Chapter 2

Lucia's POV

Xavier shook my hand off and said coldly, "Your son is dead. Theo is a boy I adopted from an orphanage. He has nothing to do with you."

"Theo... his name is Theo?" I kept murmuring, a smile creeping onto my lips. "What a beautiful name."

Xavier grabbed my shoulders and shook me, his voice rising with agitation.

"Wake up! He is not your son! If you ever tell anyone again that Theo is your son, I swear I'll put a bullet in your head!"

I stared at him blankly, not understanding why he was so sensitive about me being near Theo.

The more out of control he acted, the more suspicious I became.

I had to find a way to get a strand of Theo's hair and run a DNA test.

But then I hesitated.

I couldn't even leave this place. How was I supposed to prove that Theo was my son?

No. I had to get out of here.

I looked up at Xavier, my voice firm. "I want a divorce."

Xavier gave me a surprised look, then spoke with his usual coldness.

"Divorce? You think you'd survive without me? If it weren't for me, Julia would have torn you to pieces by now."

"I don't care!" I grabbed his collar and begged him, my voice dropping low. "Just let me go. I'll leave with nothing. I promise I'll stay far away from you and Julia. You'll never see me again."

Xavier studied me for a long moment, his expression unreadable, then let out a cold laugh. "You really are exactly what Julia said you were — an ungrateful woman."

I looked at him blankly, not sure what he meant.

Suddenly Xavier grabbed my hair and yanked. "Didn't you always say you loved me? How can you not handle something this small? I had a child with Julia — that doesn't mean I abandoned you. What gives you the right to walk away from me?"

The pain in my scalp was sharp. I winced and glared at him. "Because you changed! You never used to treat me like this!"

Xavier froze for a moment, then let go. His expression darkened. "I haven't changed. I just want a better life..."

I stared at him, numb. I knew what he was trying to say.

Xavier was the adopted son of the Davis family. His adoptive father, Owen, refused to leave his vast estate to a son with no blood ties to him, so he wrote a will leaving everything to the child Julia was carrying.

Owen believed the baby was his own flesh and blood. He died never knowing that his wife had been sleeping with his adopted son all along — and that the child was Xavier's.

"Not a single day has gone by that I haven't been working for this."

Xavier's eyes went distant. "I did everything I could to take control of the Davis family's business. I finally pulled it off. And now, at this moment, you're betraying me."

My eyes started to burn. I won't lie — I did love Xavier once. But after he cheated on me and took my child, all that was left was hatred.

Just then, the bedroom door was kicked open. Julia stormed in wearing a silk dress, her eyes wild as they darted between me and Xavier. She screamed at him, furious and humiliated.

"Oh, so the moment I'm gone for one day, you can't wait to run to this little tramp!"

Xavier's brow furrowed slightly, and his voice went cold again.

"Theo just ran over here. I was only warning her to stay away from him."

Julia's eyes shifted to me, suspicious. "Is that true?"

Xavier nodded.

Julia marched up to me, raised her hand, and slapped me hard across the face. "You filthy tramp! How dare you go near Theo! Know your place!"

Xavier stood to the side, watching with cold eyes, making no move to stop her.

I pressed my hand against my burning cheek as tears spilled down my face. I locked eyes with Julia. "You stole my son. You stole my husband. What gives you the right to stand in front of me and act so smug?"

Julia's face shifted. She raised her hand to hit me again.

I grabbed her wrist and lunged at her, ready to fight.

"Give me back my child!" I screamed, tears blurring my vision.

Julia shoved me hard. I stumbled backward and the back of my head slammed into the corner of the table.

A sharp burst of pain hit me. I reached up and felt blood on my hand.

Julia stood over me, breathing hard. She caught the hesitation in Xavier's eyes and snapped, "What? Feeling sorry for her?"

Xavier lowered his gaze, his tone flat. "No. It's just messy to deal with a body inside the villa."

Julia stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. "I knew it. I'm the only one in your heart."

She rose on her toes and kissed him on the cheek, her voice soft and coy. "Baby, I want this tramp to see exactly how much you love me."

Xavier looked down at her and didn't pull away.

Julia grew bolder, pressing her lips to his, her hand moving across his chest.

I lay on the floor, blood still seeping from my head, watching them together right in front of me. My stomach turned.

"See that?" Julia turned to look at me, a taunting smile on her lips. "This man stopped being yours a long time ago. I'm the only one he loves."

Xavier never said a word. He just stood there and let Julia cling to him.

I felt like I couldn't breathe. My mind went blank. My vision darkened. And then everything went black.

When I came to, I was alone in the room.

The wound on my head had been bandaged. Outside the window, night had fallen. Pale moonlight spilled into the room.

I slowly sat up and shook my head, trying to stay alert.

Everything that had just happened was still running through my mind, but I couldn't fall apart. I had something more important to do. Theo was waiting for me.

But I was trapped in here. How was I supposed to find him?

I looked around helplessly, and my eyes landed on the bedsheet. An idea came to me.

I pulled the sheet off the bed, tore it into strips, tied them together, and secured one end to the window frame.

Then I grabbed the lamp from the desk, walked to the door, and hurled it out the window.

A loud crash came from below. The guards outside stirred. "What was that?"

I slipped into the wardrobe.

Through the gap in the doors, I watched a guard rush in and scan the room. Finding it empty, one of them shouted, "She's gone! She escaped!"

Then all of them charged out the door, and the hallway went quiet.

I seized the moment, slipped out of the room, and moved through the villa searching for Theo's room.

Finally, at the far end of the second floor, I found him.