Chapter 1

Ever since I married the mob prince, I had done terrible things.

I destroyed family heirlooms, tipped off buyers before illegal deals, and now, with our daughter on the verge of death and desperately needing a blood transfusion, I blocked the blood bank and refused a direct donor.

My husband’s eyes flared red with fury. "Our daughter is dying! Are you really throwing a tantrum right now?"

I slapped the divorce papers right across his face.

"Sign this, and I’ll greenlight the surgery."

He gripped the documents so hard his knuckles turned white. "Are you insane?! She’s in critical condition, and you’re hitting me with divorce papers?!"

I remained entirely indifferent. "Don't sign it, then. We'll just let her bleed out on the table."

I pulled a handgun from my purse, pointed it toward the lead surgeon, and gave a cold command: "Halt the procedure."

After all, that girl was his flesh and blood, not mine.

Why should I exhaust myself trying to save a little leech born from an affair?

The moment the words left my lips, the entire hallway went dead silent.

Julian stood frozen, staring at me in complete disbelief, as if he were seeing me for the first time.

As the sole heir to the Sterling syndicate, no one had ever dared defy him. The Sterlings had dominated Port City's underworld for decades. On paper, they dealt in global shipping and pharmaceuticals; in the shadows, they smuggled contraband and arms. Wherever Julian went, people bowed and whispered his name with dread.

His face darkened into a venomous scowl. "Say that again, Serena. I dare you."

"I said, halt the procedure," I repeated. My voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the tense corridor with razor-sharp clarity.

Julian's mother snapped out of her trance. Screaming, she lunged toward me with her nails out, but Julian caught her arm just in time.

She shook with pure rage, spitting in my direction. "You cold-blooded monster! Mia is inside that room! She's your own daughter! How can you stand there and say such evil things?!"

I glanced at her coldly, keeping the muzzle lowered but ready. "Whether she's my daughter or not... you two know the truth better than anyone."

Julian stepped closer, his jaw tight, his voice a low hiss. "What are you trying to pull here? Can you stop acting so paranoid for once in your miserable life?"

"I only called Nicole in to help donate blood! There is nothing going on between us. She just happens to share the same rare blood type."

"I asked her so you wouldn't have to suffer through the screening process!"

He really thought I was blind to his games.

The little girl inside wasn't mine. She was Nicole's. This whole "direct volunteer donation" was just an excuse to let his secret flame play the savior out in the open.

"You didn't want me to suffer?" I challenged, my lips curving into a mocking smile. "Julian, do you honestly believe the garbage coming out of your mouth?"

He choked on his words, his expression souring even further.

Every single time his precious Nicole showed up, I was the one who bled.

When Nicole accidentally broke a priceless Sterling heirloom years ago, Julian forced me to kneel on the sharp ceramic shards in the pouring rain all night to take the blame. To this day, my knees ache whenever it rains.

And when Julian abandoned a high-stakes shipment drop to watch festival fireworks with Nicole, his family punished me instead—leaving me submerged in an ice-filled tub until morning.

All the torture I endured was wiped away by him with a careless wave of his hand.

"Is this really the time to bring up the past?!" Julian snapped, his breathing shallow. "Our child’s life is on the line! Whatever issues you have, we can deal with them at home once she's out of surgery!"

"Home?" I looked straight into his dark eyes. "Julian, we don't have a home."

I shoved the divorce papers against his chest.

"Sign. The second your signature is on that paper, I will authorize the procedure and release the matching blood supply from the regional bank."

"As for your pre-arranged 'volunteer donor' waiting down the hall? Send her away."

I let out a chilling scoff. "Don't you know direct transfusions between immediate family members carry lethal graft-versus-host risks?"

Julian's mother abruptly stopped her wailing. Both of them stared at me as if looking at a ghost.

"Just to force a divorce, you're willing to murder our daughter?" Julian looked guilty for a split second before slipping right back into his righteous indignation, grinding every word out between his teeth.

"Like I said. Sign, and the surgery continues." I didn't budge an inch.

A crowd of patients and families began to gather around the corridor, murmuring and pointing fingers at me.

"What's wrong with that woman? How could a mother be so cruel?"

"Seriously, her own kid is dying on the table and she's using it as leverage..."

The nasty whispers rolled over me, but I felt nothing.

Whatever warmth and pain I once possessed had been drained out of me over ten brutal years.

Julian glared at me, his chest heaving violently. "Fine, Serena. You win. You really are a ruthless bitch."

With a vicious snarl, he snatched the papers and the pen from my hand, scribbled his signature in aggressive, jagged strokes, and threw the packet violently against my chest.

"Satisfied now?! Can the doctors do their damn jobs?!"

I caught the papers mid-air, checked his signature, and tucked them neatly into my purse.

I lowered my weapon, looking at the trembling chief surgeon. "Prep the operating room. The matching blood units will be here shortly."

Without waiting for a reply, I turned around and walked away.

Julian roared behind me. "Where the hell do you think you're going?! What kind of mother walks away like this?!"

I didn't even slow my pace. "Whoever wants the job can have it."