After I was reborn, I spent 13 million dollars to secure the services of Italy's most expensive male escort.

The money was well spent; he was flawless, allowing me to experience pleasure in ways I had never imagined.

The following morning, while I rode him, a familiar man suddenly showed up.

It was my husband, Jeffrey Delacruz—a mafia boss.

He ordered his men to drag the escort out of the room, then asked coldly, "Where did he touch you?"

My mind was foggy, my voice languid and mocking. "My lips, my bosom, my thighs... Everywhere you used to like."

Rage flickered in his eyes, and veins bulged in his neck. "Cut him into 18 pieces and feed him to the dogs."

I stripped off my soaked clothes and walked into the bathroom. "Do whatever you want."

In my previous life, I was married to him for seven years.

I was known as "The Scarlet Healer," striking with deadly precision and merciless intent.

I helped him eliminate countless enemies, standing by his side as he rose from an illegitimate nobody to the most powerful figure in the underworld.

But after he inherited the family empire, he became obsessed with Amelia Melendez, a nurse working in the black market.

She was a "gift" sent to Jeffrey's bed by a rival. She was sweet and innocent, untainted by the world's cruelty.

Jeffrey took her into his private clinic, instructing her himself on medicines and syringe handling.

Then one day, I found a finalized divorce agreement in his private safe.

When I confronted him, he only sneered, "Amelia's too innocent for this world. Being my wife will keep her safe.

"You're already recognized as Mrs. Delacruz, so why bother with the paperwork?"

I burst into the clinic in a fury, slapping the syringes and medicine box out of Amelia's hands, right in front of everyone.

That night, my critically ill mother was dragged out of her hospital bed.

Right in front of me, they shattered her hands and threw her into an abandoned factory to be mauled by stray dogs.

"Geraldine, this is what you get for messing with Amelia."

I fell to my knees, begging him to stop, but he was relentless. Mom passed out from the pain and never woke again.

Suddenly, I felt a warm rush between my legs, pain tearing through my abdomen, and then everything went black.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on that day when I found out about my status change.

This time, I didn't make a scene or confront him. I quietly sold all the rare herbs I had secretly collected and booked two plane tickets.

All I wanted was to take Mom and escape this twisted world that revolved around Jeffrey.

***

After finding the divorce papers, I went to the courthouse with my ID.

"Ms. Leonard, the system shows you're divorced," the clerk said.

Hearing that, I was finally sure that my past life was real.

The divorce was finalized on my birthday.

That day, Jeffrey was swamped with work, as usual. So I booked the city's highest revolving restaurant and arranged for a fireworks display.

I waited from sunset until way past midnight, and he never showed up.

It turned out he was busy signing some papers—completely wiping me out of his life.

I snapped out of my thoughts. I returned to the casino, and Jeffrey's black Maybach was parked by the entrance.

In my last life, I had run over in hysterics to confront him.

He slammed me hard into a corner, ensuring that Amelia in the passenger seat would not witness us together.

This time, I quickly stepped aside and hid in the shadows behind a column.

The car door opened, and Jeffrey got out first.

He walked around to the passenger side and opened the door himself—moving with a kind of patience and care he'd never shown before.

A young woman in a pale blue dress stepped out, nervous and out of place beside the luxury car.

It was Amelia.

Jeffrey took off his suit jacket and draped it over her thin shoulders. Then he wrapped an arm around her waist as they headed toward the casino.

"Jeff..." Amelia stopped in her tracks, looking torn. "You're all I have now... I can't afford to take any chances..."

Jeffrey held her closer, his voice full of confidence and tenderness I'd never heard before.

"Don't be scared. From now on, you're the mistress of this place. No one dares to mess with you.

"If you don't like it here, I'll build you a resort somewhere quiet just for you..."

The casino staff who had offered me their obsequious devotion were now bowing to Amelia, their voices loud and fawning.

"Nice to see you, Mrs. Delacruz!"

They surrounded Amelia, who looked as skittish as a frightened fawn, and walked into that flashy, evil den.

Clutching my belly, I waited until they were inside, then staggered out from the shadows.

Brushing away my tears, I was left with nothing but absolute resolve.

I went to the hospital alone and scheduled an abortion.

The doctor frowned at the ultrasound screen.

