The night before the wedding. Brilliant attorney and trillionaire CEO of Page and Associates Law Firm stood in front of the magnificent penthouse window over a city that Kc Page ruled over, all that gleaming in promises from that very skyline which was made under precise and thoughtful plans of the one. He will be married the next day and will become a father the soonest after that. Life unfolds precisely to plans.
And his phone rang. And his phone rang.One call. One silence, before the storm.
"Kc… "
The voice on the other end was tight, trembling. His best friend, Ethan.
"It's Vanessa."
A cold heart. "What about Vanessa?"
A pause, of its own. The kind where something can't be said.
"There was. an accident."
The world cracked. Kc clutched at the edge of his desk, his knuckles white.
"What kind of accident?" His voice was unnervingly calm, but something inside him was already breaking.
Ethans breath shuddered. "She—she didn't make it, Kc."
The words were a blade, twisting deep into his soul. He swayed, his vision blurring.
No.
No, this wasn't real.
"Where is she?" His voice was barely a whisper, a storm simmering beneath the surface.
"St. Joseph's Hospital." A pause. Then— "Kc… she was dead on arrival."
The floor beneath him gave way.
A scream built in his throat, but no sound came out.
His bride.
His child.
Gone.
The antiseptic smell cut into his nostrils as Kc stormed down the hospital corridors.Then he saw her.
Vanessa.
A white sheet covered her small frame.
His Vanessa. Bride-to-be for tomorrow. Mother of his child.
His fingers trembled as he reached out to the sheet, his breathing ragged, his chest tight. He slowly pulled it back.
Her face was calm—too calm. As if she were merely sleeping. But the bruises on her forehead, the dried blood at her temple, told him otherwise.
His breath hitched. His vision blurred.
"Baby, wake up," he whispered, his voice breaking. "We've got a wedding tomorrow. You can't do this to me. You can't—"
His knees buckled, and for the first time in his life, Kc Page, the indestructible, the powerful, broke.
A single sob tore from his throat.
A child. His child.
His palm was shaking as he reached for the curve of Vanessa's stomach, over the small bulge holding a life that would never breathe air.
"She was seven weeks," he rasped. His lips were trembling. "I—I never even got to hold them."
Someone came into the room. The doctor. A uniformed policeman coughed from behind him.
"Mr. Page," the officer said, his voice flat. "I'm sorry for your loss. But the investigation has concluded. It was ruled an accident."
Kc slowly lifted his head, his eyes dark and hollow. "An accident?" His voice was razor-sharp, laced with quiet fury.
"Yes, sir. There was no sign of foul play. The driver of the other vehicle—"
"Who?"
Kc's voice snapped like a whip.
The officer hesitated. "Valeria Jayne."
Everything around Kc fell silent.
The name rang out in his head like a death knell.
Valeria Jayne.
The world's most famous runway model. A face adored by millions.
The woman who had just stolen everything from him.
"Where is she?" Kc's voice was lethal.
The officer shifted uncomfortably. "We had no cause to detain her. There was no evidence of impairment or driving reckless. She was let go but in the hospital because of injuries she suffered."
Released. And taken in the hospital.
His blood had turned to ice. His hands clenched into fists so tight nails dug into his palms, drawing blood.
"They let her go?" His whisper was barely above a whisper but full of something terrorizing.
"Mr. Page," continued the officer, "we feel your pain. However, there's no legal case. It was an accident."
Kc let out a low, hollow laugh. A dead, soulless sound.
"An accident?" Kc's eyes burned as he stared down at Vanessa's lifeless body.
"My life was ruined tonight officer, and you're telling me this was a mistake?"Silence.
The policeman's lips had parted as if he was about to say something. Instead, he thrust a deep breath, nodded earnestly, and stepped out of the room.
Kc remained frozen in place, staring at Vanessa, his hands shaking in agony.
He reached into his pocket and then pulled out the engagement ring that was to be on her finger tomorrow.
With a hand that was now shaking, he slid it onto her finger. His vision had clouded over with tears.
"I love you, baby," he whispered hoarsely, pressing his lips to her icy fingers. "And I promise you, this isn't over."
As he straightened, something inside him changed.
His grief turned into something darker.
Something deadly.
If the law wouldn't punish Valeria Jayne…
Then he would.
The walls of St. Joseph's Hospital closed in on him. The smell of antiseptic death filled all the air."Kc—"
Ethan tried to intervene, but Kc was already moving.
And then he saw her.
Valeria Jayne.
She sat on a hospital bed with her left arm in a sling, bruised face and a torn lower lip.
Her Auburn hair was tousled, very different from the boxed unapproachable form she presented to the outside world.
