Chapter 3
1636 Words
Evelyn stared at her phone, her fingers shaking so badly she could barely hold it.
Luca had gone public, claiming the whole k********g was staged by Evelyn herself, and that after she was exposed, she had lost her mind.
He even faked a psychiatric evaluation for her. With a heavy heart, he said Evelyn had been badly injured in the accident and had to have her uterus removed, which messed with her head so much that she felt she wasn't good enough for him and wanted to call off the wedding.
Right into the camera, he poured his heart out, saying he loved Evelyn deeply, would stand by her through thick and thin, and that the wedding would go on as planned.
The whole internet sang Luca's praises.
The Moretti family, which had been taking heat, suddenly saw public opinion turn right around.
In an instant, Evelyn felt so crushed she could barely breathe.
He was twisting the truth like this, all to protect Adeline.
Online comments came flooding in like a tidal wave.
A: [Staged it herself? And ended up losing the ability to have kids? That's karma if I've ever seen it!]
B: [Can't stand these entitled rich girls who always gotta hog the spotlight with their drama!]
C: [She's pulled this kinda stunt before, hasn't she? Honestly, Mr. Moretti's been way too soft on her!]
She read every single one. The rage burned inside her. The blood ran cold.
Now that she'd been labeled mentally unstable, nothing she said online would ever be believed.
So that same afternoon, Evelyn walked into the police station with her lawyer, Vito Russo.
Soon after, Luca was taken in by the police.
News broke, and the internet went nuts again.
While everyone was guessing what happened, the police released Evelyn's medical records themselves. No psychiatric disorder.
The one Luca had was forged. And because his actions had damaged Evelyn's reputation, he was now facing a lawsuit.
Then all hell broke loose online.
A: [Evelyn doesn't have a mental illness?]
B: [Wait, if she's not crazy, then the whole 'she staged it' theory doesn't hold water either, does it?]
C: [Oh my god, we've been played by Luca!]
The comments went from "poor Luca" to a chorus of "disgusting" and "liar."
Even though she'd cleared her name, Evelyn felt deeply uneasy. Knowing Luca, he'd definitely come after her for this.
Or he'd cook up some other nasty scheme to get revenge.
But he stayed quiet.
Nothing happened all the way through the next day.
That made her even more anxious.
Then that night, the butler called. His voice was choked with tears.
"Ms. Whitmore! Mr. Whitmore... he... he got into a car accident! He's in surgery right now. It's bad, real bad!"
The news hit her like a thunderbolt. Everything went black. The whole world was spinning.
Her whole world caved in.
Her chest hurt so much she went numb. She could barely stand. With every ounce of strength she had, she finally found her voice. "No... that's not possible..."
How could her father just randomly get into an accident? Besides, his schedule was always super low-key. Unless...
It was Luca!
It had to be him!
She was shaking like a leaf. After a long moment, her eyes went cold. She called Nora. "I need you to do something for me right now."
After giving instructions, Evelyn rushed to the hospital like a madwoman. But there was Luca, surrounded by a wall of bodyguards, blocking the entrance to the ICU.
She tried to push through, but they held her back.
She lost it completely, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Luca! You did this, didn't you? My father's accident was your doing!"
Luca's face didn't even twitch.
"Evelyn, why can't you ever just listen to me? All that stuff online? You better clear it up real quick. Otherwise..."
He nodded toward the ICU. "This is what happens."
"My father has helped you so much over the years! He even put you in charge of the family business! And this is how you repay him? What kind of monster are you?!"
At first, her whole family had been against the marriage. Her father especially couldn't stand Luca—he thought he was shrewd.
But she didn't care. She even had huge fights with her dad about it.
In the end, her father gave in because he loved her too much to see her unhappy.
"You brought this on yourself, Evelyn!"
Evelyn dug her nails so deep into her palm they almost drew blood. She wanted to tear Luca apart right then and there.
"Let me in! I wanna see my father!"
Luca smiled, satisfied. "Of course you can. But I've got one condition. Before the wedding tomorrow, you get all that online mess sorted out. Then you marry me nice and quiet, and I'll treat you right."
Evelyn let out a bitter laugh.
