His Fake Death Gifted Me His Empire

Chapter 3

Back in the servants' quarters, a housemaid sighed as she gently cleaned the wounds on my leg.

"Mr. Fairclough has always been impulsive, but it's heartbreaking to see Santino taking after him. They've been back for so long, yet neither of them has bothered to check on Mrs. Hayley Fairclough—all they care about is taking their frustration out on you."

Before the words had even fully left her mouth, the door was kicked open with a violent thud. Dominic stood in the doorway, practically vibrating with rage.

"Berenice, what in the world did you say to Santino..."

He broke off abruptly as his eyes fell on my swollen, bruised ankle.

A shadow of conflict crossed his face. Moving slowly, he took the cotton swab from the maid's hands, dropped to one knee, and cupped my injured ankle with surprising gentleness.

"Santino... I've spoiled him too much," he murmured softly. "You're his mother, Berenice. You should try to be more understanding."

His tender tone instantly dragged me back to the early days of our marriage, when Dominic and I had just had Santino.

For a moment, I was lost in the memory, but I still pulled away when he tried to apply the medicine.

"He refuses to accept me as his mother," I said quietly. "Isn't that exactly how you taught him?"

"Berenice!"

Dominic's warmth vanished, his expression darkening in an instant. "Do you really have to talk to me with so much venom?"

I looked him dead in the eye, my voice eerily calm. "I'm only stating facts, Dominic. Isn't this arrogant brat precisely who you wanted Santino to become?"

His face flushed with fury. "You think I turned him against you? How could you think so poorly of me?! Do you really think these three years without you were easy for me?!"

I said nothing, merely staring back at him with cold detachment.

Reading the sheer disbelief in my eyes, Dominic lost what little composure he had left. The veins on his arms bulged as he seized my wrist in an iron grip and dragged me out into the hallway.

He threw me down right outside the master bedroom, then turned, stepped inside, and pulled Clara into a fierce embrace.

"Since you're so convinced you're no longer Santino's mother, let me make that a reality for you right now!" he spat.

Without another word, he captured Clara's lips in a crude, passionate kiss.

Moments later, they tumbled onto the bed, and a chorus of shameless moans spilled freely into the corridor.

I watched the two of them writhe together on the mattress, and a wave of nausea washed over me. I dug my fingernails deep into my palms, fighting with every shred of willpower to maintain my composure.

Right then, my phone vibrated. It was a call from the hospital where Hayley was staying.

My first instinct was to decline it, but the phone rang again immediately with desperate persistence.

Realizing something terrible might be happening, I hurriedly muted the ringer and accepted the call.

Before I could even press the receiver to my ear, Dominic and Clara's breathless banter carried clearly across the quiet room.

"Dominic... when you ran away with another woman back then and left Berenice behind... did you ever regret it?" Clara purred.

"Regret it? Not for a second!" Dominic scoffed loudly. "You have no idea how hilarious it was watching Berenice and my mother sob their hearts out when they thought I was dead. If I had to do it all over again, I'd fake my death a hundred times over!"

Even though I thought my heart was already numb, hearing those words felt like a fresh dagger twisting in my chest.

Suddenly, a flatline alarm shrieked through the phone speaker, instantly followed by the frantic, chaotic shouts of hospital staff.

"Mrs. Fairclough! Mrs. Hayley Fairclough... she's gone!" the nurse's trembling voice broke through the noise.

My world went still.

Before I could process the news, someone violently swiped the phone out of my hand, sending it clattering across the floor.

It was Santino. He had crept up behind me and was now glaring at me with raw hatred. "Who gave you permission to look at your phone?! When Dad's talking to you, you pay attention!"

I didn't have the energy or patience to deal with him. Shoving him aside with all my remaining strength, I reached out toward the dropped phone.

Hayley had been genuinely good to me during the three years Dominic was gone. I had wanted so badly to keep Dominic's shameful return hidden from her in her final moments—not to save his reputation, but to spare her heart from breaking before she passed.

