“Now that you’ve seen it, leave and never come back,” Briana stated with chilling indifference.Turning her attention to the servants, she added, addressing Regis and Julian, “This is the last time Miss Vasconcelos enters here without a prior invitation, understood?”“Yes, Mrs. Ferro!” Regis confirmed.Julian gently took hold of Katrina. “Come on, Miss Vasconcelos...”Katrina snatched her arm away. “I know the way out!”She shot Briana a look of pure venom, as if everything was her fault, before retreating with slow, heavy steps, defeat weighing heavily on her shoulders.“Whew! Looks like we finally closed the book on that one, huh?” Regis sighed in relief.“Finally,” Briana agreed.******Christopher’s phone began to ring somewhere on the nightstand, its sound muffled beneath a chaos of movement and noise: breathy laughter, bodies shifting, and the unmistakable, rhythmic commotion of lovemaking vigorous enough to rattle the headboard.For a moment, nothing happened. Then an arm final

Patricio sat alone in his living room, dressed in loose sleepwear, sunk into an armchair that suddenly felt far too small for his anxiety. The silence of the apartment was nearly suffocating him, each passing minute sharpening his worry about Katrina’s absence.When the phone finally rang, he lunged for it with relief.“Hello! My love, you finally answered—”“This isn’t Katrina,” came a firm male voice. “This is Mark.”Patricio stiffened at once. “Mark Ferro?” he asked, alarmed. “Why are you holding Katrina’s phone?”“Mr. Nogueira, listen carefully,” Mark said, his tone cold and controlled. “Your girlfriend came to my house. She disturbed my wife’s peace, and when she left, she refused any escort from my staff. A maid found her unconscious near the staircase, with traces of blood on the steps. An ambulance has already been called.”Patricio sprang to his feet as if the chair had betrayed him. “What did you say?” he shouted. “My girlfriend fell down the stairs?”“That’s correct,” Mark

Vargas first looked at Mark as if asking for permission. Lord Ferro’s gaze made it clear that Vargas could deliver the news.“I’ve already informed Attorney Nogueira,” Vargas announced. “Unfortunately, Miss Vasconcelos has lost—”“NO!” Claudia threw herself to the floor in an extremely fake, theatrical manner, pretending to faint.She expected someone to catch her, but the gesture was so sudden that Gilson didn’t even have time to react.As a result, Claudia flailed on the floor, needlessly dirtying her clothes. Althea regarded her with nothing but growing contempt.Gilson, on the other hand, was genuinely shocked and shattered. Tears began to stream down his face as he felt his chance to be a grandfather slipping away.“This can’t be... How?” he asked, his voice breaking.“The staircase she fell down wasn’t a small one,” Vargas cleared his throat. “And there’s more... It appears she made an effort to tumble down the steps.”Still on the floor but pulling herself up, Claudia neighed o

Mark appeared in the hospital corridor, amid the constant activity of doctors and nurses coming and going. He spotted Patricio stepping out of the room of his likely ex-girlfriend.“Patricio? Is it any use if I say I’m sorry?” Mark asked cautiously.“I’d even take a hug, Mr. Ferro,” Patricio replied, his voice thick with emotion.Mark and Patricio embraced tightly.In the midst of the endless feud Katrina nurtured against Briana, an innocent baby had died before ever leaving the womb.“I’m truly sorry,” Mark said.“Thank you,” Patricio stepped back. Tears were already threatening to pour down like a waterfall. “It’s... hard to believe this happened.”“With someone like Katrina, do you still find it hard?” Mark raised an eyebrow.“I get it,” Patricio nodded, rubbing his fingers across his nose. “She went looking for trouble and dragged our child into it.”Mark narrowed his gaze. “Speaking honestly now, Patricio: what do you intend to do?”Patricio pressed his lips together, displeased.

Katrina felt entitled to be offended.“What are you saying? You’re bailing on our relationship? Who gave you that authority?”Patricio rolled his eyes, impatient. “It feels like I’m dealing with a high school girl. Katrina, you’ve never had the maturity for a relationship.”“Really?” Katrina smirked wickedly, leaning back against the pillows. “You weren’t thinking about maturity while we were having that hot, wild s*x in my bedroom, pounding me nonstop!”Patricio shifted to hide the erection that had suddenly appeared in his pants, made even more obvious by the fact that the lawyer was going commando.“We didn’t intend for you to get pregnant. But once it happened, I thought you’d be a great mother and wife,” Patricio shot back.“You THOUGHT?” Katrina snapped. “Now you’re not so sure?”Patricio was stunned. “After all the stunts you’ve pulled, you think that’s not enough? Katrina, when are you going to understand that going to your cousin’s house was a terrible idea?”“I don’t have a