None of it mattered.
None of it would be enough to make Kc view her as anything but the killer of his fiancée.
Her red-rimmed eyes rose, and when she met his, something flared in them—guilt. Fear.
Good.
She ought to be afraid.
She opens her mouth, her voice weak, shaking. "Mr. Page, I—"
Before she could finish, Kc moved so fast she flinched.
His hands slams onto the tray beside her bed, rattling the metal against the floor.
The nurses near her gasp.
But nobody dares to intervene.
"Don't," he snarled. "Don't you dare say my name with that filthy mouth of yours."
Valeria's breath hitches, but she holds his gaze, lips quivering.
"I—I'm so sorry—"
"Sorry?" His voice spat venom. He laughed, hollow, bitter. "You killed them. And you think 'sorry' is enough?"
Tears welled in her eyes but Kc had no mercy.
He came closer, his voice low, dangerous. "My bride was supposed to walk down the aisle tomorrow. Our child--my child--wasn't even born yet, wasn't even due for nine months."
His voice cracked slightly, but anger hardened his words over his grief.
"And now, they're both in the morgue. Because of you."
Valeria swallowed hard, her lips trembling. "I--It was an accident, I swear--"
"An accident?" Kc repeated mockingly.
"Then why are you still breathing while they're rotting in a fucking cold storage unit?"
A tear slid down her cheek.
Kc tilted his head, watching her with disgust.
"You want to cry?"
His voice sank to an unholy whisper.
"Go on. Cry as much as you want. You will never shed as many tears as I do over my child."
Silence.
Then Kc's voice became ice cold.
"I'll make sure you never have a peaceful night again, Valeria Jayne.
I'll make sure you remember this day all your life.Valeria clasped the blanket over her lap, and it quivered.
For she knew — this wasn't the end. This was just the beginning. The chemical, starchy smell of the hospital room seemed to adhere itself to Kc's skin as he stood rooted, gazing at Valeria, who lay in the bed, wide eyes full of fright. She lay there, wearing a sling, her face beaten, but not nearly so beat as the rampage in Kc's eyes was.She still lived.
She was still breathing.
But she was the reason his world was shattered.
Kc's lips curved up into a sickening grin, a smile that wasn't reassuring. His final view was the clicking of the door turning into a room where it shut right behind him before he hunched closer over Valeria, his cold stare never leaving her petrified eyes.
"Do you have any notion," Kc's voice was so low, almost a whisper, but it packed the punch of a freight train, "how much I abhor you at this precise moment?"
Valeria took a step back, but she didn't have anywhere to retreat.
Her quivering lips opened. "Mr. Page, please, I—"
He looked up and raised a hand to silence her.
"Don't."
His voice acidic. "I don't need to hear your weak excuses. Your lies. Your whimpers of apology."He leaned in, pressed his space against hers, crushing, suffocating her with his presence.
"Do you think a sorry is going to bring my fiancée back? Do you think it's going to bring my child back?" His voice cracked like a whip.
Valeria's eyes brimmed over with tears, but she did not let herself blink away from him.
Once again, she opened her mouth, but Kc's anger smashed into her head.
"Shut up!" His voice thundered, shaking the room. The nurses probably heard it from outside, but they would never dare to come in.
"Do you have any idea, Valeria, what it feels like to lose everything in one night?" To wake up and realize your whole fucking future is gone? That the woman you were going to marry is dead? That your baby's never going to see the light of day?
Valeria winced, but Kc didn't care.
He dropped down before her, holding her chin hard enough to make her wince. She tried to pull back, but he had her clamped in his iron grip.
"Look at me," he growled.
She forced herself to meet his eyes.
"You took them from me. You killed them." Kc's voice was cold, flat, but his eyes-those eyes were furious and grieved. "And now you sit here in the hospital bed as if you had not destroyed all of my life."
Valeria quivered with the look upon her, as if her heart were racing against her chest.
"I don't give a damn whether you're feeling sorry or not," Kc spat. "Your tears don't bother me. Your wounds and guilt don't concern me. You don't deserve my compassion. You don't deserve anything from me."
She opened her mouth to speak, but Kc's hand shot up, stopping her.
"I'm not done". His voice sounded numb, conclusion. "You will never know what hell I'm facing now. You'll never know how it is waking up every morning without the reason to breathe for the reason because the woman you loved, and the child that you were going to raise had been taken from you."
He leaned in closer, his breath hot against her face. "You think a broken arm and a few bruises make up for what you've done? You think I'm supposed to feel bad for you? For the bitch who killed my family?"
