Chapter 4
The next evening, while I was preparing dinner in the kitchen, I heard heated arguing coming from the study. Through the half- open door, I saw Dominic roaring into the phone.
“I don’t care what methods you use, find out right now!”
He slammed the phone down, and Isabella immediately
appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a black dress, tear
stains still on her face.
“Dominic, I have to tell you something,” she choked out. “About
Valentina.”
‘What the fuck is this bitch trying to pull?‘
I crept closer to the study door, hiding in the shadows to
eavesdrop.
“What?” Dominic’s voice was ice cold.
“The diary you found – I know who wrote it,” Isabella said. “I had a friend at the FBI analyze the handwriting. It’s not mine,
Dominic. It’s hers.”
She must have handed him something because I heard papers
rustling.
Isabella continued, “She’s been playing us both. While you suspected me, she was planning something much worse.”
My legs went weak. ‘How the fuck did she get handwriting analysis so fast?‘
“Jesus Christ,” Dominic’s voice was deadly quiet. “She made me
doubt you
while she…“
“Valentina threatened me,” Isabella cried. “She said if she couldn’t give you children, she wouldn’t let any other woman give you children either… including you yourself.”
“What do you mean?” Dominic’s voice was dangerously low.
“I saw her grinding strange herbs in the kitchen, secretly adding them to your wine… I thought it was just seasoning, but
now that I think about it…”
“Are you saying she’s been poisoning me?”
I heard glass shatter, then footsteps. I quickly retreated to the kitchen, pretending to focus on chopping vegetables.
Seconds later, Dominic appeared in the kitchen doorway, fury blazing in his eyes.
“Valentina.” His voice was cold as ice.
I turned around. “What’s wrong, darling?”
His hand suddenly closed around my throat, slamming me against the wall. “You fucking snake!”
“Dominic, what are you doing?” I could barely breathe.
“You think I don’t know?” There was a mad gleam in his eyes.
You’ve been slowly poisoning me!”
“I haven’t!” I struggled desperately. “Dominic, believe me!”
But he was completely beyond reason. He released his grip and I
collapsed on the floor, coughing.
He roared, “So it was you, you demon, destroying my body!”
“That’s not…” I tried to get up.
He kicked me in the ribs, and I curled up in agony.
“Everyone get in here!” His shouts shook the entire mansion.
Ten minutes later, I knelt in the center of the room, still bearing the handprint Dominic had left on my face.
“Valentina,” Dominic stood before me, his voice solemn and icy.
“I accuse you of attempting to murder the family bloodline and
betraying the family!”
“Dominic, I didn’t—”
“Enough!” His hand reached for my neck, and I felt the Virgin
Mary necklace being roughly yanked.
“No!” I screamed. “That’s my mother’s-”
The chain snapped, the metal cutting into my skin as warm
blood trickled down my neck. The necklace hit the floor with a
clear chime.
“The Virgin Mary doesn’t bless demons who murder babies!” Dominic picked up the necklace and stepped on my fingers as I
tried to grab it.
The pain of my fingernails cracking made me scream.
“Dominic, this is all my mother left me… please…” I begged through tears, but he just pressed down harder until I felt my finger bones might break.
“Your mother gave birth to a killer!” he sneered. “She’d be
ashamed in heaven to see what you’ve done!”
Dominic lifted his foot and walked toward Isabella, who was
sitting in the corner. She pretended to watch in horror, her eyes glittering with false sympathy.
“Dominic, maybe this isn’t necessary… Valentina…” Her voice
was soft, but I knew she was enjoying every moment.
“No,” Dominic placed the necklace around her neck. “Only you
deserve the Virgin’s blessing.”
The necklace gleamed against Isabella’s pale skin like a blade
cutting into my eyes.
“From now on,” Dominic turned back to me, “you’ll live in the
basement. That’s where you belong.”
“Dominic… I’m your wife…” My voice was barely a whisper.
“You’re a traitor to the family!” he roared. “A useless waste who can’t even fulfill a woman’s basic function!”
The basement was cold and dark. In the corner sat a broken folding bed, a small sink, and a cracked toilet. This had once been a storage room; now it was my prison cell.
The first meal was during the family dinner. I was ordered to kneel beside the dining table, with a dog bowl placed before me
filled with leftovers.
“Eat,” Dominic said. “The way you should.”
Everyone was watching me. And Isabella. She sat in what had once been my chair, wearing my mother’s necklace, chatting intimately with Dominic.
I knelt down and cupped the food in my hands. Every bite tasted like wax, but I had to swallow it. Because I needed to stay alive.
Alive for revenge.
“Poor Valentina,” Isabella lightly touched the necklace, her
voice filled with false pity. “If only you had been honest from
the beginning, you wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
I looked up at her, struggling not to let the murderous intent in
my eyes show.
“Yes,” I said calmly. “If only I had been honest from the
beginning.”
But inside I was laughing maniacally: ‘Enjoy it while you can, you two. Soon you’ll know what real hell looks like.‘
In the dead of night, I sat alone in the cold basement, touching
the still–aching wound on my neck. The blood had dried, but the
flames of hatred burned even hotter in my heart.