The words had barely left her mouth when Sullivan turned on me. His murderous eyes locked on me.
“You bitch!” he roared.
His boot slammed into my stomach before I could even move.
“You drugged them while I was gone?! You were so jealous you’d rather kill their babies?!”
I couldn’t even lift my head from the pain. But through the haze of pain, I turned my head—just enough to see Shannah’s smug, satisfied smile behind him.
My fingers curled into fists, my nails digging into the blood-slick floor.
“I… didn’t. It wasn’t… me. It was her—”
“And you’ve got the nerve to deny it?!” he thundered. “This isn’t the first time you’ve gone after someone out of jealousy, Zareena. But this time—this time, I swear you’ll pay for this!”
Zareena’s POV
“Each of you!” Sullivan turned to the other women on the floor. “Give her a slap! After that, I’ll send you all to the best hospital and postpartum center.”
His men didn’t hesitate. They dragged me to the center of the hall and shoved me to my knees, completely ignoring the blood that was pouring heavily from between my legs.
One by one, the other women stepped forward, their eyes red with tears.
“I’m sorry, Ma’am,” they whispered, right before slapping me across the face.
One after another, slap after slap landed on my face, until my ears were ringing, my vision blurred, and I couldn’t hear out of one ear anymore.
Finally, when everyone had taken their turn and been escorted out, Sullivan walked over, cradling the baby the nanny had handed him. Shannah stood by his side, holding his arm like the perfect little wife.
He stopped in front of me and looked down. His eyes swept over the blood smeared on my skin, the streaks running down my face.
For a brief second, something flickered in his eyes—hesitation, maybe even guilt—but it vanished just as fast. He lifted his chin, his tone icy.
“Don’t blame me for letting them hit you. I had to teach you a lesson so you’d finally understand—if you let jealousy consume you, if you try to hurt people again, this is the price you’ll pay.”
He paused, then sneered. “That way, you’ll stop dreaming about taking Shannah’s place as the mother of my heir.”
I froze. My whole body went cold. Slowly, I lifted my head to look at him.
‘So I’m not the only one who’s reborn…’
No wonder he had believed her right away—before she’d even finished speaking.
No wonder he said this “wasn’t the first time” I’d done something like this.