"You filthy bitch! How dare you walk in here like you belong?"
The moment the words fell, I knew there would be no mercy.
I was alone.
They were many.
And inside these walls, the guards looked away as long as the price was right.
I barely had time to react before they surrounded me.
Hands grabbed my hair.
Fists landed against my body.
Then the kicks came.
One after another.
My back hit the floor.
Pain exploded through every inch of me.
A sharp, unbearable agony tore through my abdomen.
Then I felt it.
Something warm slipping down my legs.
My blood ran cold.
No.
Not my child.
Not now.
But they didn't stop.
They had been paid to break me.
And they intended to finish the job.
Only after their anger was satisfied did they finally step away.
The woman leading them, the one who controlled this section of the prison, looked down at me with a satisfied smile.
She stuffed the money she had received into her pocket, then handed portions of it to the others.
The payment was generous.
"Thank you, sisters."
She smiled.
"Easy work, wasn't it? And the money wasn't bad either."
I couldn't speak.
My mouth was filled with the taste of blood.
My hands and feet were bound.
A piece of cloth covered my mouth.
But my eyes remained fixed on them.
Cold.
Silent.
Filled with hatred.
I knew exactly what this was.
This wasn't a random beating.
Someone outside had paid for my suffering.
Someone wanted to destroy me.
Someone wanted to make sure I never walked out of this prison.
I endured the pain until my consciousness slowly faded.
When I woke again, I was no longer in the cell.
A guard had found me the next day.
My face was pale.
My lips had lost all color.
I was carried to the private clinic reserved for the prison's special cases.
The doctor avoided my eyes when he delivered the news.
"The child..."
He paused.
"I'm sorry."
The world went quiet.
My baby was gone.
The women who attacked me gave the same explanation.
A misunderstanding.
An accident.
No witnesses.
No evidence.
Nothing that could challenge their story.
In a place ruled by silence, the truth disappeared easily.
The guards gave them only a warning.
And everyone returned to pretending nothing had happened.
I said nothing.
I didn't cry.
I didn't scream.
But deep inside, I already knew the answer.
I knew who had ordered it.
I knew who wanted my child erased.
When Gia heard that I had been injured and lost the baby, she stared at the message for several seconds.
Then she laughed.
A bright, satisfied laugh.
"What happened?"
Salvatore wrapped his arms around her from behind.
"Why are you so happy this early?"
Gia leaned back against him.
"Nothing."
Her eyes were filled with triumph.
"Let's go out tonight."
"I want to celebrate."
Salvatore agreed without hesitation.
Like always.
He followed wherever she led.
The two of them left the Ortega estate together.
But upstairs, in the forgotten attic, another person was waiting.
"Mommy..."
No.
Not Mommy.
"Papa..."
Matteo's weak voice echoed in the empty room.
But no one answered.
Salvatore didn't even look back when the car disappeared through the gates.
The child curled up alone on the cold floor.
He had been hungry for too long.
He was too tired to cry.
Eventually, even his voice disappeared.
The attic became silent.
Completely silent.
Since Gia entered the Ortega estate, Salvatore had forgotten everything except her.
Her wishes.
Her moods.
Her happiness.
He had not stepped into the family's front operation for days.
No one in that house remembered the child locked away upstairs.
When I woke again, I was different.
The prison guard who found me seemed disturbed by what had happened.
Perhaps guilt finally caught up with him.
He arranged another visitation.
When my parents arrived and saw me, my mother's expression changed instantly.
She looked at my pale face.
My weakened body.
Then her eyes fell lower.
The first thing she noticed was my empty stomach.
Her entire world collapsed.
"My child..."
Her voice broke.
"Who did this to you?"
Tears poured down her face.
"I swear, I'll destroy Salvatore myself."
"That coward hides behind Gia while letting you suffer alone."
My father stood beside her, his fists trembling.
Then he told me something.
He had searched everywhere for Adrian.
He wanted to beg him for mercy.
But Adrian had already been transferred.
A different clinic.
A different identity.
No one knew where he was.
But they didn't know something.
Before my parents arrived, I had already found a way to make one call.
A hidden phone.
A forgotten number.
And when the person on the other end answered, that familiar low voice immediately calmed the storm inside me.
He was awake.
He remembered.
That was enough.
I looked at the clock on the wall.
Then slowly turned my wedding ring around my finger.
Seven days.
Only seven days had passed since I entered this place.
Seven days since everyone thought I had lost everything.
I looked at my parents.
"Mom. Dad."
"Trust me."
My voice was quiet.
"Karma is already on its way."
They looked at me with confusion.
They thought grief had finally broken me.
After all, from the outside, Salvatore had never looked stronger.
The Ortega family had announced that their front operations would become completely legitimate in three days.
Everything was about to be washed clean.
Salvatore thought he had escaped.
Gia thought she had won.
But before I could explain...
The visitation room door suddenly opened.
Enzo rushed in.
His clothes were disordered.
His breathing was heavy.
For the first time, the calm lawyer looked shaken.
He removed his glasses.
Slowly cleaned them.
Then looked at me.
"Adriana..."
His voice lowered.
"Salvatore just called me."
The room fell silent.
"He said..."
Enzo swallowed.
"He's going to turn himself in."
My mother froze.
My father stared at him in disbelief.
"He wants to hand over the evidence."
"He wants to confess."
"He said he was the one driving that night."
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then my mother collapsed to the floor.
But I smiled.
Not because Salvatore had finally admitted the truth.
That was only the first crack.
Enzo stared at me.
"Adriana..."
"What is happening?"
Everyone was waiting for my answer.
I slowly stood up.
The fear that had lived in me for seven days was gone.
"Confession?"
I smiled faintly.
"That is not enough."
"Do you really think one apology can erase everything?"
I looked toward the prison window.
"Karma does not arrive with a single punishment."
"It comes with everything someone has earned."
"Salvatore turning himself in..."
I paused.
"That is only the beginning."
