Chapter 20
The room was dim, the concrete walls
echoing every small breath and whimper.
Donna lay crumpled in the corner, her hands
bound tightly behind her back, her lip split,
blood dripping onto her torn blouse. She had
stopped screaming hours ago—her throat
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raw, her strength nearly gone. The shadows
loomed around her, faceless men whose only
orders were clear: Make her pay.
They had. Over and over again.
A slap resounded across her cheek, sharp
and stinging. Another man grabbed her hair,
forcing her face upward.
“Beg,” he growled.
“I–I’m sorry,” she choked. “Please. Please let
me go. I won’t go near her again. I swear, I’ll
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leave–change my name, disappear. Please-
please—”
Another blow landed against her ribs. She
screamed this time.
“We’re just getting started,” one of the men
said coldly. “This is for Trina.”
Hours blurred into minutes. Kicks, punches,
and ice–cold water poured on her to keep her
awake. Her wrists bled from the tight ropes.
Her body trembled violently from pain and
fear.
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Then suddenly, everything stopped. The door
creaked open. Footsteps clicked against the
floor.
A new figure stepped in.
It was Tania.
Her face was pale, eyes unreadable, and her
arms were crossed tightly over her chest.
Donna blinked in disbelief. “Tania?”
Tania didn’t respond. She simply nodded at
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the men. They backed away without a word,
leaving Donna alone in the center of the
room, bound and broken.
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“You knew?” Donna rasped. “You knew about
this?”
“I did,” Tania said softly. “You’re lucky it was
Mateo’s men who found you, not someone
worse. I just came to ask you one thing.”
“What?” Donna whispered.
“Why?” Tania asked, her voice trembling now.
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“Why did you do all of it? Why did you lie?
Why did you ruin her life? My mother–she
loved you like a sister.”
Donna’s breath hitched. Her lip quivered.
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“I—at first, I just… I envied her. She had it all.
Everyone liked her. She was kind, warm.
Jackson loved her. You adored her. Even
when I was trying to play the good one, she
still stood out. I started telling small lies. Then
bigger ones. Then Jackson started listening,
and I kept going because… because it felt
good to finally be chosen.”
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Tania’s face hardened. “You turned me
against my own mother.”
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“You let me,” Donna hissed bitterly. “You were
the one who ignored her, believed every word
I said. Don’t act like you didn’t want to believe
she was the villain.”
Tania slapped her. Hard.
“You’re disgusting,” she said through
clenched teeth. “You almost killed her.”
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Tears rolled down Donna’s bruised cheeks. “I
didn’t mean for it to go that far. I just wanted
her to hurt like I did. I never thought… I never
thought it would end up like this.”
Behind her, another figure entered.
Jackson.
His eyes, once soft and uncertain, now
burned with rage and revulsion. “You ruined
her. You ruined us. And I believed you.”
“Jackson, please,” Donna sobbed. “I loved
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you.”
“You never did,” he spat. “You loved taking
her place. You loved destroying her. And I
helped you. God, I helped you.”
“Please,” she whispered. “Please, let me go.
I’ll leave. I’ll disappear. You’ll never hear from
me again.”
“I want you to admit everything to her face
when she wakes up,” Tania said.
“She’ll never forgive me,” Donna muttered.
♡
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“No,” Tania said. “But maybe you’ll finally learn what it means to lose everything.”
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As they turned to leave, Donna cried out,
“Don’t leave me here alone! Please, I’m sorry!
I’ll confess everything! Please!”
But Tania and Jackson walked out, leaving
the heavy door to slam shut behind them.
The silence was deafening.
Donna sank to the floor, shaking, sobbing, finally left alone with everything she had done. The weight of it crushed her more than
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any blow could. No one was coming to save
her. No one ever would again.
Mateo stood just outside Trina’s hospital room, his back pressed against the cold wall. The hallway was quiet now, save for the
occasional beep from distant monitors and
the hum of fluorescent lights overhead. His
hands were clenched at his sides, his
knuckles pale. Every second felt like a knife
twisting in his chest–knowing she had
almost been taken from him.
His phone buzzed in his pocket.
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He answered instantly. “Yes?”
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“It’s done, sir,” a man on the other end said.
“We’re transferring her to another facility.
Somewhere far. She’ll be given a new identity,
a modest start. Enough to survive–but never
enough to come back. We’ll make sure she
never steps near your life again.”
Mateo closed his eyes for a moment. “Make
sure it’s clean. No blood. Just… disappear her.
That’s all I want.”
“Yes sir”
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He ended the call with a deep breath, his
chest tightening with a strange mix of relief
and residual rage. It was over. Donna was
gone for good.
Or at least, she would be.
Just then, the doctor approached him again,
this time with a gentler expression.
“She’s awake. Again. And this time–fully
conscious.”
Mateo didn’t wait for more. He was already
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moving.
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The door opened with a soft creak, and the
room, though sterile and bathed in white
light, instantly felt warmer to him. There she
was–Trina–propped slightly on the hospital
bed, her eyes fluttering open and struggling
to adjust to the brightness.
Her father sat at her side, gently brushing her
hair back. He looked up when Mateo entered,
giving him a nod of silent understanding. He
stood, kissed his daughter’s forehead, and
whispered, “I’ll give you both a moment.”
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Then he quietly exited the room.
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Mateo stepped forward slowly, not wanting to
overwhelm her, but his heart pounded like
war drums in his chest.
Trina blinked. “Mateo…”
Her voice was fragile, like paper caught in the
wind.
“I’m here,” he said, taking her hand gently,
careful not to hurt her. “I’ve got you now.”
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Tears welled in her eyes, but she tried to
smile. “You look terrible.”
He chuckled softly, but the laugh caught in
his throat. His eyes were already wet.
“I thought I lost you,” he said, his voice
shaking. “I failed. I should’ve protected you. I
let someone like her-”
She squeezed his hand weakly. “You didn’t
fail me. You came.”
“I swore,” he whispered, brushing a strand of
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hair from her face, “this ends now. No more
pain. No more ghosts. No more Donna.”
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Her lips parted as tears slid down her cheeks,
and this time, she didn’t look away. She
looked at him—truly looked–and in that
moment, everything they had been through,
everything they had fought for, came rushing
back.
“I love you,” she said, voice cracking. “Even
after everything…”
He didn’t wait another second.
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Mateo leaned down, cupped her face gently,
and pressed his lips to hers.
It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t desperate.
It was a promise.
Soft. Certain. Eternal.
When they parted, he rested his forehead
against hers.
“We’re getting married,” he whispered. “And
nothing–not past mistakes, not lies, not
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anyone is going to stop that now.”
She let out a soft breath. “Then take me
home soon.”
Mateo nodded, his eyes never leaving hers.
“Soon. I’ll carry you out of here myself.”