"Luca, do you really think I'd still marry you after all this? In your dreams!!"
"Well..." Luca glanced toward the ICU. "Guess I gotta say sorry to Mr. Harold Whitmore. Too bad for him."
"You wouldn't dare!! Luca!"
"Try me."
Evelyn's chest heaved with every ragged breath. After a long pause, she finally calmed down. Then she smiled. "Your son is in my hands. You are welcome to try!"
"What?" Luca froze. For the first time, panic flickered in his eyes. He quickly pulled out his phone and called. "Adeline, where's the kid?"
After finding out the kid was still asleep, he let out a breath and shot Evelyn a smug look. But the next second, Adeline screamed on the other end. "Oh no! He's gone! Luca! Our son is gone!"
At that moment, Luca was seething with rage. He squeezed his phone so hard the screen cracked. "Evelyn! He's just a little kid. If anything happens to him, I swear I'll make you pay!"
"Oh, so now you're scared for your own people. My old man's in a wreck. Guess it's payback time. Maybe I'll do the same to your boy—"
"Enough! Shut up, Evelyn! Don't say another word!" Luca rubbed his temples, clearly panicked.
After a moment, he sighed in defeat. "Alright. Let's both take a step back. You give me back my son, and I promise I won't hurt your family anymore. As for tomorrow's wedding... you don't have to show up if you don't want to. But you still have to marry me."
"What do you mean?"
"Adeline's been through hell because of all this. Everyone's calling her the other woman, and the hospital fired her. I wanna give her this wedding as some kind of compensation. But don't worry—you'll still be Mrs. Moretti. The kid will be under your name too. After the ceremony, I'll send Adeline abroad. Your father will get better. Everything'll go back to the way it was."
Evelyn stared at him for a good few seconds, trying to process what he just said. "So let me get this straight. You want her to be the bride in the ceremony, and I'm just your wife on paper?"
Luca said nothing.
Silence meant yes.
Evelyn nodded slowly.
She suddenly remembered the day Luca proposed. It was a beautiful sunny day. He got down on one knee, his hands shaking like crazy, and he said, "My dear Evelyn, if you're not the one waiting for me at that altar, I don't think I could go on living."
Back then, she cried tears of joy.
She thought that was the happiest moment of her life.
Now she knew. That was the dumbest moment of her life.
She nodded. "Fine. I'll do whatever you say."
Tomorrow, she was gonna give Luca a wedding he'd never forget!
Luca looked stunned. He obviously hadn't expected her to agree so easily. His face lit up. "Really? Evelyn, all those years we spent together... they were beautiful. I genuinely wanna be with you!
"Trust me. You won't regret this. Now go take care of Mr. Whitmore. I'll be waiting for good news."
Evelyn's face was ashen. She just gave a faint "Mm."
Luca studied her for a few seconds, looking pleased.
Her shoulders were trembling. Her lips were quivering. Her hair was a mess, plastered to her cheeks. Her eyes were swollen like walnuts. Her face was white as a sheet.
He suddenly reached out, cupped her face in his hands, leaned down, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
So gentle. So tender.
Like he was still that guy who stood outside in the snow for four hours just to win her back.
"Evelyn, forget about all this ugly stuff. We're gonna be so happy together."
Then he turned and walked off with his men.
The hallway fell silent. Evelyn's hand, still in her pocket, pressed the stop button on the voice recorder.
She looked up. Her eyes were nothing but ice-cold steel.
She walked into the ICU and saw her father lying there, tubes everywhere, lifeless. The tears finally broke through, and she sobbed like her heart was being ripped out.
After that, she was put under house arrest in that VIP room. Bodyguards were posted outside the door. Even the medical staff were his people.
They called it protection. It was really just surveillance.
The next day, she snuck off to the bathroom and fired off a text to Nora.
Evelyn: [Tomorrow, come get me out of here. And get every reporter and live stream channel you can to that wedding.]
After sending it, she deleted the message and walked back to her room like nothing happened.
Then a doctor in a white coat walked in. His face was completely blank as he delivered the worst news imaginable.
He said her father hadn't made it. He was gone.
- Writer
