Luca could tell something was seriously fucked up. He grabbed the doctor by the collar.
“What do you mean you didn’t treat Seraphina? Tell me everything, right fucking now!”
The doctor was shaking like a leaf, remembering all of Luca’s violent explosions. He could barely string words together.
“After… after you gave the order last night, Miss Sophie said Seraphina was…”
Seeing the murderous look in Luca’s eyes, he quickly corrected himself.
“Miss Sophie said Mrs. Devereux was just faking it. That she wasn’t really hurt.”
That’s exactly what Sophie had told him yesterday.
Going behind his back–Luca didn’t think it was serious enough to make all the medical staff flee in terror.
“Your contracts are with this estate. Running away makes you fugitives. You know you’d be blacklisted from every decent job, right?”
The doctor swallowed hard. “Yes, Mr. Devereux.”
“Then why the hell did you run?” Luca exploded.
The doctor closed his eyes like he was facing execution. “Because yesterday we could all see that Mrs. Devereux and the
children wouldn’t make it without immediate medical intervention.”
“The twins‘ fever was from getting drenched and catching pneumonia. It definitely wasn’t from any drug. When they were brought to that shithole cottage, they’d already passed out from the fever.”
“As for Mrs. Devereux…”
“That injection might not have been lethal on its own, but it caused massive internal damage. The drug ate through her organs and tissue. Her body was completely destroyed–beyond any hope of saving!”
Luca stared at him in complete shock. “Then why didn’t you tell me the truth yesterday?!”
The doctor let out a bitter laugh. “Even before Mrs. Devereux filed for divorce, you treated her like absolute shit. You wouldn’t have believed a damn thing she said.”
“But Miss Sophie? Even when she was just your side piece, you kissed her ass constantly. Anyone who breathed a word against her got thrown out on their face.”
“The day you rigged it so Miss Sophie’s kid became heir, everyone knew it was your setup. Even Eleanor’s people couldn’t override your bullshit.”
“And yesterday when you lost your mind, acting like you wanted Mrs. Devereux dead, how the fuck were we supposed to stick up for her?”
Luca’s hands were shaking uncontrollably. He couldn’t wrap his head around it.
All his careful maneuvering to protect Seraphina had backfired spectacularly.
11:44
ENDING THE LAST BETRAYAL LOOP: Faked My Death and Found REAL FREEDOM
Chapter 6
But this strategy had worked before.
If the family power struggle hadn’t gotten him exiled to that godforsaken place, if his mother hadn’t fought tooth and nail to bring him back when she finally won control, he never would have survived.
If even the senior medical staff thought this way, what about everyone else?
Luca asked the question, his voice barely steady.
The doctor looked up at him with pure contempt.
“Are you kidding me? You really need me to spell it out, or are you just getting off on hearing how miserable Mrs. Devereux was?”
“Fine. I’ll tell you–every single person in this house treated the fucking stable horses better than Mrs. Devereux.”
“Neglecting her wasn’t just allowed–bullying her actually got you bonuses.”
Luca felt like his skull was about to crack, his vision swimming.
Everything from both lives was crashing together, choking him.
Even though he was terrified of the answer, he had to ask.
“Bonuses from who?”
The doctor pulled a blue diamond from his pocket.
“Miss Sophie, obviously.”
Luca recognized it instantly. One of the rare blue diamonds Eleanor had given him as a peace offering–five total, and he’d given them all to Sophie.
Sophie had sworn she’d keep them forever, but here she was, handing them out like candy to the staff.
And he’d actually bought Sophie’s story about Seraphina being unable to manage the household, about servants stealing valuables.
Luca’s world tilted, and he tasted copper in his mouth.
His bodyguard’s panicked voice cut through the fog.
“Boss, get the doc over there now! We can figure out the rest later.”
Luca bit down hard to focus.
Right. Getting Seraphina back was all that mattered.
He sprinted back to the cottage with the doctor. Seraphina was still lying there, looking almost peaceful.
Luca’s chest filled with crushing guilt
He promised himself that when Seraphina woke up, he’d move heaven and earth to make sure she never suffered again.
But when he looked at the doctor hopefully, the man just shook his head.
11:44
ENDING THE LAST BETRAYAL LOOP: Faked My Death and Found REAL FREEDOM
$3.8%
Chapter 6
“Mr. Devereux. I’m sorry. Your wife and the children… they’re gone. They’ve been dead for hours.”
Luca coughed up blood and hit the ground hard.
When his bodyguard tried to help him up, he was horrified to see that every strand of his boss’s hair had turned snow white.
ENDING THE LAST BETRAYAL LOOP: Faked My Death and Found REAL FREEDOM
