Chapter 7
Every top specialist in the city was summoned to the Devereux estate.
When Luca’s people called Eleanor for emergency authorization, she figured Sophie was throwing another one of her dramatic fits.
When she heard Luca was doing all this for Seraphina, she nearly spit out her coffee.
Seraphina was supposed to be “dead” right now, wasn’t she?
Eleanor couldn’t make sense of it, so she decided to see what the hell was going on.
Today was supposed to be the grand christening for the family heir. The estate was decorated like a fucking palace.
But on the way there, Eleanor learned that the ceremony never happened–Luca hadn’t even shown his face before sending all the guests packing.
Inside the estate, every staff member looked like they’d seen a ghost.
All the chaos was happening in some forgotten corner of the property.
The small courtyard was packed to the walls.
Not just the city’s best doctors, but every renowned physician money could buy.
On the other side stood a freak show of spiritual advisors, faith healers, and complete bullshit artists.
Eleanor was floored when she saw Luca’s hair had gone snow white.
When Luca came over to greet her, Eleanor couldn’t keep her mouth shut anymore.
“First you pull that insane lottery bullshit to pick an heir, and now this three–ring circus. What the fuck are you doing?”
“Getting medical care for Seraphina and the kids.”
Luca’s tone was so casual he might as well have been talking about the weather.
But something about it made Eleanor’s blood run cold.
Her son had completely lost his goddamn mind.
Luca turned back to watch the medical team like a hawk.
This time, he wouldn’t let anyone fuck with Seraphina’s care.
Doctor after doctor went in and came out shaking their heads.
After every single physician told Luca there was nothing they could do, he actually laughed.
The doctors were so freaked out they grabbed their money and ran.
Luca didn’t give a shit. He walked over to the spiritual con artists and yelled, “Who can bring back the dead?”
11:44
ENDING THE LAST BETRAYAL LOOP: Faked My Death and Found REAL FREEDOM
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Chapter 7
Everyone looked around lik
in headlights, then shook their heads.
Luca sighed. “What about reincarnation? Anything?
Crickets
Finally, one of the less sketchy religious guys stepped up. “Mr. Devereux, death is final. You need to face reality and grieve.”
“Life and death follow natural law. You can’t force this.”
Luca’s eyes went bloodshot as he muttered, “Yeah, I got a second chance and I fucked it up completely.”
He’d misread everything, and this was his punishment.
Seeing Luca disappearing into his own head again, his bodyguard sighed and told everyone to get lost.
Eleanor knew the truth, but she’d promised Seraphina. She couldn’t say anything.
And honestly, her son had brought this entire shitshow on himself.
She put a hand on Luca’s shoulder. “Since this is how things are, just focus on your life with that gold digger–sorry, your
second wife.”
“Making her your second wife was already way more than she deserved. Keep her on a leash and don’t let her get ideas about taking over.”
“Her father embezzled from company funds and conspired with our business rivals to frame Seraphina’s dad, then had him assassinated. The fact that we didn’t destroy her entire bloodline was generous.”
Luca looked up, confused as hell. “Didn’t you have Sophie’s family destroyed to secure Seraphina’s position in the company?”
Eleanor stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “They had rock–solid evidence of corporate espionage and murder. How
is that me destroying them?”
“And securing Seraphina’s position? The Locke family built half this empire with their blood and sweat. Their legacy alone made Seraphina worthy of running the whole company, not just marrying into it. Why would I need to eliminate some
traitor’s brat for that?”
Eleanor’s face darkened. “You could say Sophie’s family got destroyed because of what they did to the Lockes, but Luca, think about it–if someone embezzled from your company and had your business partner murdered, would you leave any of their family alive to come back for revenge?”
The words hit like a freight train, illuminating all the lies from both lives.
Everything had been wrong from day one.
Sophie hadn’t killed herself because of Seraphina.
The board had simply reopened the investigation into the corporate embezzlement scandal.
The corrupt executives they hadn’t caught the first time couldn’t afford to leave any witnesses–anyone who might expose their crimes had to die.
And in this life, because he’d stayed out of company politics, the investigation hadn’t started yet.
Luca burst into hysterical laughter, bloody tears streaming down his face.
11:44
ENDING THE LAST BETRAYAL LOOP: Faked My Death and Found REAL FREEDOM
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Chapter 7
He slowly walked into the cottage and gathered Seraphina and the children’s bodies in his arms.
The guilty bastards had to pay.
Luca gently kissed Seraphina’s forehead.
“Seraphina, let me clean house first. Then I’ll come join you and beg for your forgiveness.”