I didn't want her to change her will in the last moment, and also, the thought that she might have died listening to her own son's cruel, disgusting words filled me with unbearable guilt.

Seeing me push his son, Dominic sprang off the bed and clamped his hand around my wrist, pinning me in place.

"Stop throwing a tantrum, Berenice!" he snapped. "Are you really going to pick a fight with a child?!"

My head was spinning, my mind completely overwhelmed.

Ignoring him, I yanked my hand free, dragged myself up, and began limping toward the door, desperate to get to the hospital.

Santino lunged forward, tears streaming down his face as he rained weak fists against my back.

"I hate you! You're a horrible, wicked woman! Dad was right to run away with Malvina back then! He was right not to save Grandpa! Grandpa died because you're so evil. It was karma!"

My blood ran cold. I whirled around, locking my eyes onto Dominic, my entire body trembling violently.

"What is he talking about?" My voice shook uncontrollably. "Why did he say you didn't save my father?! What really happened during that car crash three years ago?!"

Dominic's eyes flickered, instinctively dodging my gaze. After an agonizing silence, he straightened his back defensively.

"Three years ago... after the car exploded according to plan, Malvina and I were switching getaway vehicles. Right then, Santino saw your father get hit by a car in an alley."

He swallowed hard. "Berenice, I wanted to take him to the hospital; I really did! But the getaway was already set in motion, so..."

"So you just watched him bleed out and die!" I screamed, an agonizing pain tearing through my chest.

All the humiliation, grief, and regret I had buried over the last three years exploded at once.

I grabbed Dominic's collar, clutching it frantically as tears blinded me. He grabbed my shoulders, his forehead creased in irritation.

"I admit I made a mistake regarding your father, but that's all in the past! Right now, your mother is in critical condition—you still have a chance to save her!" He softened his grip slightly, trying to sound reasonable. "Berenice, just be good. Can't we just go back to the way things were?"

A cold, bitter laugh escaped my throat. The sheer absurdity of his words was almost sickening.

From the bed, Clara adjusted her disheveled clothes and chimed in with a sweet, pitying tone.

"Mrs. Fairclough, it's been so long. You have to learn to look ahead. What good does it do you to antagonize Mr. Fairclough and me? Trading your father's life for Mr. Fairclough's guilt... honestly, that's not a bad deal for you."

Her words made me feel sick.

Yet I forced my chin up, locked eyes with Dominic, and delivered every word like a sentence of execution.

"Dominic, I will never forgive you. My hugest regret in this life is marrying a monster like you."

Dominic's fingers dug painfully into my shoulders. His face contorted with fury as he roared, "Aren't you afraid I'll pull the medical team right now and let your mother rot in that hospital bed?!"

As I thought of Hayley—who had been worrying about her missing son right up until her dying breath, only to leave this world after hearing his vile betrayal—a tragic, desperate smile curled onto my lips.

"Save your threats, Dominic," I whispered, laughing softly through my tears. "Do you honestly think I care about anything you say anymore?"

Dominic gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot with rage.

"Fine! Keep being tough, Berenice! Let's see how long you can keep this up!"

He shoved me away roughly and whipped out his phone, dialing a number.

"Withdraw every medical team from the hospital immediately!" he barked into the receiver. "From this second on, the Fairclough family will not provide a single penny for that woman's care! She doesn't get a drop of treatment until Berenice comes crawling back to apologize to me!"

There was a heavy, suffocating silence on the other end of the line.

After a long pause, the doctor on call finally spoke, his voice crisp and professional.

"Mr. Fairclough... I'm afraid I don't understand your demand.

"The only patient under our care here was your mother, Mrs. Hayley Fairclough. She passed away ten minutes ago.

"Before her passing, Mrs. Hayley Fairclough executed a will, leaving the entirety of the Fairclough family estate and assets to Mrs. Berenice Fairclough.

"If it is convenient, I hope Mrs. Berenice Fairclough can come to the hospital as soon as possible to meet with the lawyers and sign the inheritance agreement."