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Valeria felt a lingering uneasiness as she saw Mrs. Stella going out of the room. “Why are you not responding, Markos? Do you want to die this painfully and slowly?”  She sat stiffly next to Markos and watched his striking features. “Respond to me please. I don’t want to do any of this but your silence is persuading me.” She stretched her hand out and waved it in front of his eyes.

"What's on your mind, Markos? Why aren’t you putting any effort into waking up?" She asked, but there was no response. Valeria felt a sudden pang of sadness. “Please, wake up. There are plenty of people wishing for your death. But I want you to wake up.” She whispered while caressing his cheek.

Her suffering was nothing compared to what he had to go through. "I hope you wake up soon, Markos. If these leeches in your family get their cold sleazy hands on all your money, you won't be able to die in peace." Markos closed his eyes slowly after that.

—-------------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Mrs. Stella called Valeria downstairs. The entire Moreno family was in the living room when Valeria arrived, and she proceeded to greet and serve tea to each family member. Stella looked pleased with Valeria's mannerisms and her genuine concern towards Markos. "How did you sleep last night, Valeria?" She inquired.

Valeria's cheeks flushed as she said, "Quite well." It was her first week with Markos and she wanted a positive response from Valeria. "That is great.I have something for you, Valeria.” Stella said as she opened up a purple gift box and passed it to Valeria. "This pendant complements your efforts. Do you like it?"

Valeria did not dare to reject the old woman in front of the whole family and immediately accepted her gift. “I do, thank you.” However she didn’t like the way she was being bribed in the name of her care and efforts. It was hard for her to accept that she was there just to produce a child for a handicap person who might never wake up.

"I know things are hard for you, Valeria. With Markos the way he is now, he isn’t able to provide for you. However, there's a way for you to have all of this and stay here forever. As his legal wife." said Rosalie as she began to reveal her plan. "Markos is running out of time and might never wake up as you know. He had always been busy with work and never had the time to date. All you have to do is have a child for him.”

Valeria stiffened upon hearing her words. A child of their own? "I'd like you to give Markos a child and continue his bloodline. In exchange you will get his name, legal status as his wife and his money." Rosalie finished. Valeria was stunned to hear that, and everyone else in the room had an equally shocked expression too.

"Mother, Markos has been in this state for quite a long time. He may be infertile now. You are putting this poor woman through so much stress for nothing." said Markos's eldest brother, Henry Moreno. While Valeria watched the whole scene to know the family conspiracy.

Markos was not dead yet, but everyone already had their eyes on his estate.

Rosalie chuckled and said, "Don’t you worry, Henry. I have a trick or two up my sleeve with the doctors for the task.. With Markos's vast estate, how could he not have an heir? I'll have Valeria give Markos a child.” At that moment, everyone's eyes immediately fell on Valeria.

"You're still studying, right, Valeria? Your studies will be affected if you get pregnant now." said Henry's wife. Valeria realised that no one there wanted her to have a child. It made her clear that James was also one of them as they all were leeches and were not ashamed of it.

Henry immediately agreed and said, "That's right! Valeria is still young. I doubt she's willing to give up on her studies for nothing and raise a child at home! That too alone.” Rosalie knew what her son and daughter-in-law were thinking. This was also the reason why she was adamant about ensuring Markos had an heir.

"No one has asked all of you for anything. Are you willing to have Markos's child, Valeria?" Rosalie asked Valeria. She did not hold back. "You should know that you and the child will inherit all of Markos's estate in the future. It's a fortune large enough for you and the child to live a comfortable life. No work. No contracts. No hassle." Markos might still be alive, but everyone was already coveting his property.

For that reason, she felt some sympathy for Markos and Rosalie. Having an heir would also be the perfect revenge on James for dumping her. And also because that would prevent him from getting a single dime of Markos's money. She was therefore willing to give it a try for her own personal gain and lavish lifestyle. 

"I'll do it," Valeria responded without hesitation. Once tea was over, Valeria walked out of the room and prepared to return to Markos’ room. It was the moment when James stopped her before she could leave. Valeria felt sick to her stomach at the sight of James's face.

James made sure no one was around, then said, "You're breaking my heart, Valeria! Only if I knew what kind of woman you were. Hah! You never let me touch you the entire time we were dating. And now here you are, you've agreed to give birth to Uncle Markos's kid!"

"Giving him a child means getting his estate, his name and the lifestyle I want. Why shouldn't I do it, especially when you have ridiculed me in public? You were the one who left me at the altar, James." Valeria snickered as she deliberately chose words that would hurt him. Sure enough, James became agitated.

"It's not a bad idea, we can do it together. You know you can have my kid and you can say it's Uncle Markos'. This way you don’t have to have sex with such a corpse. The child would still belong to the Moreno family. Even if my grandmother gets angry, she would never make you abort it." The sneer on Valeria's face instantly vanished.

"I am actually glad you left me, James. At least this way I can see how disgusting you are. Keep your cunning schemes to yourself." Valeria warned. "I heard that the people Markos used to deal with are a ruthless bunch. As long as he's breathing, his minions will be waiting for him to wake up.”

“And who said that I would prefer to have sex with you instead?” Valeria's words were like a wave of ice-cold water, chilling James to his core. He knew better than anyone else that each one of his uncle's people was more ruthless than the last. The fact that they had kept a low profile after Markos's accident was not an indication that they were not around anymore.