"Ms. Leonard, your body is quite delicate. You've been unable to conceive for seven years. If you terminate this pregnancy, you might never be able to get pregnant again."

I gave a faint, bitter smile. "I'm divorced. I don't want my child to be born without a father."

Cold fluid seeped into my veins as the anesthesia took hold, pulling my consciousness away.

In the haze, I saw flashes of the past—Jeffrey pressing his ear to my belly, smiling as he said our son would grow up to be a master gambler and that he would personally teach him to read cards.

He had said our boy could also learn medicine from me, take over the title of 'The Scarlet Healer' one day.

He had called a fortune-teller to pick the luckiest name possible.

He had held me close, promising that once he found a successor, he would take me and our child away from the casino and travel the world as a family.

All those tender memories had turned to dust the moment he told Amelia, "Only you deserve to be the mistress of the casino."

When I woke up, I dragged my hollow body to Mom's ward.

Thankfully, this time her injuries were minor, so she would recover soon.

In my past life, she had been torn apart by dogs right in front of me. This time, I wouldn't make the same mistake.

I reached out to my black‑market contacts and paid top dollar for two plane tickets to another country, leaving in three days.

If I tried to leave through legal channels, Jeffrey would find out immediately.

Then I called the only person I could still trust, Levi Wallace, gave him a stack of cash, and told him to arrange Mom's discharge in secret.

After all that, I finally let out a sigh of relief. I hailed a taxi and gave the driver an address a few blocks away from the villa.

It was a habit of mine—the casino had too many enemies, and keeping my exact location hidden was a matter of survival.

But just as I stepped out of the car, a man grabbed me from behind, clamping a hand over my mouth and dragging me backward.

I fought with everything I had and broke free, only to feel a sharp blade slash across my back before I could take more than two steps.

Pain exploded through me. Warm blood soaked my clothes.

I didn't need to guess to know it was one of Jeffrey's enemies.

The casino had swallowed up too many territories; countless people wanted him and everyone close to him dead.

I reached for the knife hidden in my bag, but someone twisted my arm behind me. My phone was ripped away and smashed to pieces.

"Stay still, bitch!" the man snarled, dragging me toward a waiting van.

Just when despair was about to consume me, a familiar black Maybach turned the corner.

It was Jeffrey's car.

I summoned every ounce of strength left in me, screaming and struggling, desperate to make him notice.

The car slowed just slightly.

He saw me.

But in the next instant, the Maybach accelerated past the intersection without hesitation.

Through the window, I glimpsed him pulling Amelia into his arms, shielding her eyes from the scene outside.

It was as if the woman being dragged away wasn't his wife, but something filthy and unworthy of her gaze.

All the struggle drained out of me at once.

Pain and cold swallowed me whole, and everything went dark.

When I woke up, I was lying in a private ward.

The door wasn't fully closed, and voices drifted in from the hallway.

"Mr. Delacruz, Mrs. Delacruz's injuries are serious this time. If she finds out about Ms. Melendez again..."

It was Jeffrey's personal physician, Luciano Nunez.

Before he could finish, Jeffrey's cold, sharp voice cut through the air.

"Watch your mouth. Your job is to treat her, nothing more."

He paused, his tone low and detached. "Geraldine has been in this business for years. She's seen every kind of vicious trick. She's an expert herself.

"Amelia isn't like her. She's clean like a blank slate. She would never stand a chance against Geraldine."

Then, his voice dropped even lower.

"If she wakes up and starts causing trouble, bring her mother here. That's her only weakness left. She won't sit still if her mother's involved."

I gripped the bedsheet tightly, biting my lip until I tasted blood.

That night, years ago, when I helped him take down the head of New Jersey's largest casino, he had told me, "Geri, from now on, no one in New Jersey's underworld will ever lay a hand on you."

He had said the same words, made the same promise of protection, but the person he wanted to protect had changed.

Once, I had been his most precious possession. Now, in his eyes, I was a dangerous, conniving woman who needed to be controlled.

Footsteps approached. I shut my eyes and pretended to have just woken up.

"You're awake?" he said flatly. "We found out that it was that Brazilian gambler who got his hand broken last time for cheating at the casino."

He tossed a folder onto the bed.

