X
Chapter 25
I was sitting in that hospital room, wrapped in one of those awful gowns that make you feel naked even when you’re covered. The AC was too cold, the sheets were stiff, and my hand was resting on my belly like some tragic heroine. The bump looked real enough. My cheeks were still stained with tears. Carefully timed and artfully smudged, just like the mascara I let run down my face on purpose. Jude was knocked out beside me, his little hand resting limp on the blanket, with the IV taped down like some pitiful movie prop.
I heard footsteps just outside the room–sharp heels, the scent of Chanel No. 5, followed by a slow, heavier stride.
A nurse peeked in. “Mr. and Mrs. Massaro are here.”
Perfect.
I let my shoulders tremble as I turned to the door, just in time for Mrs. Massaro to rush in like she was Florence Nightingale herself.
“Ruby, darling,” she gasped, already pulling me into her arms.
I broke instantly. “He’s been so distant,” I whispered. “I don’t even know what I did wrong.”
She held me tight, her bony fingers stroking my hair like I was a dying bird. “You poor thing. You look exhausted. Has he even been here? Has he called?”
I sniffled, pulling back just enough to look at her with wide, wet eyes. “He hasn’t touched me in weeks. He doesn’t return my calls. I’m pregnant with his child, and it’s like I don’t even exist to him anymore.”
She gasped and covered her mouth like I’d just confessed to murder. “Ruby, that’s unacceptable. You’ve done everything right.”
Mr. Massaro finally spoke, his voice sharp. “Where the hell is he?”
He pulled out his phone and dialed Torren. One ring. Two. Three.
Then Torren finally answered, his voice slicing through the speaker like a blade. “I’m in a goddamn meeting! Investors are breathing down my neck. This better be good.”
Mr. Massaro snapped, “Your wife is in the hospital. Your son is hooked up to an IV. Is that good enough for you?”
There was a pause. Then Torren laughed; cold, bitter, like he didn’t give a single damn. “Oh, please. This again? Is she crying? Let me guess, she fainted from stress, or the baby’s acting up again? Or maybe it’s Jude this time? What’s the crisis of the week, huh?”
I flinched, loud enough for the phone to catch it. “Torren, please… I just needed you here. I didn’t know who else to call.”
He didn’t even soften. “You know what, Ruby? You always don’t know. You always play the helpless card. Maybe if you stopped acting like a soap opera extra and started acting like a grown–ass woman, I’d take you seriously.”
Chapter 24
3/3 72.7%
22:32 Sun, Aug 10
VOLL CARIADICIN
སཱུ ༣. 47%L
D
X
“Torren!” Mrs. Massaro barked, horrified.
But he kept going. “You’re nothing but noise. A drama queen who fakes tears like she fakes orgasms.”
I choked on a sob. “How can you say that to me? After everything-”
“You want to play the sympathy card again? Try harder, Ruby. I’m not your damn audience anymore.”
Then he hung up.
Silence bloomed in the room like poison gas.
Mr. Massaro was already halfway out the door, muttering something about fixing the investors before everything burned. I didn’t care. I was too busy shaking in Mrs. Massaro’s arms like I’d been gutted.
She clutched me tighter. “You don’t deserve this. Not after everything you’ve given him. That boy was raised with no spine.”
I sniffled and whispered, “It’s her. It’s Therese. Ever since she came back, he’s been like this. She twisted him. The board’s whispering again. They all look at me like I’m just… something temporary.”
Her fingers stiffened around mine. “That bitch.”
I kept going, slow and broken. “She ruined everything. She poisoned him. She wants my life back, my son, my husband… and I won’t let her.”
Mrs. Massaro pulled away just enough to look me in the eye. Her gaze was full of fire now.
“I still remember that girl,” she said, her voice sharp. “She humiliated me. Made a fool of our name. I had to claw my dignity back piece by piece after what she pulled in front of the
Lamberts.”
I lowered my voice. “Then why is she still here, Mother?”
She blinked. “What are you suggesting?”
“I’m saying maybe we shut her up. Not forever. Just long enough for her to remember she’s not welcome here.”
Mrs. Massaro was quiet for a moment. Then she smiled–slow, deliberate, like a queen choosing which chess piece to slaughter next.
“You’re dangerous, Ruby,” she whispered. “And that’s why you’re perfect.”
I leaned into her. “I know someone. Mico’s cousin. He does things. Quiet things. No mess.
No trail.”
“I’ll call the old security firm,” she said. “The one we used during the merger war with the Silvanos. They still owe us.”
I smiled and finally wiped the tears from my face.
Chapter 25
2/3 74.7%
22:32 Sun, Aug 10
“She should’ve stayed dead,” I said, my voice soft as silk and twice as sharp.
Mrs. Massaro kissed my forehead and whispered, “Then let’s bury her again.”
And just like that, the war was back on.
**
X
THERESE’S POV
Ephraim was in Virelia, soaking up the coastal luxury like he was born into it. That man could step into a room full of oil magnates and still manage to look like he belonged more than all of them. The last time I checked my phone, he had just wrapped a cocktail meeting with a Saudi prince and a Norwegian banker who apparently had a thing for yachts and underaged brunettes.
I was nowhere near yachts or scandals. I was in the backseat of a black SUV, crawling through the hills just outside the city, finally heading to my father’s old house. I hadn’t been there since before everything fell apart. Since Ruby started playing house again and Torren started looking at me like I was an itch he couldn’t scratch off.
The skies were overcast, and the rain had just begun to tap against the windows. It wasn’t heavy yet, just a warning. The kind of soft drizzle that made the whole countryside look like it was holding its breath.
Saul was at the wheel. Ephraim had insisted I take him, which meant I couldn’t say no. Saul wasn’t one for conversation, but he was solid, quiet, the type who probably didn’t sleep unless it was upright with one eye open. He had a faded scar above his right brow that gave him a vaguely haunted look, and I once overheard Ephraim say the man had been shot twice and still managed to drag his squad out of a burning building.
So, yeah. I trusted Saul.
Aug
