Chapter 4

Serena

Dante jolted as if he had been shot.

He stared at the pistachio pastries, realizing he had almost let his daughter be poisoned.

But before he could say a word, the excruciating screech of tires pierced the air.

We all whipped our heads around.

Matteo had chased his toy drone straight out the massive iron gates and into the street. He was lying in a pool of blood, the shattered plastic clutched in his hand.

In my past life, her son had also been in a horrible crash while chasing a toy.

Alessia let out a bloodcurdling scream and collapsed onto the driveway. Dante instantly sprinted forward, pulling the bleeding boy into his arms.

The scene descended into chaos, but my heart plunged into ice.

I remembered. In my past life, a shard of shattered glass had pierced Matteo's eye during the crash.

Dante had completely lost his mind. He had tried to forcibly harvest my daughter's corneas to restore his precious nephew's vision.

Back then, Lucia had been violently ill with a fever, making her unfit for the transplant. That was the only reason she kept her eyes.

But right now... she was perfectly healthy.

Without a second thought, I scooped Lucia into my arms and turned to run.

But Alessia completely ignored her bleeding son and lunged at me, grabbing my coat with a death grip.

"How can you be so cold-blooded, Serena? Can't you see my son is dying?"

I shielded my daughter, forcing myself to stay calm. "If he's hurt, get him to a hospital. I'm not a doctor."

Instead of letting go, she turned to Dante, sobbing hysterically. "Dante! There's glass in his face..."

"Look at his eyes... What if he goes blind? He's the only heir to the family!"

She slumped to the ground, weeping uncontrollably. "If his eyes are ruined, his life is over! How will I ever face your brother in heaven?"

Dante's expression turned lethal, and his gaze slowly locked onto Lucia.

"Throw Lucia in the Escalade," he ordered his men, his voice deadly quiet. "Take them to the underground clinic."

Two massive mafia soldiers grabbed us and shoved us into the back of the armored SUV.

Underground at the mob clinic, the grim diagnosis mirrored my past life exactly: severe optical trauma, requiring an immediate cornea transplant.

Dante didn't even hesitate.

"She's my daughter. I consent to her donating her corneas," he told the mob surgeon.

The terror and rage I had suppressed for two lifetimes finally burned through the last of my sanity.

I lunged forward and grabbed his suit collar. "Dante! Lucia is just a little girl! What did she ever do wrong? You want to carve out her eyes?"

"She is your daughter! Your own flesh and blood!"

Dante merely tightened his jaw, looking at me with cold impatience.

"Matteo is my brother's only bloodline. He is the future of this family."

"To save his vision, I wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice Lucia's life if I had to!"

I stared at him, my entire body trembling. "And what about my daughter's future? If she goes blind, how is she supposed to live?"

His face darkened. After a moment, he muttered coldly, "I am her father. I will take care of her."

Take care of her? Like how he took care of us in my past life? By dragging us into a blizzard and leaving us to freeze to death?

While I fought the guards, they dragged my crying daughter onto the operating table.

As the anesthesia was prepped, she used the last of her strength to reach for my hand, mumbling weakly.

"Mama... why...?"

"Why can't we ever escape?"

I thought giving up everything would be enough. I thought if I surrendered my home and worked hard, we could escape our doomed fate.

But he took my job. He stole our survival funds. And now, he wanted to rip out my daughter's eyes.

A lifetime of agonizing grief and explosive hatred finally erupted from my chest.

I fought like a feral animal, throwing myself over my daughter's body. "Whoever dares to touch her dies first!"

I glared directly at Dante, spitting blood from my bitten lip. "You don't deserve to be a father, Dante! Get the fuck out!"

Dante's face turned livid. He waved a cold hand at the armed guards. "Pull her off. Extract the corneas immediately."

The guards charged at me, pinning my arms back.

But right at that exact second, a massive explosion rocked the entire clinic.

The heavy, two-inch-thick bulletproof iron doors were blasted off their hinges with C4, crashing to the floor in a blinding cloud of smoke.

Through the settling dust, a lazy, dangerously mocking voice echoed through the room.

"Well, well. Who's got the fucking nerve to touch my little Lucia's eyes?"