"Sign this settlement agreement, and they'll give up control of Trenton."

Trenton, by the sea, was New Jersey's last clean haven, untouched by gambling or crime.

And then I remembered what he had said to Amelia. "I'll build you a quiet place, a resort where you can relax."

So all my pain and scars had just become the price he paid to build a gilded cage for his new lover.

My throat burned. "Jeffrey, when did you make this deal?"

Was it the moment he saw me being dragged away? Or long before that, when he had already decided to pave the road for her with my suffering?

He frowned, clearly irritated by my question.

I forced a smile and said nothing more.

The answer no longer mattered.

Maybe to ease his guilt, he spent the next two days staying with me under the pretense of handling business.

But his phone never left his hand. Even during meals, he would take photos to send to someone on the other end of the chat, his lips curving into a gentle smile I had never once seen before.

I stared at his side profile, and for a moment, my mind drifted back eight years.

The first time I met him wasn't at the casino. It was in a dark alley.

He had been caught cheating, surrounded by seven or eight men with machetes. They dislocated his arm right there on the street.

I stepped in, helped him fight his way out, and dragged him back to my apartment to patch him up.

Later, Dad fell deep into gambling debt and was hunted down by drug traffickers, who killed him.

They came for me next, pressing a needle against my vein as collateral for his debt.

It was Jeffrey who burst in with his men, saving me at the last second.

By then, he had taken over a small casino and placed me behind the Golden Sparrow—where I became his invisible weapon, "The Scarlet Healer."

I helped him swallow one casino after another, eliminate one rival after another.

I knew my hands were stained with blood that could never be washed clean.

But even if the whole world thought I was filthy, he shouldn't have.

After I was discharged, Jeffrey used "business matters" as an excuse and never showed up again.

Tomorrow, I would be leaving. While he was away, I went back to the top floor of the casino and retrieved my passport and several crucial identity documents from the safe.

But as I stepped out of the elevator, my knees suddenly gave out, and I stumbled forward.

Before I could fall, a pair of slender hands caught me.

"Are you okay?" The voice was soft and gentle.

I looked up into Amelia's clear eyes.

She wore a nurse's uniform from the casino's VIP clinic but still looked painfully out of place here.

She didn't recognize me. She probably thought I was just another gambler who had lost everything.

"I'm fine. Thank you," I said quickly, trying to leave.

But she didn't let go. Instead, she guided me toward the staff lounge. "You don't look well. You should rest in the back for a while."

For reasons I couldn't explain, I didn't refuse.

She poured me a cup of warm water, then pulled a pack of dried fruit and some bread from her locker.

"Here, eat something. Losing money's not the end of the world. Go home early. Your family's probably waiting for you."

When I didn't respond, she hesitated, then reached into her pocket and slipped a few bills into my hand.

"This should cover your cab fare... I wish I could help with your plane ticket, but I can't."

Something lodged in my throat.

I wanted to tell her to stay away from Jeffrey.

He had no heart. His tenderness was poison wrapped in sugar.

But the words died before I could speak them.

If she found out who I really was, she would turn against him.

And then, I would be the one responsible for her downfall.

I had only one day left. I couldn't risk Mom's and my own lives for a moral victory.

So I took the money she offered, thanked her, and walked quickly out the back door.

The moment I stepped outside, something cold pressed hard against my temple.

It was a gun barrel.

I instinctively turned around.

Amelia was already lying motionless on the hallway floor.

I moved to react, but a sudden blow to the back of my neck sent everything into darkness.

When I came to, both Amelia and I were tied up in an abandoned warehouse.

She was sobbing softly. "Who are you people? Why are you doing this to us?"

Kieran Doyle stepped forward and slapped her hard.

"To get back at your fiancé, Jeffrey! He stole my Newark territory, cutting off my business!"

So it was the Newark gang.

That territory was the one Jeffrey had recently acquired using the settlement agreement I had signed.

Fortunately, they didn't recognize me. To them, Amelia, the woman always seen at Jeffrey's side, was the target.

I began working my wrists, using the micro-blade I kept hidden under my nail to saw through the ropes.

Years of living on the edge had taught me to always leave myself a way out.

Kieran thought I was a gambler and spat at me.

