Chapter 3

Anastasia's POV 

Rage surged through me, "What are you doing?" I shouted, my voice echoing off the cold walls. 

Antonio looked up, his smirk annoyingly calm, while Jane barely glanced my way, her indifference cutting deeper than any blade.

"What does it look like we are doing?" Antonio asked shamelessly, gazing at me with disgust. 

"Have you no shame and respect for my father?" I spoke through my teeth, my wolf screaming to let out. 

He smirked cruelly and barked out a cold laugh, gazing at me menacingly, "You looked so pathetic and disgusting." 

My eyes brimmed with hot tears and rage clouded my sense of reasoning. Without thinking, I lunged at Antonio, my hand flying towards his face. But he was faster, stronger than me. He caught my wrist mid-air and twisted it, pain shooting up my arm and I winced in pain. 

"Don't you dare," he hissed, his grip like iron. Tears of pain and humiliation welled up in my eyes as I struggled to break free, but it was no use. He was overpowering me. My heart, however, hurt more than my flesh.

Stephanie's laughter was a cruel soundtrack to my humiliation. "You're a dirty slut," she sneered, her eyes filled with disdain. "Always so dramatic. No wonder everyone thinks so little of you." her voice filled with bitterness and hatred. 

My father, who had been lying in bed with his frail body that was barely covered by the thin hospital gown, suddenly gasped. His eyes widened in horror at the scene unfolding before him.

 "Stop... Stop it!" he cried weakly, trying to rise. But the effort was too much. He collapsed back onto the bed, his face went pale. 

Panic gripped me as I rushed to his side. "Dad, please, don't do this to me, wake up!!!" I cried in agony, My voice breaking as the pain in my heart was indescribable, making tears and snot run down my face.  

But he was slipping away, the stress of our confrontation proving too much for his weakened heart. 

Antonio and Stephanie glanced at each other and chuckled at me devilishly, their eyes on me menacingly, showing no sign of mercy or remorse. They both spat on me and left. 

I wept heavily, My heart felt like it was being pierced by a thousand arrows. I screamed out, calling on the doctors as I kept on shaking my father, asking him to wake up. 

The room erupted into chaos as nurses and doctors stormed in, shouting orders and pushing me aside.

I stood there, numb and trembling, my eyes brimming with hot tears as I watched them working to save him. But deep down, I knew. This could be the end.

"You have to excuse us, Ms. Anastasia." The doctor ordered and with a heavy heart, I left and stood outside the room, watching them through the glass door. 

Hours later, I sat alone in the hospital corridor, my mind replaying the horrific events. 

A doctor finally approached, his face grim. "Your father is stable for now," he said gently, "but he's in critical condition. Any more stress could be fatal."

I nodded, barely hearing him. My mind was spinning with the implications. 

How did it come to this? How had I allowed Antonio and Stephanie to penetrate our lives so deeply?

As I sat there, trying to gather my thoughts, Assistant Shirley appeared, her face etched with worry. "We need to talk," she said quietly, leading me to a quiet corner.

"What is it?" I asked, dread pooling in my stomach.

"It's Stephanie," Shirley said, her voice trembling. "She has called a board meeting to appoint Antonio as the temporary chairman of the company while your father is incapacitated. And... there's more."

I felt my heart quivering in fear, I braced myself, knowing that whatever came next would be devastating. "Go on," I urged, my voice barely a whisper.

"Stephanie has had you dismissed from the company," Shirley said, her eyes filled with sympathy. "She's claimed that your 'bad reputation' is harming the company's image."

I stared at her in a daze, not understanding. "What... What reputation are you talking about?"

Shirley handed me her phone, and my heart sank as I saw the scandalous photos plastered all over the internet. Photos of me, taken without my knowledge, in an intimate position with someone were all over the internet, painting me in the worst possible light.

"This... this can't be happening," I whispered, tears streaming down my face. 

"Who did this?"

"Who else if not Stephanie and Antonio," Shirley said softly. "They've orchestrated this to take control of the company."

The betrayal cut deep. What have my father and I done to them, what is our crime? 

I had trusted Antonio once and believed he cared for me. And Stephanie, father , loves her so much... she had always been cold to me but I never thought she'd stoop this low.

As I sat there, shattered and humiliated, memories of past traumas flooded back. The betrayals, the losses, the times I had been made to feel worthless. But this time, it was different. This time, it was my father's legacy at stake.

I wiped my tears, a new resolve hardening within me. 

"This is too much, they won't get away with this," I said, my voice stronger. "I will fight back with everything I have."

Shirley nodded, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "I'm with you," she said. "Whatever you need, I will make it happen."

Shirley left a few minutes later and I went into my father's hospital room. 

My heart ached in pain when I saw my father, lying almost lifeless on the bed, fighting for his life. 

Fresh tears streamed down my cheeks. I sat by my father's bedside, held his hand, and made a silent promise. 

"I would make them pay for everything they have done to us. I will fight for him. I would fight for us. I will protect my father's legacy and reclaim my dignity, And I will not back down until I make them pay."