
Marco Romano knelt outside the Morrison family's grand living room, his knees pressed against the cold marble floor. The opulent chandelier above cast shadows that seemed to mock his desperate state.
"Please, Mrs. Morrison," Marco pleaded, his voice cracking. "My mother needs this surgery. It's fifty thousand dollars—I'll pay it back, every penny."
Margaret Morrison, Elena's mother, looked down at him with disgust, her perfectly manicured fingers gripping her wine glass. "Fifty thousand? For that dying cockroach you call a mother?"
"She raised me alone after my father died. She's all I have left—"
"Shut up!" Margaret's voice boomed through the mansion. "You pathetic worm, crawling here like the garbage you are. Do you think we're a charity?"
Elena's brother, David, lounged on the leather sofa, smirking. "Look at him, Mother. He's like a beaten dog begging for scraps. Maybe we should throw him a bone."
"The only bone he deserves is in a graveyard," Margaret sneered. "Your worthless mother isn't worth a single dollar of our money. She should have died years ago and saved us all the trouble of looking at your miserable face."
Marco's hands trembled. "Please, I'm married to your daughter. I'm family—"
"Family?" David burst into laughter. "You? You're nothing but a live-in servant who got lucky enough to share Elena's bed. Even my dog has more value than you."
Margaret stood up, towering over Marco's kneeling form. "Get out of my sight, you disgusting roach. If I see your face in my house again without Elena present, I'll have security throw you in the dumpster where you belong."
The heavy doors slammed behind Marco as he stumbled out, his last hope crushed under the Morrison family's cruelty.
The hospital's sterile corridors felt like a prison as Marco approached Dr. Marcus Rodriguez's office. Marcus sat behind his mahogany desk, his expensive suit pristine, his cold eyes examining Marco like a specimen.
"Marco Romano," Marcus drawled, not bothering to look up from his paperwork. "What brings the Morrison family's pet here?"
"Dr. Rodriguez, please. My mother needs the kidney surgery. I know you can help—"
"Help?" Marcus finally looked up, his lips curling into a cruel smile. "Why would I help a worthless parasite like you? Your mother is dying, and frankly, it would save everyone the trouble if she just hurried up about it."
Marco's face flushed with anger and desperation. "She's a human being! She deserves to live!"
"Human being?" Marcus laughed, the sound echoing off the walls. "She's a burden on society. And you—you're nothing but a cockroach scurrying around, begging for scraps. You disgust me."
"I'll do anything. I'll work extra shifts, I'll—"
"Anything?" Marcus leaned back in his chair, studying Marco with amusement. "Well, there is one option. You could sell your kidney. That would cover the cost. Of course, you might die in the process, but that would solve two problems at once."
Marco's blood ran cold. "You can't be serious."
"Dead serious. Though I doubt even your kidney is worth much. You're probably diseased, just like that dying rat you call a mother."
"Don't talk about her like that!"
Marcus stood up, his voice turning vicious. "I'll talk about her however I want. She's a worthless old woman who should have died years ago. And you—you're nothing but a fly buzzing around, annoying everyone with your pathetic existence."
Marco's world shattered when he reached his mother's room, only to find it empty. A nurse with a cruel smile intercepted him in the hallway.
"Looking for the old woman in 312?" she asked mockingly. "She's been evicted. Mrs. Morrison called personally and ordered us to throw her out like the trash she is."
"Where is she?" Marco's voice was barely a whisper.
"Outside in the rain, probably. We dumped her and her pathetic belongings by the dumpster. Fitting place for someone who can't pay their bills."
Marco ran through the hospital corridors, his heart pounding. Outside, the rain poured down mercilessly, and there, beside the large garbage containers, lay Rosa Romano. Her frail body was soaked, blood trickling from her mouth, her hospital gown clinging to her skeletal frame.
"Madre!" Marco dropped to his knees, gathering her in his arms.
Rosa's eyes fluttered open, focusing on her son's face with tremendous effort. "Marco... my boy..."
"Don't talk, Mama. I'll get help. I'll find another hospital—"
"No, mijo," Rosa whispered, her voice barely audible over the rain. "I don't want to be a burden anymore. I've watched them humiliate you for three years. I've seen them treat you like... like an animal."
"You're not a burden! You're my mother, my everything!"
Rosa's hand trembled as she reached for the jade pendant around her neck. "This... this belonged to your father. The Romano family... we were once... once great..."
"Mama, please—"
"They destroyed us, Marco. But this pendant... it holds our legacy. Our power." Her breathing became more labored. "Promise me you'll discover the truth. Promise me you'll reclaim what's ours."
"I promise, Mama. But don't leave me. Please don't leave me."
Rosa's eyes began to close. "I love you, my son. More than life itself."
As she spoke her final words, Marco felt something break inside his chest. Tears streamed down his face, mixing with the rain and his mother's blood. But these weren't ordinary tears—they were tears of pure anguish, tinged with red, as if his very soul was bleeding.
The crimson tears dripped onto the jade pendant, and suddenly, the ancient stone began to glow with an otherworldly light. The blood seemed to seep into the jade, activating something that had been dormant for generations.
A voice, deep and authoritative, echoed in Marco's mind: "Descendant of Romano, your blood has awakened the ancient knowledge. I am Antonio Romano, founder of our family's medical legacy."
Marco looked around frantically, but saw no one. The voice continued: "The techniques of our ancestors, the healing arts that made our family legendary—they are now yours. Use them wisely, and reclaim what was stolen from us."
Knowledge flooded Marco's mind—pressure points, energy pathways, ancient healing techniques that had been lost for centuries. His hands moved instinctively to his mother's body, pressing specific points along her arms and torso.
