivera, your test results look fine. You just fainted from exhaustion. We’ll discharge you soon.”
I nodded absently, keeping my head down. My whole body was trembling, but not from grief. Not from exhaustion. From rage. This wasn’t over. Not even close.
—
After leaving the hospital, I became a woman on a mission. I started digging—phone records, surveillance footage, anything to prove what I knew.
But Marco had covered his tracks.
The security footage? Gone.
Police reports? Altered.
The car? Never found.
It was like the accident never happened.
Frustration clawed at me. Marco had money, power, influence. He could erase evidence with a snap of his fingers. But I wouldn’t stop.
And if I couldn’t prove the accident… I’d destroy my marriage.
The moment I got the divorce papers, I felt like I could breathe again.
I wasn’t naïve. I knew Marco wouldn’t take this lightly, so I kept it a secret.
For weeks, I planned my exit—meeting with a lawyer, securing a place to stay, preparing for the storm.
Then one evening, Marco found the divorce papers.
His face was thunderous as he stormed in, holding the crumpled documents.
“What the hell is this?” His voice was dangerously low.
I stood my ground. “Exactly what it looks like. I’m leaving you.”
His jaw clenched. “No, you’re not.”
I crossed my arms. “Yes, I am.”
A bitter laugh escaped him. “You really think you can just walk away?”
I swallowed. “There’s nothing left between us. Celeste is gone. And you…” My voice wavered. “You’re a monster.”
His expression darkened, and he stepped closer, suffocating me. “You think you can divorce me and just move on?”
I refused to flinch. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Marco grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. His grip wasn’t painful, but it was a warning.
“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into,” he murmured. “If you leave me, I will ruin you.”
My heart pounded, but I glared at him. “Go ahead. Do your worst.”
He smirked, but it wasn’t amusement.
“Oh, I will.”
Then his voice dropped, laced with something close to fear.
“You don’t get it, do you?” He chuckled bitterly. “My grandfather chose you for me. You think he’ll just let you go?”
I froze.
Marco’s grandfather. The man who controlled the Rivera empire. The man who had forced Marco to marry me.
The memory hit me like a freight train.
I had met Marco as a patient, a car accident victim I’d cared for. I’d fallen for him. And when his grandfather decided I was perfect for Marco, I didn’t resist.
Marco courted me after he healed. A year later, we married. I thought it was love.
But now, I realized… it had never been his choice.
His grandfather held the strings.
And if he found out Marco was cheating? That Marco wanted me gone?
The old man would destroy him.
I could see it now, the flicker of real fear in Marco’s eyes. He couldn’t lose me. Not because he loved me, but because if he did, he’d lose everything.
And that… gave me power.
For the first time since Celeste’s death, hope sparked in my chest.
I had nothing left to lose. But Marco? He had everything to lose. And I was going to make sure he did.
—
And that night, I picked up my phone to call Marco’s grandfather, my hands trembled.
This was it. My way out.
My thumb hovered over the screen, heart pounding in my chest. One call, and everything would change. I could be free. I could finally breathe again.
But before I could dial, my phone buzzed in my hand.
Marco.
A sick feeling curled in my stomach. I hesitated, then answered. “What?”
His voice was tense, clipped—so unlike his usual arrogance. “Grandfather had a heart attack. He’s in the hospital.”
The world tilted beneath me.
I clutched the phone tighter. “What?”
“He collapsed an hour ago. He’s in a coma.”