Valeria's face paled, and for the first time, Kc saw something real in her eyes. Not arrogance. Not defiance.
Fear.
A sick satisfaction filled him as he watched her squirm. He lapped it in.
"You are a pathetic excuse for a human being," he hissed, cutting into her with his words. "You have everything-beauty, fame, wealth. And you still managed to destroy me."
Kc stood up, pent anger inside him like pent flames. "I don't care if you beg," he said. "I don't care if you cry. I don't care if you rot in this bed for the rest of your life."
His eyes darkened. "But I'll make sure you never find peace again, you will never be able to look in the mirror and not think of me. Not know that I am the reason you're going to lose everything. Career. Sanity. Fucking mind."
Valeria's mouth opened, but she didn't say a word. She couldn't.
Kc had now become unstoppable; a man bursting with hatred and thirst for vengeance that consumed his soul fully.
He stepped closer so that she felt his breath on the skin surface; that warmth sent an icy breeze down to the bones. "You really think I'd just walk away and forget? You think the law's going to protect you from me?" He sneered, taking several steps back."You’re nothing to me now. But I’m everything to you."
Valeria blinked rapidly, her hands trembling. She knew he meant every word. The realization settled like a stone in her chest."You want to know what I’m going to do to you, Valeria?" Kc’s voice dropped, menacing and low."I'm going to destroy you. Bit by bit. Until there's nothing left of the flawless, untouchable Valeria Jayne. I'm going to make you beg for mercy. And when you do, I'll make sure you remember me."His lips curled into a cruel, vicious smile. "You can't escape me."Valeria swallowed hard, a tear slipping down her cheek. She didn't speak. She couldn't. The words wouldn't come.Kc took one last, long look at her before he turned, his footsteps heavy as he strode toward the door.Before he left, he paused, his back to her."Oh, and Valeria," he called without turning around. "I want you to know one thing. You're going to wish you were never born."With that, he walked out, leaving Valeria shattered and broken, a woman who had never known true terror until now.Cold forma
A voice sliced through the silence.Kc didn't let go."You are hurting our model!" Manager Kim's voice was firm, protective. He stepped forward, placing himself between Kc and Valeria. "This is unacceptable!"For a long second, silence hung in the air.Then, without a word, Kc let go.Valeria fell back onto the bed, coughing violently, clutching her throat.Kc turned on his heel, his steps slow, controlled, deadly.Valeria sat there, unable to do anything as he left the room. The door shut behind him, clicking into place.Her body slumped in defeat, fingers pressing against bruises forming on her throat.Her heart pounded hard against her ribs.This was not over.It was just the beginning.When she was about to leave the hospital, she thought KC had just left after their confrontation. The fresh air felt foreign to Valeria as she stepped outside. She was free. She could leave. She had to—"Get in the car, now," Manager Kim ordered, guiding her toward the vehicle. "We’re leaving before
She could cry all she wanted.She could kneel and beg, she could throw herself at his mercy.It would never be enough.Because Vanessa was still dead.And so was their child.And until he made sure Valeria Jayne felt the same pain he felt.This was far from over.Not even close.Valeria wants to genuinely apologize to the mourning parents of Vanessa. Valeria knelt on the cold tile floor, shivering. The sterilized smell of antiseptic mixed with the unbearable scent of death, hugging her in a noose. She could not breathe. Her swollen eyes stared at the lifeless body of Vanessa covered in a white sheet except on her face. A face that would never smile again, never speak, and never wake up.And next to her. Vanessa's parents. Her mother, her eyes red-rimmed, overflowing with tears, sat without speaking, her fingers curled around the edge of the steel table on which lay Vanessa. Her father slumped into his chair, shoulders collapsing as if the air had been sucked out of him. Their daughter
It was a cold, harsh night.Valeria's legs crawled leadenly, her every step weighed with the burden of regret pressing against her chest. Her legs trembled under her, fighting to support her in the face of the suffocating pain inside her heart.When she came out of the morgue, her vision was downward-cast, the tears streaming out involuntarily veiling her sight. She had apologized but that was never enough. Never was anything going to be enough.With her, Manager Kim also came in silence. The usually composed and professional man appeared. shattered. He could see in Valeria the shreds of the woman he remembered—the woman who built an empire of beauty, elegance, and grace, now nothing but a hollow, shaking shell.The parking lot lay before her, lit by the cold glow of the streetlights. The finished, black cars, the polished, shiny cars, only made her think about what she had lost—and what she had gained. The life of an innocent woman. The life of an unborn child.But there was somethi