"Mama, stay with me," he whispered, applying pressure to a point near her heart.
Rosa's body convulsed once, then her chest rose with a sharp intake of breath. Her eyes opened wide, clearer than they had been in months.
"M–Marco… "
"We're leaving this place, Mama. We're never coming back to beg from anyone again. Please stay withe me."

Latest Chapter
CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN
Marco could not believe Antonio right now. Seemed as if the ancestor was doing too much right now and should really be considering taking a theatre career in the spirit world or wherever it was that he was contacting him from.Rallying women?Seriously?He tried hard not to laugh but a dry sound escaped his throat. Isabella wiped her eyes with the back of her palm and sat up straighter. “What’s so funny?” she asked, trying to sound serious as she definitely was upset right now.Marco’s chest tightened around the bandages and the injury, but he laughed anyway, softer this time. His own attempt at trying to make light of everything and reassure her that he was not laughing at her crying or crazy. To him, Isabella sported hints of her father's temper and one thing about Sal, he was a proud man who wore his arrogance on sleeves openly.“Nothing,” he said. “Just that I remembered something stupid. Don’t worry about it.”She nodded, mopping at her cheeks vigorously and even straightened h
CHAPTER FORTY SIX
The phone was pressed against her ear as she dialed again. It kept ringing and then it went off.Her eyes drew in close with so much anger as she held the phone tightly.“He can't be blowing me off, right? Wait, he's actually blowing me off!”Elena stormed out of her room, her heels striking the marble floor with angry clicks so loud that it could form a bad song. Her mother, Margaret, looked up from the mirror where she was fixing her earrings and sighed deeply when she saw the look on her daughter’s face.“What is it this time, Elena?” Margaret asked, already bracing herself for whatever stormy news Elena was about to unleash.Elena folded her arms, her chest heaving. “It’s Marco, Mother. He’s making a fool out of me! I’ve been trying to call him since morning, and he hasn’t picked one. Not once! Who the hell does he think he is?”Margaret motioned toward the bed for her to sit, her gaze trying to portray one wiser.“Try again now, let me see. What the hell is wrong with that fool?
CHAPTER FORTY FIVE
Rosa looked at her son with a hint of silent confusion, her brows drawn together as if trying to understand something only he could see. The light from the hospital fell across Marco’s face, painting him in shades of tiredness and stubbornness. At least that was what her mother's gaze could see at the moment. She sighed softly and spoke, her voice trembling but firm.“Marco, what exactly is in that pendant that makes it so important?”Marco smiled faintly, his lips smiled but his eyes looked very distant. “The main thing I can say right now, Mama... is that it’s important to me.”She gave him that familiar stare; the kind that had once made him confess every lie as a little boy. Something one could have termed a mother's gaze. “Don’t give me riddles, Marco. I am your mother. Just tell me one truth. Only one.”He turned his gaze to her, his eyes soft with guilt and affection. “Ask me anything, Mama. I’ll tell you the truth.”Rosa folded her hands on her lap and leaned closer. “Swear to
CHAPTER FORTY FOUR
His eyes felt so open but Marco could not see clearly. Everything was blurry and he wondered if he had slept and woken up.Could he have dreamt everything?Was he high?Or was someone playing a fast one on him?The sounds of footsteps approaching fogged his mind like he was in a mental haze. Marco could hear Sal screaming at someone and then he was lifted off the ground.His body felt wet through his clothes and his mind scattered in a thousand pieces as he was being handled.Marco drifted in and out of consciousness, as if his mind was caught in the tide, pushed ashore only to be dragged back under the tidal waves. For a moment, he blacked out again.The first time he stirred after that, his eyes barely opened enough to register the blurred figures of people moving quickly around him. He caught the urgent tone of a doctor barking instructions to a nurse as his stretcher was dragged down a hallway noisily. So noisy that it racked against his head like a bad headache.Too loud.But h
CHAPTER FORTY THREE
Marco drove slowly through the glittering lights of the night city, his hands tight around the steering wheel. The faint hum of the engine was the only sound keeping him company as he pulled into the big parking space of the Empire Fortuna Casino. The building loomed ahead of him like a palace of sin, its golden lights spilling from its entrance, drawing in patrons with promises of wealth, pleasure, and ruin.He parked and stepped out, adjusting his jacket. For a brief second, he hesitated at the entrance, inhaling deeply, trying to steady the unease that lingered in his chest. He told himself this was work, nothing more. He was here because he had to be, not because he wanted to blend into the same world that had already chewed and spat him out as the Morrisons had.Just as he was about to stride forward, a familiar burst of laughter caught his ear. He turned, eyes narrowing slightly. There, not far from the steps, stood Sal, his broad figure unmistakable even in the crowd. And be
CHAPTER FORTY TWO
Elena stood before her long mirror, adjusting the straps of her gown with a careful hand. The silk clung perfectly to her figure, accentuating every curve she wanted to show and concealing what she wanted hidden. The color, a deep emerald green shimmered faintly under the dim light of her vanity. Her lips were painted a bold red, and her hair swept up in elegant curls that spilled slightly over her shoulders. She looked every inch the kind of woman who knew she was desired, the kind of woman who wanted the world to stop and look when she walked into a room.She gave herself one last approving glance, smoothed the gown over her hips, and walked out.The evening air brushed against her bare shoulders as she stepped out through the gate. Sergio was already waiting. He leaned casually against his sleek black car, one ankle crossed over the other, his suit pressed sharp as a blade. A faint smirk curved on his lips, and in his hand was yet another bouquet of flowers. Roses this time, d
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