Chapter 2

"Carmine…it's all my fault…"

Clutching my bloody palm, I sobbed hysterically: "The platform collapsed too fast! I held onto his vest and pulled with everything I had. My hands are torn to shreds…but the buckle snapped! Dominic…he held Vanessa so tight, and they went right over the edge…"

The harsh voice on the other end went dead quiet.

Through the static of the wind-blown radios, only Carmine's heavy, agonizing gasp remained.

"Bitch…just you wait!"

CLICK. She slammed the phone down.

Forty minutes later, two black mob helicopters roared over the rocky beach at the bottom of the cliff.

When the paramedics rushed out with stretchers, the mobsters behind them all gasped in shock.

Vanessa's luck was sickeningly good. Dense tree branches halfway down caught her, leaving her with only light scratches and a broken left wrist. She lay on her stretcher, trembling in fear.

Dominic, who acted as her human shield, was a bloody pulp.

Branches tore his skin open everywhere. Thick blood covered his face. His legs twisted in horrifying, ninety-degree angles.

Even in a deep coma, his lips twitched, weak murmurs rasped out of his mouth:

"Save…save Vanessa first.leave me…"

The mobsters carrying the stretcher exchanged weird looks.

"Boss Dominic is half dead, and he's still crying out for Vanessa."

"Our lady shredded her own hand trying to pull him up, but Boss Dominic didn't care about her at all…"

The harsh whispers reached Vanessa's ears. Her face drained of all color. She sobbed, trying to defend herself to the men:

"It's not what you think. Dominic and I are just childhood friends—he's just used to protecting me!"

Nobody bought her weak excuse. The men looked at her with pure disgust, seeing her as a homewrecking curse.

When I stepped into the medical helicopter, I even pulled off my jacket and gently draped it over Vanessa's shivering shoulders.

"Don't listen to them, Vanessa. I'm just glad you're safe." My eyes held fake tears, my voice soft and flawless.

Vanessa went stiff. She stared at my bloody, torn palms, her throat caught, unable to utter a single word.

The helicopter sped off, landing on the helipad of the Rossi family's private hospital.

Black-suited guards completely sealed off the top floor of the ER building.

The stretcher wheeled fast toward the OR doors. Vanessa limped behind, gritting her teeth, trying to force her way inside:

"Let me in! I need to stay with Dominic!"

I stepped forward, blocking her path. I gently caught her hurt wrist, my voice calm, yet loud enough to echo down the hall:

"Vanessa, your left wrist is broken. You need to go to orthopedics right now.Besides, Dominic is fighting for his life.You are not his legal wife. You'll only get in the doctors' way."

The dozens of family lieutenants standing in the hallway went completely cold.

"A childhood friend with a broken wrist trying to push into Boss Dominic's surgery room?"

"She really doesn't know her place. Who does she think she is, the lady of the Rossi family?"

The harsh whispers hit Vanessa like sharp slaps. Her face flushed red, then turned pale. She stood frozen in place, unable to step forward or back, tears welled up in her eyes.

Right then, fast, heavy heels clicked down the far end of the hallway.

Carmine rushed over, surrounded by cold-faced bodyguards.

She wore an expensive black mink coat. Her well-kept, cruel face burned with wild rage.

"Sienna! You damned jinx!"

The second Carmine reached us, she didn't even glance at Vanessa. She raised her hand and swung it hard at my face!

"If my son dies in there, I will take your worthless life!"

In my past life, I would have dropped to my knees, crying and begging for mercy.

This time, I didn't even blink. I watched her hand swing at me with cold eyes.

BANG!

The emergency room doors burst open.

The lead surgeon ran out covered in blood, cutting her slap off short:

"Who is the family?! The patient lost too much blood! Multiple internal tears, crushed legs, and his heart rate is dropping fast! Sign the critical condition notice now!"

A blood-red paper went straight into Carmine's hands.

The rage on Carmine's face vanished, replaced by sheer panic and pale terror.

"Critical…how is he critical?!" Her knees went weak, and she almost collapsed.

I gave the bodyguards a look, watching cold-eyed as they held up the shaking woman.

The hallway lights shone cold and harsh. The red emergency light flashed silently above our heads.

I leaned back against the hard wall, running my thumb over the dried blood on my palm. I watched Carmine drown in fear, and Vanessa stand there utterly hopeless.

In my last life, you locked me in that freezer and watched me die. Now, it's your turn to choke on that terror, piece by piece.

Just then, the red ER light snapped off. The surgeon walked out with a heavy face.