The Ever-Reborn Me Becomes the Godfather's Exclusive Maid

Putrid, stinging garbage water crashed over my head. My eyes flew open, silver curls plastered to my cheeks. A violent cough wracked my body, and a burning pain shot through my wrists, bound tightly behind my back. "Seriously, dude! What the hell is this water?!" I shook my hair, the mix of expensive perfume and the sour stench of garbage assaulting my nostrils. "I was wearing a limited edition perfume this morning!" The response was a sharp slap across my face. My left cheek instantly flared up, hot and swollen. I turned my head, finally grasping my situation – I was trussed up like a chicken, standing on the edge of a skeletal, unfinished building, a thirty-meter drop yawning beneath my feet. The wind whipped grit and dust across the exposed steel reinforcement bars. I instinctively tried to shrink back, but the rough ropes bit deeper into my flesh. "Hiss—" I sucked in a sharp breath. "I... holy crap..." I swallowed hard, desperately trying to steady myself, terrified of one wrong move sending me over the edge. Memories flooded back – I'd just gone out shopping today. I got into the family driver's car, and then... nothing. I must have passed out. Waking up was this nightmare. I glanced sideways. Standing next to me was Sasha – that woman Ethan coddled and cherished, currently looking delicate and vulnerable, her eyes slightly red as if she'd suffered a great injustice. "Hey! Why are you only pouring it on me and not her?!" I glared at the kidnapper, my voice thick with indignation. "She smells all nice, and I'm so foul I'm about to puke!" My voice echoed in the hollow emptiness of the abandoned building. No one paid me any mind. Only Sasha shot me a meaningful glance. I tested the ropes again, but they were viciously tight, allowing no movement. I had no choice but to look back at Sasha. She seemed perfectly calm, even a faint, mocking smile playing on her lips. "Hey, Sasha, have you been scared stupid?" I whispered, lowering my voice. "Don't be afraid, Ethan will definitely come to save us. He's not stupid enough to just let us die..." Sasha glanced at me but said nothing. I pursed my lips and continued, "Ugh, I've seen this kind of thing a lot. Who told you to get involved with Ethan? He's the heir to the Valeriano family. Being part of a mafia family like the Valerianos means constant clashes with other families. I've been by Ethan's side for years, faced plenty of dangers, big and small." "Aren't you the one who insisted on being with him?" Sasha finally spoke, her voice soft and weak, yet laced with sarcasm. "Hey! Hey! Don't you dare slander me!" I panicked, wanting to say I'd never had feelings for Ethan in the first place. Sasha let out a contemptuous "Hmph." I shook my head in frustration, and my peripheral vision suddenly caught Sasha's hands – the ropes weren't tight at all! They looked like they could be shaken off any moment. "Wait, Sasha, your ropes..." I leaned closer, my voice dropping to a hushed whisper. "Did they forget to tie you properly? Or do you know how to get free? Then hurry up and untie me too! My wrists are about to bleed!" Sasha rolled her eyes at me and ignored me. "Hey?! What's your attitude?!" I was so angry I wanted to kick her, but my legs were bound too. I could only glare helplessly. Just then, Sasha suddenly let out a startled "Ah!" and stumbled forward, nearly pitching over the edge. "What are you doing! Are you crazy! Get back here!" My heart nearly leaped out of my throat. But Sasha, with tears welling in her eyes like a delicate pear blossom battered by rain, cried out towards the lower floors, "Ethan! Save me!" The roar of an engine sounded in the distance. I finally noticed Ethan's figure appearing at the stairwell entrance, holding a heavy-looking black briefcase. "Ethan!" Sasha suddenly stumbled forward again, half her body dangling over the precipice. "Lanny pushed me again... Why won't she believe that I truly love you?" "Lanny!" Ethan pointed at me, furious. "You vicious woman! How could you push Sasha! What if she fell?!" Me: "???" "You motherfucker! Can't you see I'm tied up like this! Push her? How the hell could I push her?!!" I was shaking with rage. The coarse ropes had chafed my wrists raw, beads of blood dripping from my fingertips. But Ethan's gaze was completely glued to Sasha. That infatuated look was all too familiar to me – just