After My Kept Husband Betrayed My Name, I Made Him Regret It

Chapter 3 Do Whatever They Want

Willow and Asher stood before the cameras, looking every bit the winners.

Levi liquidated every shared asset we had and used the money for compensation.

As the scandal spread, anyone who took a shot at the Cortes family walked away with a piece of the spoils.

People, already rabid over wealth and privilege, smashed the limited-edition sports car Dylan had given me.

Somehow, someone got hold of Dylan's ashes from the funeral home.

A group of them even livestreamed themselves dumping his ashes into a filthy drainage ditch!

When I rushed over, I became their next spectacle.

Someone dumped a bucket of slop over my head, while another person shoved a dead rat into my mouth.

"The Cortes family owes us plenty, so why don't you pay us back in bed instead?"

And Levi stood by the window of a five-star hotel, watching it all from above.

I had actually forgotten that Levi had only survived bankruptcy because my family saved him back then. How had I ever expected a man like that to be decent?

Zachary had clawed his way up from nothing, and I'd been stupid enough to mistake his show of loyalty for the real thing.

Just before they could strip me bare, Levi finally stepped into view, his polished shoes coming to a stop in front of me.

"Have you made up your mind, Liliana? People are running out of patience."

The coldness in his voice twisted something deep in my chest.

I forced myself upright and asked, "Do you really love Willow that much? Are you really willing to destroy your own future just to bring the Cortes family down?"

"When people do something wrong, they should have the guts to pay for it. I'm only helping you buy yourself a little mercy. If you still refuse to sign over those shares tomorrow, Zachary will make sure you go down with the rest of them."

Levi hauled me to my feet and gently wiped the tears from my face.

"Of course. You're my wife. I'd never do anything that would make me look bad. So you're signing the transfer papers, whether you want to or not. Otherwise, you may never see the only family you have left again."

As he spoke, he pulled up a video.

The sound of a young child's voice nearly stole the air from my lungs.

They had kidn*pped my nephew, Ian Cortes!

Five years ago, Dylan's wife had only just given birth when kidnappers came for her.

The woman Dylan had loved for seven years died that day, and the only reason their child survived was that Dylan fought like a madman to protect the only family he had left.

For all those years, Ian had been kept out of the public eye.

I had thought leaving him in their care would give him a better life!

But now Levi narrowed his eyes, and something dangerous flickered in them.

"What do you think happens if people find out Dylan left behind a son? How much money do you think that kid could be worth? I'm not about to make promises about what desperate people with nothing to lose might do."

My blood ran cold, and I nearly screamed as I begged him.

"I'll sign! You can take everything! Just don't touch Ian! He doesn't understand any of this!"

A satisfied smile tugged at his mouth, and he swept me into his arms.

"That's more like it. Even if the Cortes family falls apart, you'll still have me."

I didn't sleep a single minute that night.

At daybreak, a violent cramp seized my belly.

Levi assumed I was faking it and dragged me to the office for the press conference anyway.

Stacks of documents were piled in front of me.

I signed my name numbly, page after page, while cold sweat drenched me from the pain twisting through my belly.

But the people around me kept right on mocking me.

"What happened to the precious heiress of the richest family in the country? She's nothing but a parasite. Karma finally caught up with the Cortes family, and now they're getting wiped out!"

"I never could stand the way Dylan acted like he was above everyone else. Honestly, death was too easy on him. He should have rotted in prison for the rest of his life!"

"If you ask me, Liliana is a curse. She killed her parents, and now she's killed her own brother too. Good thing Mr. Alvarez is finally divorcing her. Once he dumps her, anybody can do whatever they want with the bitch."

Every word landed like a blade in my chest.

After I signed the last page, I looked at Levi through the haze of pain.

"Take me to the hospital..."

But Asher interrupted before Levi could answer.