Manager Kim retreated, his distrustful eyes widening. His mind reeled trying to understand what she'd stated. "You're telling me someone did this intentionally Valeria?"Valeria nodded, went back to sobbing. "Yes. I did not know. I did not know it too late. Now I—I know what they've done. I could have been stopped, I swear to, Manager Kim. I tried to, I had to, but it wasn't enough. Now. now they are dead."Her crying tore across the still night, and her entire body tensed with the weight of the world."Valeria…" Manager Kim whispered, his voice weighed with sympathy. "Who would do this to you? Who would want to destroy you?"Valeria winced, her own face mirroring the desperation within. "I don't know what happen… but I didn't do it. I didn't do it Manager Kim," Valeria stuttered, her voice shaking.She again shuddered from him and screamed at the top of her voice.Valeria's sobs shook her body as her words became more hysterical, fractured, frantic. The weight of her shame, the crush
He took a deep breath, his eyes focusing slightly. "We have to go, Valeria. We have to get back to the hotel. There is nothing more that can be done here."Valeria's head shook. Her body racked in sobs. "I cannot go back. I cannot leave. I cannot see people. I don't deserve to exist after all I have done." She sounded a note of agony. "I killed them. I killed them, and I can never restore them back."Manager Kim didn't say anything for a second. He allowed her to cry, allowed her to have her words drowned out in tears. But he couldn't let her lose herself entirely."Listen to me," he told her, his tone firm but quiet. "You don't get to choose your destiny today. The world will judge you for what you've done, but you don't get to take your life, either. There's still more that you have to do, Valeria. You need to make things right. You need to face what's ahead, whether you want to or not."Valeria looked up at him, her expression twisted with anguish. "I don't know how to meet it," sh
Justice. He was close to laughing at the very word. What did justice mean anymore, really? What did it serve to punish Valeria when nothing ever would have restored Vanessa to the world? To think of sitting in front of her once again in court, watching her plead for mercy and crying, made him all the angrier.But sitting there, the chill of his thoughts bearing down on him, another voice called out in his mind. His friend Liam's voice."Kc, you need to let go. This rage. it'll consume you. You've got to think about what's remaining. Don't give her the satisfaction."It was so difficult to listen to Liam, to hear him speak of moving on when the future Kc had envisioned was now empty. His dreams, his aspirations—they were all lost. And no amount of Valeria's apologies, no amount of times she kneeling by him, was going to restore his family.How could you do this?" Kc muttered to himself, desperation in his voice.He needed to scream at the world. He needed to protest the injustice of it
Justice. He was close to laughing at the very word. What did justice mean anymore, really? What did it serve to punish Valeria when nothing ever would have restored Vanessa to the world? To think of sitting in front of her once again in court, watching her plead for mercy and crying, made him all the angrier.But sitting there, the chill of his thoughts bearing down on him, another voice called out in his mind. His friend Liam's voice."Kc, you need to let go. This rage. it'll consume you. You've got to think about what's remaining. Don't give her the satisfaction."It was so difficult to listen to Liam, to hear him speak of moving on when the future Kc had envisioned was now empty. His dreams, his aspirations—they were all lost. And no amount of Valeria's apologies, no amount of times she kneeling by him, was going to restore his family.How could you do this?" Kc muttered to himself, desperation in his voice.He needed to scream at the world. He needed to protest the injustice of it
He took a deep breath, his eyes focusing slightly. "We have to go, Valeria. We have to get back to the hotel. There is nothing more that can be done here."Valeria's head shook. Her body racked in sobs. "I cannot go back. I cannot leave. I cannot see people. I don't deserve to exist after all I have done." She sounded a note of agony. "I killed them. I killed them, and I can never restore them back."Manager Kim didn't say anything for a second. He allowed her to cry, allowed her to have her words drowned out in tears. But he couldn't let her lose herself entirely."Listen to me," he told her, his tone firm but quiet. "You don't get to choose your destiny today. The world will judge you for what you've done, but you don't get to take your life, either. There's still more that you have to do, Valeria. You need to make things right. You need to face what's ahead, whether you want to or not."Valeria looked up at him, her expression twisted with anguish. "I don't know how to meet it," sh
Manager Kim retreated, his distrustful eyes widening. His mind reeled trying to understand what she'd stated. "You're telling me someone did this intentionally Valeria?"Valeria nodded, went back to sobbing. "Yes. I did not know. I did not know it too late. Now I—I know what they've done. I could have been stopped, I swear to, Manager Kim. I tried to, I had to, but it wasn't enough. Now. now they are dead."Her crying tore across the still night, and her entire body tensed with the weight of the world."Valeria…" Manager Kim whispered, his voice weighed with sympathy. "Who would do this to you? Who would want to destroy you?"Valeria winced, her own face mirroring the desperation within. "I don't know what happen… but I didn't do it. I didn't do it Manager Kim," Valeria stuttered, her voice shaking.She again shuddered from him and screamed at the top of her voice.Valeria's sobs shook her body as her words became more hysterical, fractured, frantic. The weight of her shame, the crush
