Chapter 1 Betrayed And Broken
In the dingy prison bathroom, a towering inmate with a nasty grin grabbed Skylar Stone’s hair, jerking her head toward the toilet.
“Say you’re sorry!” the woman barked, her voice thick with spite.
“I’m… I’m sorry…” Skylar’s voice cracked, barely a whisper, her pride gone as she pleaded, “Please, don’t hurt my baby.”
Tears rolled down her neck, pooling on the red birthmark that looked like a fresh wound.
The woman’s eyes narrowed, her lip curling. “Hurt you? I’m doing you a favor, honey.”
She glanced at the other inmates hovering behind her, their faces stone-cold. “You’re so ungrateful, you probably don’t even deserve to walk out of here. Ladies, let’s show her what’s what.”
With a nod, the group moved in, fists and boots hammering down on Skylar.
“No… please…” Skylar’s cries faded as her vision blurred, the world slipping away.
The attackers stopped, already bored as she lay motionless on the floor.
One of them snorted, nudging Skylar’s limp body with her foot. “What a weakling. A couple of kicks, and she’s out.”
Then someone gasped, noticing blood soaking through Skylar’s prison jumpsuit.
“Oh no,” she yelled, “she’s bleeding bad! Someone get help!”
The ringleader’s smug look vanished as she saw the red staining Skylar’s clothes.
A shiver hit her. The guy who paid them only wanted Skylar roughed up, not dead…
A loud crash rang out as the bathroom door burst open. Doctors in white coats and bodyguards in crisp black suits stormed in.
The inmates backed off, their toughness gone.
“It wasn’t us!” one blurted. “Someone paid us to…”
Before they could say more, the bodyguards slammed them face-first into the toilets, cutting off their excuses.
Skylar was lifted onto a stretcher and rushed to the prison’s medical ward.
The harsh surgical lights cut through her fog, pulling her back to a faint thread of consciousness.
With every bit of strength left, she grabbed the doctor’s coat. “Save… save my baby…” she whispered hoarsely.
The doctor’s eyes were ice-cold.
“Mr. Campbell’s orders,” he said, his voice sharp. “We’re taking the umbilical cord blood for Miss Elianna Stone.”
He leaned in. “He says it’s what you owe her. Even if it kills you.”
Hope crumbled in Skylar’s chest.
Taking the cord blood now would end her life, and her baby’s.
The child she’d fought to protect through nine months in this awful place, so close to being born.
Tears streamed down her face.
“No… please…” Her voice shook, barely a sound. “I’m begging you…”
But the doctor didn’t budge. The scalpel flashed as it cut into her, pain burning through her like wildfire.
The physical pain was nothing compared to the ache in her heart.
The man she’d loved for ten years, married for three, had tossed her aside for his old flame.
“Skylar, you’re just the Stone family’s fake heiress,” Yosef Campbell had snapped, his voice full of disgust. “You stole Elianna’s life for years, and nothing you do can fix that!”
“You tried to kill her in that car crash!” he’d yelled, pacing angrily. “She’s pregnant, and you knew it!”
“You’re toxic,” he’d growled, his eyes burning. “Grandpa made me marry you, but I’d never pick someone like you.”
“You drugged me to sleep with you,” he’d sneered, leaning close. “I can’t stand the sight of you.”
“Being Elianna’s replacement is more than you deserve,” he’d said, his words hitting like a punch.
Yosef’s accusations played over and over in her mind, a cruel reminder that she was unloved.
Her consciousness faded, the world growing dark.
Death’s hold tightened.
The last thing Skylar heard was a faint voice in the medical ward.
“Surgery 3051 done. The baby’s not alive. Get rid of it.”
Five years had flown by in a flash.
In the grimy prison bathroom, a slender woman moved quietly across the dirty tiles.
The bulky inmate who once ruled this place was out cold, only to wake screaming as her last finger broke with a snap.
That slender woman was Skylar, the same Skylar who, five years back, nearly died under this woman’s punches.
“S-Skylar Stone, you’re a monster!” the bloodied inmate croaked, her voice shaky with pain and fear.
Skylar’s lips twisted into a chilly smirk. “When I lost my baby, it hurt way worse than this,” she said coldly, her voice empty of pity.
Without looking back, Skylar walked out of the bathroom.
Behind her, the inmate cradled her wrecked hand, eyes full of dread.
She knew this was just the start.
Everyone who’d ever messed with Skylar was now living a nightmare, and she’d be no different.
A nervous guard stepped up, clearing his throat with clear relief. “No. 3501, you’ve been a model prisoner. You’re free to go, effective immediately.”
Skylar walked through the prison gates, the weight of five years lifting with every breath of fresh air.
Then, the roar of engines broke the silence.
She looked up to see ten shiny Rolls-Royces lined up like a VIP convoy.
Car doors opened, and a group of men in sharp black suits stepped out.
From one car, a man in a black trench coat and dark sunglasses walked toward her with confidence.
He stopped in front of Skylar, and the group bowed together, their voices loud with respect. “Ms. Stone, welcome back!”
Skylar looked at the man, Leon Clark, with a mix of annoyance and amusement.
“Didn’t I say to keep this low-key?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Leon grinned, not fazed. “Ms. Stone, this is low-key! The original plan was a hundred helicopters, a hundred Rolls-Royce Phantoms, and your face on every LED billboard in town!”
“Alright, that’s enough,” Skylar said, cutting him off with a wave. “Let’s get in the car. Tell the others to head back to base.”
Leon nodded quickly, giving a sharp signal to the group.
The suited men scattered, leaving just Leon to walk Skylar to the car.
They got in and headed for Chestbee Hospital.
“Ms. Stone, I’m not trying to show off,” Leon said, his tone sincere. “If it weren’t for the info you passed us over the years, we’d never have built what we have now.”
“You took us in, built this organization, and pulled off stuff that’s got us all amazed,” he went on, his voice full of pride. “Who’d dare call us outlaws now?”
Skylar wasn’t the naive woman who once sat at home, longing for Yosef’s love. She’d changed—toughened up, sharpened, reborn.
Yosef’s name crossed her mind, and a sharp pain hit her chest, taking her breath away.
She flinched, pressing a hand to her heart.
“You okay, Ms. Stone?” Leon asked, glancing at her with worry. He reached into his pocket. “I’ve got one of those CardioShield capsules you made. Want one?”
Skylar shook her head, her face softening. The capsules were for her mentor, Louis Xavier.
“How’s he doing?” she asked, concern slipping into her voice. “Is he hanging in there?”
