“Get up and leave this room quickly if you want your daughter to live.” Leonardo said firmly; he looked very scary.“Please don't kill her, sir.”“Didn't you hear my order?!” Leonardo's tone of voice rose.Hearing Leonardo's growing anger, Dante feared that his temper would soon explode and take out his frustration on Caterina. He didn't know what the man would do to his daughter. However, if he continued to be there, Caterina's life would be in danger. So, he had no choice but to get up and leave the room.Dante closed the door tightly at Leonardo's command. However, he didn't want to leave the room, so he waited behind the door. He put his ear to door leaf, trying to eavesdrop on what was going on in there.“Didn't Alex tell you to come see me?” Leonardo stared at Caterina like a predator staring at prey.“He told me.” Caterina replied casually.“Then why didn't you come to see me?”“I already know what you want to say, so I didn't need to come to see you.” Caterina glanced in all d
Once satisfied, Leonardo left Caterina alone. He walked out of the room without saying a word. The expression on his face was unpredictable. No one knew what exactly was in Leonardo's heart and mind, apart from himself.Caterina could only cry with her weak body lying on the floor. Some parts of her body were bruised and swollen, a sign that Leonardo had done it very roughly. She felt extreme pain and soreness in her groin. In her heart now there was only anger and hatred. The man she had been in love with for a dozen years had done something so hurtful to her. Not even Marco had done that to him.“Kate!” Dante ran into the room after Leonardo disappeared from there. The man ran over. His world seemed to collapse when he saw his daughter lying on the floor without clothes. His heart sank when he saw his daughter's body covered in wounds, as well as love juices. Even Caterina's inner thighs were stained with the blood of her hymen.Dante hugged his daughter with a trembling body. He wa
Caterina finally fell asleep after Dante treated her wound. There was a bigger wound depicted on Caterina's face. It was not a physical wound, but a mental wound that would never heal.Dante looked longingly at his daughter's face. His eyes were red, his chest tight. What kind of father was he to bring his daughter into such great danger?“I'm sorry, Kate.” Dante said in a hoarse, trembling voice. He rubbed his daughter's bruised face. It was still puffy, as Caterina had been crying the entire time until she fell asleep from exhaustion.Dante wrapped his arms around Caterina's body, then lovingly kissed his daughter's forehead. He felt sick when he remembered the last time he had kissed his daughter's forehead. Their time together was too short because he was too busy with work. When he realized, his daughter had grown up without affection.“I promised you that I would be a good father to you. I won't break my promise this time.” Dante said with emphasis, as if he were talking to hims
Caterina woke up when it was already noon. The hot sunlight sneaking in through the gap in the curtains made her eyes a little dazzling. She stretched for a moment, then rubbed her eyes. She got up to sit up. When she got up, she felt her whole body ache and hurt. Now she regained consciousness and remembered what happened last night. Remembering it all, Caterina became hysterical. She was scared, sad, and extremely frustrated.“Aaaarght!” Caterina screamed at the top of her lungs. She pulled her hair very roughly, hoping that it would make all the bad memories in her head disappear.The door to the room opened after the scream was heard outside. It was not Dante who appeared from behind the door, but a maid. The woman brought food for Caterina.Caterina stared intently. She trusted no one now but her father. There was no one she could trust anymore after the man she loved so much had violently raped her.“Madam, I brought you some fish soup and tomato juice as well.” The woman approa
Three days after the incident, Caterina's physical condition had started to improve, but not her mental state. The bruises on her face also seemed to have faded. She had not seen or crossed paths with Leonardo since the incident.If Dante was fine, they would plan their escape right now. However, Dante's condition did not allow it. He had difficulty walking. If they ran away and were chased by Leonardo, they would be caught immediately. Dante didn't want to make things worse.It seems that Caterina's escape this time must be planned very carefully. If she ran away unprepared like before, she would be caught again. Not only caught by Leonardo but also by Marco.“You don't have to think about me, Kate. Just think about yourself; it's okay if you want to run away. That bastard can vent his anger on me. I just want you to be safe and start a new life.” Dante tried to convince.However, Caterina didn't want to. If she left, then her father would have to go too. There was no need for a sacr
There was an explosion from the direction of the firearms storage warehouse. The explosion was so loud that it knocked down several sides of the warehouse. Several officers ran towards the scene. Caterina was running in that direction when she heard the screams of a man moaning in death.“What happened?”“Is there an intruder?”“He's seriously injured! Let's rush him to the infirmary!”“Tighten the guard!” “Inform Mr. Bianchi about this matter!”“Looks like the enemy is coming for us!”All sorts of comments and questions could be heard exchanged. The atmosphere turned into complete chaos. Fortunately, only one person was injured in this incident. Caterina immediately performed first aid to stop the bleeding. The man had already lost consciousness when Caterina asked him to be rushed to the treatment room.Caterina immediately put in an IV. She did her job very well, doing what she was supposed to do as a doctor. Her doctor's spirit was so well ingrained that she always moved very qui