"You're just unlucky, lady. Wrong place, wrong time. Call your family; get five million here, and we'll let you go."

Amelia's tears streaked down her pale face. "Ms. Leonard, I'm so sorry for dragging you into this. But don't be scared. My fiancé is powerful. He'll come for us."

At the mention of Jeffrey's name, her eyes shone with unshakable trust.

I didn't say a word and quickened the movement of the blade against the ropes.

Kieran cursed at his phone when his call went unanswered, then kicked over a fuel drum in frustration.

"Damn it! Jeffrey's not picking up? Fine. Let's send him a little message to wake him up!"

He picked up a knife from the floor, his eyes glinting with a sick grin as they swept over Amelia.

"I heard you two went to the hospital. You're carrying his child, aren't you? Perfect. We'll dig that little brat out and send it to him!"

My blood ran cold.

So she was pregnant with Jeffrey's child.

Amelia froze in terror, her face draining of color. "No... please d-don't hurt my baby!"

The men around her laughed crudely and reached for her.

In that split second, I tore through the last of my ropes, sprang to my feet like a cornered predator, and drove my elbow into Kieran's jaw.

I snatched the knife from his hand, cut through Amelia's bindings, and shoved her behind me.

"Damn it! Kill her!" Kieran bellowed, clutching his bleeding chin.

Five or six thugs rushed forward, swinging metal rods.

I knew how to fight, but still half-recovered from my injuries and facing too many at once. I was quickly overwhelmed.

The blows landed hard, searing pain spreading through my body.

Still, I gritted my teeth and used my body as a shield to protect Amelia in the corner.

Kieran lost patience. With a click, he chambered a bullet and aimed the gun straight at me.

"Die, bitch!"

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, a deafening explosion blew open the warehouse doors.

Jeffrey burst into the warehouse with his men, gunfire erupting instantly.

He moved like a raging lion, charging straight toward us. Without a glance at me, he swept Amelia into his arms. "It's okay, Amelia. I'm here."

She gave a faint sob, the shock finally overwhelming her, and passed out against his chest.

He carried her carefully to the car outside, placing her gently inside before turning back toward me.

"Geraldine!" His voice was cold as steel.

"Why are you here?"

I forced myself upright through the pain, meeting his glare with a bitter smile.

"You think I planned this?"

Before I could finish, his hand cracked across my face.

The blow sent me crashing to the floor, blood filling my mouth.

"I knew it," he snarled. "You've been trying to get rid of Amelia all along, haven't you?"

I spat blood onto the ground. "I didn't."

He grabbed a wounded man nearby and pressed a gun to his head. "Who hired you?"

The thug trembled, darting a terrified glance at me as if clinging to his last hope.

"I-It was her! She paid us to rough up that woman!"

My entire body went cold. My veins felt like they had turned to ice.

Jeffrey's lips curled into a cruel smile. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

The man's body hit the ground with a dull thud.

Jeffrey stepped over him, crouched down, and ground his heel onto my hand.

Pain shot through me.

His tone carried a hint of mockery, almost pity.

"These hands used to obey me so well. Why are they hurting the person I love most?"

He pulled out a dagger, its blade gleaming with a cold, deadly sheen.

"I told you to never touch what's mine, Geraldine."

The blade came down in a flash of silver.

My breath stopped.

The knife drove straight through my palm, pinning my hand to the concrete floor.

A scream tore from my throat. Pain ripped through every nerve, blinding and searing. My body convulsed uncontrollably as darkness edged at my vision.

Through the agony, I found my voice again.

"Jeffrey! Eight years ago, I should've left you to die in that alley! I should've never helped you get where you are!"

And with that, he destroyed whatever humanity still lingered between us.

He gave a short, contemptuous snort and turned away. Without another look, he left the warehouse with his men following close behind.

When the numbness finally dulled the pain, I used my left hand to reach into my bra and pull out a small hidden tracker. My fingers trembled as I pressed the signal.

Levi arrived quickly. The moment he saw me, his eyes filled with horror.

He carefully pulled the knife from my hand, but my right palm was already mangled beyond recognition and completely numb.

My voice was faint, but steady, filled with cold resolve.

"Set the place on fire. Erase every trace of me.

"From this day forward, there is no more The Scarlet Healer of New Jersey."