Chapter 97
From one betrayal to the next–cheating became Dmitry’s pattern, and Bella’s love for him drained away until there was nothing left. All she felt now was disgust.
“I refuse to marry him!” Bella’s voice echoed through the room as she confronted her father.
Mr. Jones’s face darkened, his chest rising with anger. “Listen carefully–you have no home to return to! Your comfortable life in Europe? That exists because of my money. Do you think I’ll keep supporting you if you defy me?”
Seeing no hope in her father, Bella turned desperately to her mother.
“Mother, Dmitry is a monster! Why can’t you see that?” she pleaded, tears streaking down her face. “He’s the one who kept cheating, yet I’m the one suffering. My life with him will never be happy!”
Mrs. Jones ran a gentle hand through her daughter’s hair, but she said nothing, trapped under her husband’s rule.
“Stop spoiling her!” Mr. Jones barked at his wife. He stormed out and slammed the door so hard that the walls seemed to shake.
Silence filled the room, leaving Bella and her mother alone.
“Mother, you have to believe me,” she whispered. “The Volkovs–their empire is built on corruption. Tax evasion, fraud, and high–level officials in their pocket. That’s why they’re untouchable.”
She drew a shaky breath. “And that’s not even the worst of it… they’re connected to trafficking. Haven’t you ever wondered why those men suddenly started working with Dad?”
Mrs. Jones exhaled, her expression torn. “My dear, your father would never put you in harm’s way. He wants you to marry into the Volkov family for a secure future. If you become one of them, you can grow your jewelry or clothing brand without limits.”
Bella shook her head.
“No, Mother. That man will ruin me. I won’t have a future because he’ll destroy me first—until there’s nothing left of me. Not even my life.”
Mrs. Jones’s expression softened as her motherly instincts finally broke through years of silent obedience. “Go back to London. I’ll arrange your ticket, but this stays between us. Your father, your siblings–no one can know.”
Bella threw her arms around her mother, clinging to her like a lifeline. “I love you, Mom!”
Mrs. Jones was unsure, but Bella seized the opportunity to escape, leaving for London to continue her design studies. Her father’s anger was fierce as he removed all signs of her from the mansion as if she had never been there. Her name was forbidden, a topic no one dared mention, creating an emptiness that lingered throughout the house.
But everything changed when Bella completed her design course and received her certificate. The school accused her of copying Mary Prescott’s designs–who married to Fred. No one knew they were siblings.
The accusation struck Bella deeply. Only Joanne, her loyal friend of many years, knew the truth–how much effort Bella had poured into her designs. Bella soon discovered that Mary had taken credit for her hard work, registering the designs under her boutique and company name.
Determined to confront her sister and reclaim what was rightfully hers, Bella returned to America. But before she could fa Mary, she met Dmitry.
He abducted and assaulted her, leaving Bella huddled in a corner. Her body was bruised and battered, but her spirit was unbroken. Dmitry stood over her, his eyes wild with an unsettling gleam.
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Chapter 97
“You’re mine, Bella. Do you understand?”
Tears ran down her cheeks, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her break. This monster would pay. She wouldn’t allow him to take her mind, too, even as he destroyed her spirit.
“I followed your twisted game!” he continued. “I ended things with those women you do not want! I came looking for you, hoping to make peace and apologize–but you hid yourself so well. Well done, my love!”
She shot him a glare full of hatred.
Dmitry’s hand moved to her head, his touch a twisted imitation of tenderness while a twisted smile played on his lips.
“All this suffering could have been avoided if you’d simply obeyed. Don’t you know? From that first moment in London, you bewitched me. I crave for your cries, and I want you to beg me… to hate me!”
As he spoke, a sinister light flickered in his eyes, showing the depth of his obsession.
Bella’s response was quick and full of raw emotion. “Why don’t you just die, Dmitry!”
His hand tightened around her neck.
“Beg, Bella,” he demanded, his voice thick with cruel anticipation. “Tell me how much you’ve missed me!”
Bella could barely breathe, her chest constricted by the hand crushing her air away. Her vision blurred, but she refused to beg. She knew it wouldn’t make him stop.
In him, she saw something beyond pure evil; his cruelty was so intense that Lucifer himself recoiled in shame.
He hurled her onto the bed, and she desperately gulped down the air.
He sneered. “You should know,” he said, his voice eerily calm, “I orchestrated everything. I helped Mary build her business and handed her your portfolio myself. I knew you’d return eventually. I just had to wait.”
“Why are you doing this, Dmitry?” she choked out between gasps.
“Because I loved you!” The words exploded from him. “But you loved your precious designs more than my feelings for you!”
His face contorted with rage as he towered over her. “You were nothing, Bella! Yet I courted you, waited for you!”
“You’re sick!” she spat, fighting against him. “This isn’t love! You’re possessed!”
His lips curved into a chilling smile. “You belong to me, Bella. And this is far from over.”
When Bella reported the assault, Dmitry turned her world upside down once again.
Dmitry countered her claims.
“Officer, she’s extorting money from my family to force me into marriage,” Dmitry explained with manipulative intention.
Bella’s mind reeled as he presented evidence–records of money transfers to the Jones family.
She could hardly believe it, as those were legitimate transactions to her father.
Dmitry slowly broke down all her defenses, piece by piece, until Bella found out she was pregnant with his child.
Desperate, she turned to Mary, the sister who had already taken so much from her.
“Sister, please,” Bella begged, “take my child. Keep the baby safe–it’s all I ask.”
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Perhaps driven by guilt, Mary agreed. She concealed Bella in the Prescott’s manufacturing building, with only Mrs. Jones aware of the arrangement.
They forged a Pre–Birth Order, claiming Bella would be a surrogate for the Prescott family. When Bella gave birth, their records were altered, making them the little Isabella’s legal parents.
Bella had achieved her final goal–ensuring the Volkovs would never learn of Isabella’s existence.
As soon as Bella gave birth, she passed away, her last breath holding the secret she would never see to reveal.
