Chapter 593

Chapter 593

The news of Vivian's betrayal reached Angelina fast.

And with it came something worse — the arranged marriage was off. Julian had made up his mind. He was going to marry Louisa.

The news hit her like a blade to the chest.

Angelina sat in her room, face pale as ash, her whole body trembling.

"Why… why is this happening…"

She whispered it to herself, eyes wild.

She had loved Julian for years. From the moment she first laid eyes on him, she had decided — this man was hers.

She'd told herself it was simple. As long as her mother Lorelei backed her, as long as the plan to put Helena in Julian's path succeeded, she would slip in and take what was rightfully hers.

But in the end, Julian had still chosen Louisa.

The arranged marriage had fallen apart. Helena had turned on them. Vivian had turned on them. Lorelei's plans had collapsed, one after another.

And Louisa — Louisa just kept rising.

She'd reclaimed her family name. She had Julian's devotion. She was carrying his child.

She had everything. Everything Angelina had ever wanted.

"Louisa… it's all because of Louisa…"

Something shifted behind Angelina's eyes — slow, cold, and unmistakable.

"If Louisa wasn't here, Julian would be mine…"

"If Louisa were dead, Julian would come back to me…"

She stood and began to pace, her steps sharp and restless, her expression twisting with every turn.

She thought about everything she'd done for Julian over the years. She'd taught herself to cook for him. She'd studied etiquette for him. She had reshaped herself, piece by piece, all for him.

And he had never once looked at her. Not really. His eyes had always been somewhere else — always on Louisa.

"Why her… why does it have to be her…"

Tears spilled down Angelina's cheeks.

"I can't accept this… I refuse to accept this…"

She wiped her face in one sharp, violent motion. When she looked up, her eyes were dry and hard.

"Yes. If Louisa is gone, everything gets fixed."

She picked up her phone and dialed.

"It's me," she said, her voice low and tight, threaded with something fraying at the edges. "I need you to take care of someone."

"Ms. Getty — you sure about this?" The voice on the other end hesitated. "That woman's got bodyguards. It won't be easy."

"I don't care!"

Her voice cracked sharp as a whip. "I don't care how you do it. I want her dead. Even if — even if it means collateral damage, I don't care!"

Silence on the line.

"Alright. Ms. Getty, if that's what you want, I'll do this one for you. But the price—"

"Money is not an issue." She cut him off. "Make Louisa disappear, and I'll pay whatever you ask."

She hung up and stood at the window, staring out into the dark.

A slow, crooked smile curved her lips.

Louisa. Just you wait.

I am not going to let you take Julian from me.

---

Three days later, Louisa had a prenatal checkup scheduled.

Leroy came along in person. Noah drove. Nicholas insisted on coming too.

"Louisa, stay alert." Nicholas was in the passenger seat, his voice heavy with unease. "Something's been off lately. I can feel it."

"What do you mean?" Louisa sat in the back, her tone even.

"Someone's been watching us." He frowned. "And it's not Lorelei's people — I know all of them. These are unfamiliar faces."

Louisa's gaze shifted, almost imperceptibly.

Unfamiliar faces. So who was it?

"Noah," she said. "Take a detour. Skip the hospital. Head back to the office first."

"Yes, Ms. Forbes."

Noah immediately turned the wheel.

Then a black van exploded out of a side street and cut them off.

"Watch out!"

Noah's face went rigid. He slammed the brakes.

Too late.

Masked figures poured out of the van, gripping metal bats, and brought them down hard against the car.

"Ms. Forbes — stay down!"

Noah shoved his door open and launched himself out. Nicholas was right behind him, and then both men were in the middle of it, taking on the attackers head-on.

Louisa sat in the car, watching the brawl outside, her heart hammering against her ribs.

She knew. This was no random attack. They had come for her.

The car door was wrenched open.

A masked man reached in and grabbed for her.

Louisa moved fast — she drove her foot hard into his stomach, shoved the door wide, and ran.

But she was pregnant. She couldn't get far.

A second man caught her within steps.

"Let go of me!"

She fought him, but he was too strong. Her struggling did nothing.

"Ms. Forbes!"

Noah saw it happen. Something snapped in his face — raw, desperate — and he tried to break through to her, but the others swarmed him, keeping him pinned.

"Nicholas! Get to Louisa!"

Nicholas had already seen. He drove an elbow back hard, broke free, and sprinted toward her.

But these men had come prepared.

They dragged Louisa to the van and hauled her inside.

"Louisa!"

Nicholas lunged — but the van was already moving. It tore off down the street and was gone.

"Damn it!"

He slammed his fist into the ground, jaw tight, face white.

Noah ran up beside him, eyes locked on the vanishing taillights, cold and unblinking.

"Go."

One word. He was already moving toward the car. Nicholas was a step behind him.

---

Inside the van, Louisa sat in the corner, wrists and ankles bound, a cloth shoved into her mouth.

She didn't panic. She didn't cry.

Panic wouldn't help her. Tears wouldn't help her. She knew that.

She needed to think.

She took in the van. Four men — one driving, one up front, two flanking her.

She looked outside. They were heading toward the outskirts of the city. Less people out there. Easier to do what they'd come to do.

Her pulse climbed.

She knew what they were planning. She knew she might not be meant to leave this alive.

But she could not die.

Julian was waiting for her. Their baby was waiting. There were things she hadn't finished yet.

She had to survive.

Louisa drew in a slow, deep breath and forced herself still.

Then she started memorizing.

Every turn. Every traffic light. Every landmark she caught through the window — she locked it all into her memory, building the route piece by piece.

Her photographic memory had always been a quiet gift. Right now, it might be the thing that saved her.

Julian and Nicholas would look for her. She had to believe that.

And when they did, she would give them exactly what they needed to find her.

The van pressed on toward the edge of the city.

The race to save her life had already begun.