Dante looked confused when his daughter suddenly asked him to run away. He was unprepared, plus his leg was still recovering. He would be happy if his daughter could get out of that place safely. However, if he came with such a condition, it would only be a burden for her. He did not want to trouble his daughter.“It will be easier if you go alone. I'm fine being alone here.” Dante tried to be reassuring. He didn't want to make things difficult for his daughter. After what Caterina had been through, he didn't want to make her life more difficult.“No, I'm not leaving you here.” Caterina emphasized. She stepped towards her father's closet. She opened the drawer inside the cupboard, then put her father's pile of money, cards, and valuables into a backpack. She carried the bag on her back, then turned toward her father. He helped Dante to his feet and stepped out of the room.“The base is crowded right now because of the recent explosion. It'll be hard to get out of here without getting
“I'm sorry.” Leonardo said weakly. He had repeated the words dozens of times since then. His palms were cold; his heart was beating very fast. He was really nervous now; he had never been this nervous in his life. Even when he had to deal with enemies, he never felt nervous. However, he felt extremely nervous when he was about to meet Caterina.“I—I... love you.” Leonardo stammered. His voice was weak and trembling. The sentence sounded like a mumble; he could barely even hear the words he was saying.Leonardo squeezed his fingers repeatedly. He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. The man was impatient; he had waited there long enough.Leonardo's sigh sounded so heavy. He opened the desk drawer and took out a pack of cigarettes from there. He fiddled with the pack repeatedly, wondering whether he should smoke or not. He needed the cigarettes to calm his mind, but he was afraid because Caterina didn't like cigarette smoke. He didn't want to disappoint her by offering her someth
"Why are you here?" Adam looked at his son with a probing look."Where else am I supposed to be? I need to go to the office to check my work after my two-week. There are a lot of files that I need to go through and sign off on. There's already a lot of cooperation pending. It's time for me to get back to work." Luka answered honestly."The work can be taken care of by others. There are many people who can be entrusted to take care of everything. You shouldn't have left Kate. She's still recovering." Adam seemed very concerned. Even now he was starting to be overprotective of his future daughter-in-law.Luka smiled a little. He hadn't expected that to be the reason his father had asked him about why he was at the office this morning. He thought it was something else; it was because he left Caterina for work."She's fine. She asked me to come back to work. I have Alex and Dante looking after her at home." Luka explained."That's good that you are. You check all these files and give them
Hearing Caterina's words, Dante felt very happy. He had never thought that his daughter would give him a chance. The man smiled broadly. He approached Caterina, then hugged her very tightly."I know I've made many mistakes. This time I promise I will make up for all my past mistakes. I will be a good father to you." Dante said with great tenderness.Caterina nodded; she returned her father's hug gently.Luka looked happy to see that Caterina and her father's relationship had improved. His dream of improving their relationship had finally come true. At least that was all he wanted for now."No one needs me to take you to the airport, right?" Alex asked reassuringly after he saw Caterina and Dante hugging each other. The two had made up."I guess," Dante replied as he released her hug."Daddy!" Shopia ran to her father. She clung to her father's thighs. In her arms was the doll she got from Adam. She still thought it was from Caterina."Who is she?" Dante asked as he looked at his daugh
"Dad?" Caterina was taken completely by surprise when she came out of the room to find Dante standing at the door. She was petrified for a moment, staring at her father with a mind filled with question marks. Since when had he been there? Why was he suddenly there? What was he doing there? All these questions ruled Caterina's mind."Kate..." Dante said weakly. His eyes looked teary. His whole body was trembling. He couldn't help but feel, even more so after he learned that Caterina had died and finally came back from the dead. He did not expect that his daughter would go through so many difficult times because of him."I'm sorry." Dante said in a hoarse and trembling voice. He hugged Caterina very tightly. His embrace even made Caterina moan because of the pain in her wound."I'm sorry." Dante released the hug because he did not want to hurt his daughter further. He gently rubbed Caterina's shoulders. A knot of a smile appeared on his lips. However, his eyes were moist from crying.Wh
