Chapter 4
We arrived at the restaurant at six o’clock that evening. We’d barely sat down when Zane’s phone rang. He answered it, then turned to me with an apologetic look.
“I’m so sorry, Seraphina. Something urgent came up. I have to go handle it, but I’ll be right back, I promise.”
He left.
I waited until nine o’clock, until the food on the table had gone cold, until my stomach ached with hunger. He never came back.
I was just standing up to leave when a familiar figure slid into the seat across from me.
Susan.
She looked me up and down, a cruel smirk on her face.
“Well, Seraphina. At the end of the day, Zane still chose me. He left you alone on your wedding anniversary to come running to me. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe you’re the problem?”
When I said nothing, she leaned forward, her voice sharp with triumph.
“Let’s make a bet. Which one of us is gonna be the Donna of the Corleone family? It’s almost sad, really. All your hard work’s just gonna be my legacy. You should just fold now. I’d hate to see you humiliate yourself even more.”
My chest tightened, that familiar warning sign of an oncoming heart episode.
I stood up to leave.
Susan grabbed the wine bottle off the table and smashed it against the floor, then threw herself down onto the shards of broken glass. Bleeding gashes opened up on her legs instantly.
Her voice shook with perfectly feigned terror.
“Seraphina, I just wanted to help you with the dock work! You said I could! Why would you do this to me?!”
The restaurant door slammed open. Zane stormed in.
Of course. She’d heard his special footsteps coming down the hall.
He saw Susan on the floor, covered in blood, and pointed a finger straight at me.
His voice was a roar.
“I thought you were finally willing to let this go. Why would you make things harder for her again, Seraphina? She’s already in bad shape.”
Susan scrambled to her feet and hid behind him, sobbing hysterically.
“I don’t even care about the project! I never wanted to hurt you! Why would you do this?!”
A sudden, dull pain slammed into my heart.
My breathing turned ragged.
“Zane...”
His face changed instantly.
“Seraphina?”
He took a step toward me, tension flashing across his features.
But Susan suddenly grabbed his arm, crying even harder.
“I know you hate me, but you can’t do this every time!” she sobbed. “You can’t keep using your heart condition to pull him away whenever something happens to me!”
Zane’s body stiffened.
His eyes lingered on my pale face for half a second, torn between doubt and anger.
“Enough, Seraphina,” he said sharply. “Not now. Susan’s hurt. She’s bleeding.”
The pain twisted harder through my chest. My knees gave out.
Voices broke out around us.
Someone called my name. “Don... Madam doesn’t look right—”
Zane bent down and caught Susan as she swayed against him.
“She’s faking it again,” he snapped. “Take Susan to the hospital.”
That was the last thing I heard before I let my eyes close.
By the time they reached the hospital, Susan was already stable.
Zane stood outside the exam room, his expression still cold, but something in his mind wouldn’t settle.
For a split second, he saw the look in my eyes before I collapsed.
His fingers tightened slightly.
He pulled out his phone and dialed my number.
No answer.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
A faint irritation flickered across his face, quickly replaced by something sharper.
He called the villa.
“Where is Madam?” he demanded.
“Don… Madam passed away. Sudden heart failure.”
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