Chapter 2

• A few months earlier...
• The sound of hurried and unhurried footsteps rang in Andrea’s ears. She frowned with her eyes closed as she tried to reach for the gun on her bedside table. After a few seconds, she stopped. Odd. The gun wasn’t there.
• Andrea snapped her eyes open. Immediately, she was welcomed by the pure white ceiling. Her first thought was ‘When did Gio’s taste change?’ Then it followed by the thought, ‘Crap. Am I dead?’
• Slowly, Andrea began to recall what happened. She was sleeping inside her and her husband’s bedroom when she suddenly heard a bell ringing. When she tried to get up, she smelt a burning powder that quickly spread in the room and made her vision blurry. Then she noticed the thick smoke around her increasing and quickly tried to run out of that room. The smoke had probably spread too much at that point she sadly didn’t make it out and fell to the floor. At least, that was as far as she could remember before waking up in this hospital. So, it meant she fainted and was fortunately rescued...
• The only question was – where’s Giovanni?
• Andrea frowned, feeling a splitting sensation inside her head.
• Suddenly, the door opened and revealed a nurse. “Oh, you’re awake.”
• Andrea nodded while adjusting herself to the hospital gown. “Hn. Where’s my husband?” She looked around, trying to find anything that Giovanni would most probably leave her alone in the room.
• The nurse stared at Andrea. “What do you mean?” Then she blinked and smiled, “Ah, are you talking about that young man with a handsome, charming smile?”
• Andrea blinked. Handsome charming smile? When did Giovanni wear a smile like that? Sure, he was handsome and had a baby face when shaved, but a smile?
• Before she could correct the nurse, the nurse smiled and told her, “It’s okay. I think he went out for some urgent matters but he said he’ll be back quickly.”
• Andrea nodded. That sounded fair. As the leader of Grand Z City, Giovanni was a busy person. Although he doted on Andrea, his wife, very much, he wouldn’t easily leave his work unattended. In any case, Andrea most probably just fainted and would soon leave the hospital anyway. For the most part, Giovanni must have left a few men to watch over Andrea as he had always done. They were probably at the hospital or outside waiting for Andrea’s word.
• “And his men?” Andrea asked while trying to stand up.
• “Men? Ah, Young Miss, please don’t move too much,” the nurse went to Andrea’s side in a hurry. With a lot of concern in her voice, she encouraged, “Take some rest first. The doctor will come here after an hour to check on you again for physical and psychological evaluation.”
• Andrea forgot Giovanni’s men and was deeply concerned about the nurse’s last words. Psychological evaluation? Did she actually inhale too much gas that it managed to damage her brain?
• The nurse noticed Andrea’s confusion and explained with an apologetic tone, “It’s okay to feel confused. What happened back in your school is truly unfortunate. Right now, you might still be under too much stress and trauma so this is completely understandable.”
• School? What was this lady nurse talking about? Did Andrea look too young to be in a school?
• Andrea was about to argue and correct her but suddenly felt the familiar throb inside her head. It felt as though it would be split in half and explode at any time.
• “Please don’t worry too much, Young Miss. We got you. You’re safe now,” the nurse gently said while trying to push Andrea back to the bed.
• Unable to speak, Andrea allowed the lady nurse to help her get back on the bed.
• Andrea felt like she would faint again. Her head throbbed, revealing her sweating and out-of-breath state. Before she closed her eyes, she caught sight of the white tag around her wrist, revealing a name.
• Anna Johnson, 18.
• It was an unfamiliar name, completely a stranger to her.
• Anna Johnson...
• Who the hell was Anna Johnson?