"I can help you if you want. You don't have to spend your time in prison. No one knows how long you'll be locked up there." The man in the formal suit spoke with emphasis. He had travelled from Mexico to Sydney after learning that Leonardo was involved in a criminal offense and had to deal with the law.If he had wanted to, Leonardo would have relied on his connections to get all charges dropped. However, he did not want to do that, as he realized that he was wrong. Moreover, Caterina forgave without wanting to prolong. He felt ashamed, angry, and disappointed in himself. There were countless mistakes he had made. There was no telling how much pain Caterina had received. He wanted to make up for all his mistakes, at least by being locked up in a detention cell for a few months."You don't have to do that. I wanted this." Leonardo replied expressionlessly.The man was quite surprised by Leonardo's refusal. How could he? How could he voluntarily submit himself to trial? He was the ruler
After a week in the hospital, Caterina was finally allowed to go home under the condition that she must always be under the doctor's care. Her pale face had also started to look fresh. Luka had really taken good care of her during her hospitalization. He even neglected his work during this week. For him, Caterina was more important than work. Even Adam also preferred to be in the hospital rather than working."Slow down." Luka said gently as he helped Caterina out of the car. He carried her, half-hugging her, to step into the house."Mommy!" Shopia ran over when she saw Caterina had finally returned. She hugged Caterina's legs very tightly, as there was a lot of longing building up."Where are the souvenirs, Mommy?" Shopia looked up, looking at Caterina with sparkling eyes. Her face looked radiant, a sweet smile gracing her lips. She didn't know anything about what had happened to Caterina, because Adam had told her that Luka and Caterina were travelling to Mexico for a week to take c
Caterina woke up in the morning when the doctor came to check her condition. She had slept very well the whole night, due to the effects of the medicine the doctor had given her. The woman frowned as she felt the glare of the light. Her eyes narrowed to look around. She was quite surprised to find Adam there."Uncle?" Caterina called out weakly.Adam approached with a smile. He felt guilty for all the things he had done to Caterina in the past. He felt guilty for hurting her. If he had known that Caterina was a victim of Leonardo's selfishness, he would never have antagonized her. He would have loved her with all his heart and regarded her as his own daughter."Stop calling me uncle; call me father from now on." Adam said with great tenderness. He rubbed the top of Caterina's head, the look in his eyes showing that he had truly accepted Caterina completely.Caterina smiled with a gentle nod. She was very happy with Adam's behavior because she felt as if she had a loving father. All th
"Kate! Where's Kate?" Adam ran in breathlessly. The whole city of Sydney recognized the middle-aged man. So, the security guards and doctors didn't dare to hold him back or reprimand him. The man looked very panicked, his face and eyes full of worry. Fortunately, he had not heard the news about Caterina's death. He had only heard from his men that Caterina was being treated at the hospital for being shot in her vitals.The door opened with Adam appearing behind it. The man looked at Caterina, who was sleeping on a hospital bed in the VIP room. There were numerous devices attached to her body."Dad?" Luka was surprised to see his father there. His brow furrowed, he looked around. His father had come alone."Why are you here?" Luka asked in a tone demanding an answer. He had told his men to keep this matter a secret from Adam or Shopia. Why was his father suddenly there?"Do you think I'm that cruel? I told you that I have recognized Kate as my daughter-in-law. Why would you keep a matt
"I'll take care of the administration so that we can take Kate's body directly to the crematorium for cremation." Alex said with a trembling voice. The man could not even believe that Caterina had died. The woman he had thought of as his only remaining family had left him.Alex took a weak step. His face was puffy and red. He was deeply lost and grieved over Caterina's death. There was no sentence that could describe his feelings at the moment. He even had to take care of the hospital administration when he was in such a state of grief."No! You can't take her to the cremation ground!" Luka said in a high tone. "Kate is still alive. Her body is still warm." He continued to deny. Perhaps because of his deep love, he couldn't accept reality.Alex ignored that sentence. He knew that what Luka was saying right now was just an expression of his pain. The longer he heard Luka's cries, the deeper his pain would become as he realized that he would never see Caterina again."Where am I?" The w
Hearing the doctor's words, Luka felt like his life was over. His heart stopped beating for a few seconds. He could not believe that Caterina was really dead. How could that be? This morning he was still joking with Caterina. He had only left her for a few hours because Caterina was going to choose a wedding dress. They were going to get married in the near future, but now it looked like it would never happen. This was because the bride-to-be was gone.Luka fell to his knees on the floor. He couldn't even cry because he was too shocked to hear the news. His face looked very pale, his eyes wide open.Alex immediately ran into the room. He ran over to Caterina. His tears immediately broke after he saw the pale face of Caterina who was sleeping on the operating bed. The eyes were now tightly closed. Her beautiful face looked very pale."Kate! You can't die! Who gave you permission to die?!" Leonardo's screams sounded so heartbreaking. He shook Caterina's body, hoping that she would rise