Chapter Nine: The Offer
Chapter Nine: The Offer
ANNA
The first thing I felt was softness. A bed, plush, warm, almost too comfortable. Nothing like the backseat of my car where I had spent a night, cold and stiff, the leather digging into my skin. Here, the mattress seemed to cradle me, tempting me to sink deeper.
But the moment I tried shifting, pain lanced through my body, sharp and merciless. A groan escaped my lips. My eyes fluttered open, the room swimming into focus. For a second, everything felt foreign. Wrong.
My heart thudded hard against my ribs. The silk sheets, the faint fragrance of lavender in the air, the luxury that pressed in from every corner, and the questions swirling through my mind, was I back at the Donovan mansion? Back in Abel’s house?
The thought alone made me jolt upright, but a searing sting shot through my arm, forcing a gasp out of me. My gaze snapped down.
A needle was taped to my skin, attached to a clear tube leading to an IV drip. The slow, steady drip of fluid slipped into my vein, cold and clinical.
But this wasn’t a hospital. I knew that instantly.
The room was too extravagant, too polished. High ceilings, velvet curtains pooled against the floor, the soft hum of central heating filling the silence. Even the air smelled expensive. This was not a sterile hospital ward. This was someone’s private mansion.
But whose?
My mind scrambled back to the last thing I remembered, the alley, the men, the fists raining down on me. And then… her. The woman. A flash of sharp eyes and a voice cutting through the chaos before the darkness swallowed me whole.
Did she bring me here?
I glanced down at my body. My wounds had been dressed, stitched neatly, bandaged with precision. Someone had taken care of me. Someone who knew exactly what they were doing.
The door creaked open, and my eyes darted to it, heart thudding at whoever might walk in. A man stepped inside, his white coat giving him away instantly. A doctor. His expression was calm, reassuring, too reassuring. He smiled faintly when his gaze landed on me and moved closer to the bed.
“Oh, you’re awake,” he said, his tone calm and reassuring.
I swallowed, clearing my throat. “Yes.”
He adjusted the IV stand beside me, checking the flow and the monitor clipped to my finger. His hands moved with practiced ease, pressing lightly against my wrist to feel my pulse before jotting something down on the chart at the foot of the bed.
“Where am I? Who brought me here?” I asked weakly, my voice breaking.
“Ma’am, you’re safe. If that's what you are worried about.” he replied with a polite smile. “I’ll call Madam Gloria and let her know you’re awake. She’s the one who can answer that better than I can.”
I gave a slow nod, sinking back against the pillow.
“Please, try to stay on the bed so the stitches heal properly,” he added, carefully removing the IV from my hand. “Your treatment is complete, and your body’s recovering well. How are you feeling now?”
“Still weak and sore,” I admitted, “but… much better than before.”
Then the thought struck me like lightning. My baby.
“What of…” I broke off, clutching my belly protectively. Fear crawled up my spine. What if this was Selena’s doing? What if Flora was involved too? What if they were just trying to patch me up, only to hurt me again later? I couldn’t risk letting them know about the baby until I knew who was behind this.
The doctor’s gaze flickered briefly to my stomach before softening. “Your child is fine. Strong, even. With all the stress your body endured, the baby held on without any harm.”
Relief flooded me, warm and overwhelming. I exhaled shakily, the weight on my chest easing for the first time.
The doctor finished his checks, straightened the chart, and with a professional nod, excused himself. The room fell into silence for a few minutes until the door opened again.
A middle-aged woman stepped in, her presence immediately filling the room. She was dressed in a flowing gown that spoke of wealth and elegance, her every step graceful, deliberate. The moment her eyes landed on me, her lips curved into a smile.
“You’re awake,” she said warmly, her voice smooth yet steady. “And looking much better than before.”
She crossed the room and sat near me. I pushed myself upright against the pillows, watching her carefully. She didn’t look familiar. She didn’t look cruel either but I’d learned the hard way that appearances meant nothing.
“Who are you?” I asked, my voice guarded.
She reached for my hand, holding it gently. “I’m Gloria Serrano,” she said, her smile deepening.
The familiarity of the name hit me. Serrano. Everyone knew that name. The Serrano Corporation. Number one in the world. Ruthless. Untouchable. Infamous.
“And I’m glad you’re alive. Glad your baby is safe too,” she added softly.
I jerked my hand back, suspicion tightening my chest. “What do you want with me? Did Selena send you? Or Flora? Or Elena? Or the Donovans?”
