“I’m sorry,” he murmured, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. “I shouldn’t have let you deal with this mess. I’ll take care of it. And afterward… how about a honeymoon? The islands, just the two of us. My way of making it up to you—does that sound okay?”
Shannah shook her head gently, tears sparkling in her eyes. Her voice was soft—sweet, even.
“It’s okay… really. She hates me so much. If you leave now, what if she comes up with something else to separate me from the baby?”
She hesitated just long enough for the words to sting. Then added softly, “Maybe I should just go. Take the baby with me. Let your child be the heir.”
Every syllable was sugar-coated poison. And it worked.
Sullivan’s gaze darkened. His voice was calm again, but the ice underneath it cut like a knife.
“Don’t worry,” he said coldly. “She won’t get another chance to hurt you. Or our baby.”
He turned to his men and gestured sharply. “Lock her in the basement. She stays there until after the press conference—after I announce my son as the heir.”
They dragged me away like I was nothing—some animal bleeding out on the marble floor. Behind me, a streak of red followed like a trail of death.
My vision kept fading in and out. Pain blurred the world. But somehow, I managed to hold on to one last breath.
And with that breath, I begged.
“Please… Sullivan… I only asked your mother to help with our divorce. I wasn’t trying to take her baby…
“My babies… they already died once because of you. And now… they won’t make it this time either…
“I’ve already stepped aside for you. For her. For your happy family…
“Please, just… leave my dad… alone.”
Zareena’s POV
My tears mixed with my blood, splashing to the floor one drop at a time.
Sullivan was clearly losing patience. “Alright, enough. As long as you stay put in the basement today, I won’t—”
But before he could finish—the ground trembled beneath us. A deafening explosion tore through the air.
And then… my eyes went wide in horror as I see him.
My… My dad.
His body plunged from the shattered railing above, hitting the concrete with a bone-crushing thud—right in front of me.
His eyes—those warm, gentle eyes that used to light up every time he saw me—were now rolled back, glazed over with death. Blood gushed from his nose, his mouth, his ears. His skull was split open like a cracked porcelain doll.
“Daddy!”