She was led out by the guard, dazed and silent, and sat in front of the visitor’s window. When she saw who was waiting on the other side, her expression froze, then, for reasons she couldn’t name, a surge of emotion broke through her numbness.

    “Fortune, you still care about me, don’t you? Fortune, Fortune-”

    “Inmate 1123, calm down! Please, sit down!” The guard pressed her back into her chair. Ileana stilled, afraid that if she lost control, this visit would be cut short, and

    she might never see him again.

    She picked up the receiver, eyes brimming with tears.

    But Fortune, sitting across the ss, only looked at her with mockery and disdain.

    “Miss Tate, how are you?”

    That was the first thing Fortune had ever said to her, the day they met.

    Back then, thanks to Max, the maids at home bullied her constantly. She’d escape to bars at night, sometimes booking any hotel she could find just to avoid going home. It was during that messy, lonely time that Fortune had appeared. He seemed like destiny–a perfect fit in every way. Under his influence, she let herself go, livingvishly, spending money like water, finally tasting what she thought was freedom.

    The Tate family was still prosperous then. They might have abandoned her overseas, but they never skimped on her allowance. She gave Fortune plenty of money, too–he found her suppliers, promised the money woulde back to her as Mrs. Thorne someday.

    And then, just like that, Fortune vanished–along with her money. She couldn’t reach him. The people they knew imed they had no idea where he was. She spent months in a haze, anxious, fearing something terrible had happened to him.

    It wasn’t until the Tate family summoned her home for an arranged marriage that she saw Fortune again.

    “Fortune…I know you still care about me…” After a month inside, Fortune was the first visitor she’d had.

    Tears blurred Ileana’s vision. “I know you didn’t do those things. There must have been a mistake. You must have your reasons. It’s okay–I forgive you. Wait for me. When I get out, let’s go back to how things were, please?”

    09:58

    “Ileana, you really are ‘pure and innocent, aren’t you?”

    The sudden shift in Fortune’s voice stunned her. His words dripped with sarcasm, his eyes brimming with nothing but contempt.

    She clutched the receiver so hard her knuckles turned white, disbelief etched across her face. Her lips trembled, desperate to speak, but no words came out.

    “From the day I met you, you were already my prey. I did everything. Thanks to you, I made quite a profit. I thought if I slipped something into your drink, I could keep you on a leash, but turns out, I never needed it. You followed me around like a dog. all on your own…”

    Each wordnded like a p, leaving Ileana reeling.

    “I couldn’t help it. You’re nothing but a spoiled heiress–empty, useless, with nothing to offer but cash. If you’d had even a fraction of Alessia’s power, I wouldn’t have had to hand you over to someone else.”

    Ileana shook her head, murmuring, “No…no, that’s not true…”

    “The Tate family…they won’t let you get away with this…”

    “The Tate family?” Fortune let out a bitterugh, as if she’d told a joke.

    “Newssh: the Tate family is bankrupt. They’ve already been bought out, your darling parents have left the country–and cut all ties with you. The media’s having a field day: headlines everywhere about Tate Holdings‘ copse, and their public statement disowning their prodigal daughter.”

    “No…ino/i, it’s not possible…I want to see them. My parents wouldn’t abandon me. Everything’s mine…it’s all mine!”

    Ileana shot ito /iher feet, clutching her ears, muttering over and over. Her whole body trembled uncontrobly, and then, as if her legs gave out, she crashed to the floor, wracked by violent convulsions.

    212

    b09:58 /b

    bChapter /bb318 /b