like when he first brought Sasha to the family mansion months ago. The kidnapper suddenly raised a megaphone: "There's only ten million here. Only enough to ransom one person." "What?!" Ethan's roar was carried away by the wind. "You said on the phone you wanted ten million!" "Ten million per person," the kidnapper announced coldly, like a judge reading a sentence. Ethan panicked: "Then I'll write you a check right now! Or I can swipe a card!!" "I only want cash." "Fine, fine! I'll have someone go get it now! You wait!" "Too late. You have to choose now." With that, he grabbed both me and Sasha, hoisting us up like two lambs for slaughter. "The new love or the old. Only one lives." I was instantly terrified. Did this i***t really come alone? He wasn't fit to hold a candle to Uncle Cain. "Bro! Bro! I don't want to die! Choose me! Choose me!" But Sasha began to weep, her tears poised to fall. "Ethan, I don't want to put you in a difficult position... Sasha is willing to step aside for you two..." Me: "??? You—" Sasha suddenly clutched her flat stomach. "But... I'm just so sorry for the baby in my belly..." She sobbed, her voice just loud enough for everyone to hear. "It hasn't even had a chance to see this world..." Me: "??? No way, lady, that's way too much! Your ropes aren't even tight, damn it!" Ethan's expression froze solid. "B-baby?! Sasha, you... you're pregnant?!" Sasha nodded, tears in her eyes. "Ethan..." Ethan's voice trembled with excitement. "I'm going to be a father... I'm going to be a father!" I saw the struggle flash in his eyes, but in the end, all that remained in those eyes I'd known since childhood was resolve. "Sasha..." Ethan reached out his hand. "I choose Sasha." I wasn't even surprised by Ethan's decision anymore. All that was left was pure, unadulterated fear of death. "No... no! Don't! I don't want to die! No!! ETHAN!!!" The kidnapper's rough hand pressed against my back. The next moment, the sensation of weightlessness engulfed me. The wind whistled past my ears. I saw Ethan walking away, holding Sasha, without a single backward glance. I saw my own silver hair fanning out in the wind. Finally, there was excruciating pain— "AHHH—!!!" Pain washed over me like a tidal wave. My eyes snapped open. The familiar, horrific stench hit me once again. "Damn! It stinks! Why does it still stink so bad?!" I coughed violently, water and grime dripping down my face, the taste of blood like iron in my throat. I struggled to lift my head and look around – the kidnapper, Sasha, Ethan hurrying towards us in the distance... "No way..." My pupils constricted, my heart pounding wildly. "Again?!" I whipped my head around to look at Sasha. She still wore that delicate, innocent expression, the ropes around her wrists loose and sloppy, clearly not tight. "Are you pregnant?" I asked directly, my voice hoarse. Sasha's face changed. "How did you...?!" "You really are?!" I stared intently at her stomach, the memory of the searing pain from being pushed off the building flashing through my mind. "I can't repeat the same mistake this time!" Sasha sneered. "None of your business..." Down below, Ethan had just parked his car and was about to speak, but I beat him to it, shouting at him first: "Ten million to ransom one! Cash only! She's pregnant! That's it!" Ethan stared, dumbfounded. "Huh... huh?" The kidnapper made an impatient sound and grabbed both of us. "Enough talk. Choose." I knew Ethan would definitely choose Sasha, so I didn't pin any hopes on him. While the two of them were engrossed in their melodramatic exchange, I secretly pressed the rope binding my wrists against the rough wall behind me, grinding it against the surface with all my might. Break... please break... The palm of my hand was rubbed raw, and I could feel warm blood seeping out, but I didn't dare stop. Finally, Ethan made his choice. "I choose Sasha!" The kidnapper gave a nasty grin and reached out to push me— "Get away!" I jerked sideways, dodging his hand, but the rope was only half frayed through. I still couldn't move freely. A vicious glint appeared in the kidnapper's eyes. He directly pulled a small knife from his belt, grabbed a handful of my hair, and drove the blade hard into my abdomen— "URGH—!" Excruciating pain exploded through me. My vision went black. "Damn... this hurts even more than last time..." Blood gushed out. I staggered back two steps, my foot meeting empty air—