ASHES OF YESTERDAY
790 Words
Chapter Nine: Ashes of Yesterday
The world had already forgotten Leonardo.
But Leonardo hadn't.
He wasn't the CEO anymore.
He wasn't the man with power or pride.
He was a ghost-walking among debts and destruction.
The villas? Sold.
The cars? Gone.
His former friends? Whispered behind his back or crossed the street when they saw him.
All he had left was bitterness.
And Mariana.
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The Spark of Revenge...
It started with a bottle of whiskey and a thunderstorm.
He sat alone, staring at her image on the screen. Mariana at a women's conference. Mariana glowing. Mariana rebuilding.
He whispered through gritted teeth, "You ruined me. All of you."
Isabela.
The Board.
The media.
But most of all-Mariana.
In his mind, she was the root of the betrayal.
She had made him weak.
And now, she would pay.
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The Abduction...
It was a quiet evening when Mariana left the publishing house.
She had given a talk on resilience.
Funny how life prepares you for the exact pain you're about to feel.
The driver wasn't her usual.
But she didn't notice.
Not until the car took the wrong turn.
Not until the voice behind the tinted glass said,
> "Surprise, Mariana."
It was Leonardo..
Ragged.
Broken.
Dangerous.
Before she could scream, he pressed a cloth to her nose.
Darkness swallowed her.
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The Torture...
She woke up in a warehouse.
Bound.
Cold.
Blood already on her lip.
> "Do you think you can destroy a man and walk away?"
"You took everything from me. Everything!"
"Now, I'll take it all from you."
He didn't want money.
He didn't want ransom.
He wanted pain.
Mariana endured days of torment.
She bled.
She begged.
She screamed until her voice cracked.
And one night-she lost her baby.
Her sobs were silent, too broken for sound.
She lay curled in her own blood, whispering her baby's name into the dark.
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The Release...
Then... he let her go.
No ransom. No cameras. No statement.
Just dumped near a roadside gas station like trash.
She was barely conscious when a man-an old mechanic-found her and rushed her to the hospital.
Her baby was gone.
Her body shattered.
Her spirit? Shredded.
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The Call...
"Madam, do you know anyone we can call?" a nurse asked gently, pressing a warm hand to hers.
At first, Mariana couldn't remember her own name.
Then, like a whisper through fire, she said, "Isabela..."
Her voice cracked. "Call... Isabela."
Her friend retrieved her hotel key, unlocked her room, and dug through her handbag to find the contact.
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Isabela's Rage...
Isabela's face was unreadable when she arrived at the hospital.
But her eyes...
Her eyes burned.
She didn't speak.
She simply pulled Mariana into a hug and whispered,
> "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I should've known."
That same day, she called her legal team and activated her final card.
Leonardo was arrested at a rundown motel, drunk and passed out, with a rusted pistol under his pillow.
He didn't resist.
He didn't speak.
His eyes were vacant.
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The Trial...
The courtroom was packed.
Mariana sat in a wheelchair, pale and gaunt, her hair tucked beneath a scarf.
The public was stunned.
This was no longer about a scandal.
This was a crime.
> " Leonardo, you are hereby found guilty of abduction, aggravated assault, attempted murder, and endangerment of an unborn child."
> "You are sentenced to 35 years in prison."
Leonardo didn't flinch.
He only looked once-at Mariana-and muttered,
> "You think you won?"
She didn't respond.
She didn't need to.
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The Aftermath...
Mariana never truly healed.
Her body recovered.
Her career slowly resumed.
But the emptiness remained.
She had dreamed of that child.
Named it.
Sung to it at night.
Now, it was only silence.
She became quieter.
More withdrawn.
A shadow of her fierce, glowing self.
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Isabela & Valeria...
Isabela took in Valeria full-time.
The little girl never asked about Leonardo.
She only asked,
> "Why does Aunt Mariana sleep so much?"
Isabela smiled gently, brushing the child's curls aside.
> "Because her heart is tired, baby. But she's still here."
Isabela never remarried.
When asked, she would reply simply:
> "Men? I've met their best. And I survived their worst."
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Final Scene...
On a windy afternoon, Mariana sat by a lake. Alone.
She placed a single white flower on the water and whispered to the waves:
> "You were loved, little one. Even before I met you. Even now."
Then she stood up.
The wind carried her scarf away.
She didn't chase it.
She just kept walking-slow, steady steps into whatever future remained.
A future marked by scars.
But hers.
And no man would ever own her pain again.
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[THE END]
- Writer
