Chapter 1
Gabriel Marcy’s kept woman gave birth to twins–a boy and a girl.
He hid it well. Really well. But I still found out.
Furious, I took the twins away and hid them.
To force me to talk, Gabriel tied our son, Nicho, upside down by his ankles on the street wall, left him under the blazing sun for an entire
afternoon.
By the time I got there, Nicho’s face was flushed bright red, his lips cracked, and he was barely conscious.
Heartbreaking, I asked him, “Isn’t Nicho your son too?”
“What, and Clarissa’s kids don’t count as mine?” He roared back at me.
“Stephanie, I’ve always treated you and Nicho the same from the start. I’ve never once been cruel. So why are you making things hard for Clarissa and her children? If you don’t tell me where my twins are, I’ll beat your son to death right here!”
Then he jammed the stun baton into Nicho’s side.
Nicho screamed, begging him to stop–over and over, but Gabriel didn’t even flinch.
My heart was being ripped apart. I finally broke. “They’re in… the villa. On the outskirts.”
He left us without another word and rushed off to get his precious twins.
By the time he came back, Nicho was gone because of severe dehydration.
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He didn’t make it.
******
I rushed to the hospital, clutching the unconscious Nicho in my arms, completely falling apart.
Outside the ER, the doctor came out, his voice heavy with regret. “You came too late. The boy already had a high fever. Being under the sun for that long, severe dehydration led to organ failure. Not even a god could’ve saved him.”
I couldn’t accept it. I broke down, screamed, and sobbed as if my soul was breaking apart.
Just yesterday, he was running around, full of life. And now… he’s gone.
All I wanted was to use the twins to pressure Gabriel. I never meant to kill my Nicho.
Guilt swallowed me whole.
After handling the funeral, I fell apart completely. Couldn’t eat. Couldn’t move. I just lay there, weak and broken.
Three days later, Gabriel finally came home.
He walked straight to my bed, stone–faced, voice sharp. “Stephanie, your little stunt left my twins traumatized.” They’ve had fevers for three days straight. Nightmares every damn night. They’re only three–how do you expect them to handle something like that?”
Three?
Nicho was only five!
How was he supposed to handle it?
Chapter 1
I glared at him, full of hate, but my throat was so raw, not a single word
came out.
“Thankfully, Clarissa is generous. She’s letting this go. But–you better not pull anything like this again. Don’t let jealousy blind you.”
He paused, then suddenly pulled out a gift box and set it on the table. His voice lowered. “Nicho’s in school now, right? Last time… tying him up–I didn’t have a choice. I just wanted to scare you, that’s all. I never meant to hurt him. He’s a tough little guy. I figured he could handle it.
This is a gift I bought for him. Give it to him when he gets home from kindergarten. I’m heading back to be with Clarissa and the twins.”
And with that, he left.
I stared at the box, my heart aching so badly I couldn’t breathe.
He had no idea that Nicho would never come back.
Rage and grief slammed into me all at once. I dragged myself up, trembling, and then snapped. Screaming like a madwoman, I hurled the box off the table and shattered it into pieces.
