Gracie swallowed hard, forcing herself to stay calm even though her wrists burned from the ropes. She lifted her chin, refusing to let Mrs. Evangelia see her fear.“If you know what’s good for you,” Gracie said sharply, “you should let me go. Right now. And I’ll pretend this never happened.”For a moment, Mrs. Evangelia simply stared at her.Then she laughed—slow, mocking, cruel.“If I were scared of the outcome, darling,” she said, stepping closer, “I wouldn’t have come this far.”Gracie kept her eyes forward, unblinking. “My family will destroy you if anything happens to me.”“Your family won’t even know,” Mrs. Evangelia whispered.She reached Gracie and leaned in, her perfume too sweet for the rotten place they stood in. Then—without warning—she spat directly in Gracie’s face.Gracie froze. The shock, the humiliation, the burning anger—it all hit her at once.Mrs. Evangelia straightened with a satisfied smirk. “Wipe that off,” she told one of the men. “I don’t like touching filth.”

The ambulance lights flashed red across the cracked concrete as Andrea carried Gracie outside. Mrs. Astor stayed close, giving orders to the paramedics with the authority of someone who expected obedience.“Be gentle,” she snapped as they lifted Gracie onto the stretcher. “If any of you mishandle her, I swear—”“Mom…” Gracie whispered weakly. “I’m okay.”“No, you’re not,” Mrs. Astor said, her voice breaking despite her attempts at control. “But you will be.”Andrea stepped into the ambulance before anyone could stop him.“Sir,” a paramedic tried to protest, “family only—”“She’s my family,” Andrea said fiercely, refusing to move. “I’m not leaving her.”Mrs. Astor met the paramedic’s eyes. “Let him in.”The paramedic swallowed hard and stepped aside.The doors slammed shut, and the ambulance sped into the night.At the HospitalThe emergency room was chaos—doctors rushing, nurses shouting, equipment beeping—but Andrea only saw Gracie.Every time a nurse touched her, he clenched his fis

Chapter 119After Sofia’s footsteps faded from the corridor, the officers exchanged glances. The atmosphere in the station shifted. No more pleading, no more theatrics.It was time for answers.A senior investigator stepped forward—Detective Rallou, a stern woman in her early fifties with cold, sharp eyes. She opened Mrs. Evangelia’s cell and gestured.“Mrs. Evangelia Konstanio,” she said. “You’re coming with me. We’re beginning the formal interrogation.”Mrs. Evangelia stiffened, but the officers grabbed her arms and escorted her to an interrogation room—a windowless, gray space with a metal table and a single camera blinking red in the corner.They pushed her into a chair.Detective Rallou sat opposite her, dropping a thick file on the table with a loud thud. Papers spilled out—photos of Gracie tied up, photos of the abandoned building, copies of call logs, and testimonies.Mrs. Evangelia’s confidence cracked for the first time.“Let’s begin,” the detective said, clicking her record

Chapter 121Andrea stood in the hallway of the prosecutor’s building, the sterile scent of disinfectant clinging stubbornly to the air. The walls were painted a dull white, the kind that made even daylight look cold. Officers walked past him in quick, purposeful strides. Some greeted him. Some nodded quietly. Others simply kept their eyes lowered because they knew who he was—Andrea Astor, the man whose power had grown so sharply and so publicly that people still whispered his name with caution.But in that moment, none of it mattered.Because right behind the double metal doors was the woman who had once called herself family—yet had shown him nothing but cruelty, greed, and disdain.Mrs. Evangelia.She was being transferred to the prosecutor today. The court hearing was scheduled by noon. But Andrea had requested something first—something he wasn’t even sure he needed, but he knew his soul wouldn’t rest without it.A final conversation.A confrontation.Or maybe… closure.A young off

Nikolai stood in front of Sofia, studying her with an expression that hovered between curiosity and something darker.“So tell me, Sofia… are you still in love with Andrea?”Sofia froze for half a second before her eyes hardened.“Nikolai, don’t ask me stupid questions,” she snapped. “I’m not doing this with you.”She spun around and walked off, but Nikolai laughed loudly, openly and the sound echoed down the courthouse corridor.“Running away doesn’t make the answer any less true,” he called after her.She ignored him, but he jogged after her until he caught up.“Fine,” he said, raising his hands slightly. “Forget Andrea.”His tone shifted, becoming serious. “What are you planning to do about your family company? It’s already going bankrupt, Sofia. Are you just going to let it sink?”Sofia stopped walking and turned, irritation sharp in her eyes.“That is none of your business,” she said coldly. “Whatever happens to the company has nothing to do with you.”Nikolai frowned but held ba