Her smile faltered, and her back straightened, the softness in her gaze sharpening instantly. “No. I am not one of those who hurt you.”
Her voice cut through the air like a blade, firm and commanding. “I am Gloria Serrano. I built the Serrano empire from the ground up. You’ve heard my name. My achievements. My… notoriety.” Her lips twitched, as though the word amused her. “I’ve been withdrawn from the public eye these past years, but make no mistake, I am still known.”
My eyes widened, disbelief washing over me. Her corporation was the first in the world. She was a legend. A ghost people only whispered about. Why was I here with her? Why would she help me?
“Oh my God,” I whispered. “You… You've been my inspiration, Madame Serrano. My role model. I wanted to study finance because of you but…” My voice broke, the memory slicing me open. “I gave it all up. For him. For Abel. For someone who threw me away for my stepsister.”
Pain flared in my chest, sharp and raw. “But why? Why are you helping me?”
Her eyes softened, but her voice carried a weight that pressed against my ribs. “Because you remind me of myself.” She leaned forward, her gaze unflinching. “Once, I gave everything to a man too. And he betrayed me. Left me, for my blood sister. I fought. I bled. And in the end, I lost the only thing I couldn’t replace.” Her jaw tightened, her voice lowering. “My womb.”
My hand flew to my stomach instinctively, cradling it protectively. If I lost my unborn child, if Abel’s betrayal cost me that, I would burn the world to ashes.
Her eyes glistened, though her smile was bitter. “They’re dead now. Both of them. But not before living a miserable, rotting life together. He came crawling back to me once. Begging. Pathetic.” She exhaled sharply, shaking her head. “I crushed him under my heel.”
I couldn’t breathe. Every word she said mirrored the agony inside me.
“You remind me of myself, Anna,” she said again. “So I am here. Not to harm you. To build you. To help you rise above them. If you will let me in.”
My lips parted, but words refused to come. My mind swirled with everything I had endured, the rejection, the humiliation, the nights of emptiness in my car, the bruises still stitched into my skin.
“How… how do you even know me?” I whispered.
She smiled faintly. “I have a friend. Someone who likes you. Someone who only ever wanted the best for you. He talks about you constantly. He showed me your pictures long before this happened. He even introduced me to you at an event you attended once, though I doubt you remember. After the scandal, he called me. Asked for my help. And I accepted. Why wouldn’t I?”
My heart stumbled. “Abel?” I gasped. Hope flickered painfully in my chest, tearing me apart. Maybe, just maybe he hadn’t fully abandoned me. Maybe…
Her face hardened. “No. He doesn’t care about you.”
The finality in her tone made me flinch.
She grabbed a small remote from the bedside table and pressed a button. The TV mounted on the wall flickered to life. My breath caught the second his face appeared.
Abel.
My heart twisted painfully at the sight of him. His once sharp features looked sunken, his forehead lined, his eyes tired. He looked… diminished.
Then his voice filled the room, hollow and cold:
“I am not married. The pictures circulating are fabrications meant to destroy me, to put me down. I have no wife. There is no scandal. Flora Whitmore is my fiancée.”
The words crashed into me like a blade to the chest. My vision blurred, tears threatening. I refused to let them fall.
Flora stepped forward, sliding beside him with a smile. She held his arm, her eyes gleaming in excitement.
Damn him. Damn her. Damn them all.
Gloria’s voice cut through the silence. “He doesn’t care about you. I was like you once, clinging to a man who abandoned me, who cast me aside. And I lost everything for it.” She moved closer, her tone fierce. “But I rose higher. And so will you. Let me build you, Anna. Let me give you back what they stole, your education, your inheritance, your power. Together, we will make them crumble.”
She crouched in front of me, her eyes blazing. “Let me take you as my daughter. Let me claim your child as my grandchild. And I will make sure, when karma finally comes for them, you will already be standing on top of the world.”
My mind spun. Memories flooded me, the anniversary nights, the pictures, his betrayal, the betrayal in Abel’s eyes, Flora’s smugness, Selena’s venom, the gang sent to kill me. My lips curved into a broken smile, one filled with pain and steel.
“What about the pictures?” I whispered.
“They’ve been erased,” Gloria said simply.
I nodded slowly, my throat burning. “I’ve never had a mother. My father rejected me. I’ve always been alone.” My voice wavered, then steadied with determination. “But no more.”
The tears finally fell, but I didn’t look away. “I accept. I want to be better. Stronger. I want to be your daughter. Please… teach me.”
My voice was firm, my chest rising with a new kind of fire.