It was a cold, harsh night.Valeria's legs crawled leadenly, her every step weighed with the burden of regret pressing against her chest. Her legs trembled under her, fighting to support her in the face of the suffocating pain inside her heart.When she came out of the morgue, her vision was downward-cast, the tears streaming out involuntarily veiling her sight. She had apologized but that was never enough. Never was anything going to be enough.With her, Manager Kim also came in silence. The usually composed and professional man appeared. shattered. He could see in Valeria the shreds of the woman he remembered—the woman who built an empire of beauty, elegance, and grace, now nothing but a hollow, shaking shell.The parking lot lay before her, lit by the cold glow of the streetlights. The finished, black cars, the polished, shiny cars, only made her think about what she had lost—and what she had gained. The life of an innocent woman. The life of an unborn child.But there was somethi
She could cry all she wanted.She could kneel and beg, she could throw herself at his mercy.It would never be enough.Because Vanessa was still dead.And so was their child.And until he made sure Valeria Jayne felt the same pain he felt.This was far from over.Not even close.Valeria wants to genuinely apologize to the mourning parents of Vanessa. Valeria knelt on the cold tile floor, shivering. The sterilized smell of antiseptic mixed with the unbearable scent of death, hugging her in a noose. She could not breathe. Her swollen eyes stared at the lifeless body of Vanessa covered in a white sheet except on her face. A face that would never smile again, never speak, and never wake up.And next to her. Vanessa's parents. Her mother, her eyes red-rimmed, overflowing with tears, sat without speaking, her fingers curled around the edge of the steel table on which lay Vanessa. Her father slumped into his chair, shoulders collapsing as if the air had been sucked out of him. Their daughter
A voice sliced through the silence.Kc didn't let go."You are hurting our model!" Manager Kim's voice was firm, protective. He stepped forward, placing himself between Kc and Valeria. "This is unacceptable!"For a long second, silence hung in the air.Then, without a word, Kc let go.Valeria fell back onto the bed, coughing violently, clutching her throat.Kc turned on his heel, his steps slow, controlled, deadly.Valeria sat there, unable to do anything as he left the room. The door shut behind him, clicking into place.Her body slumped in defeat, fingers pressing against bruises forming on her throat.Her heart pounded hard against her ribs.This was not over.It was just the beginning.When she was about to leave the hospital, she thought KC had just left after their confrontation. The fresh air felt foreign to Valeria as she stepped outside. She was free. She could leave. She had to—"Get in the car, now," Manager Kim ordered, guiding her toward the vehicle. "We’re leaving before
Valeria blinked rapidly, her hands trembling. She knew he meant every word. The realization settled like a stone in her chest."You want to know what I’m going to do to you, Valeria?" Kc’s voice dropped, menacing and low."I'm going to destroy you. Bit by bit. Until there's nothing left of the flawless, untouchable Valeria Jayne. I'm going to make you beg for mercy. And when you do, I'll make sure you remember me."His lips curled into a cruel, vicious smile. "You can't escape me."Valeria swallowed hard, a tear slipping down her cheek. She didn't speak. She couldn't. The words wouldn't come.Kc took one last, long look at her before he turned, his footsteps heavy as he strode toward the door.Before he left, he paused, his back to her."Oh, and Valeria," he called without turning around. "I want you to know one thing. You're going to wish you were never born."With that, he walked out, leaving Valeria shattered and broken, a woman who had never known true terror until now.Cold forma
The night before the wedding. Brilliant attorney and trillionaire CEO of Page and Associates Law Firm stood in front of the magnificent penthouse window over a city that Kc Page ruled over, all that gleaming in promises from that very skyline which was made under precise and thoughtful plans of the one. He will be married the next day and will become a father the soonest after that. Life unfolds precisely to plans.And his phone rang.And his phone rang.One call. One silence, before the storm."Kc… "The voice on the other end was tight, trembling. His best friend, Ethan."It's Vanessa."A cold heart. "What about Vanessa?"A pause, of its own. The kind where something can't be said."There was. an accident."The world cracked. Kc clutched at the edge of his desk, his knuckles white."What kind of accident?" His voice was unnervingly calm, but something inside him was already breaking.Ethans breath shuddered. "She—she didn't make it, Kc."The words were a blade, twisting deep into hi