Black Rose in the Abyss Chapter 8

Bianca didn't remember how she got back to the mansion near Central Park.

She dragged herself step by step into the bathroom, rinsed off hastily, and threw herself onto the big bed.

Her consciousness floated between grogginess and clarity. Her body alternated between hot and cold. She knew she had a fever, but she didn't even have the strength to get up for a glass of water.

Good, she thought. If I sleep, my heart won't hurt so much.

She didn't know how much time passed before the urgent doorbell rang.

She struggled to open her eyes. The daylight outside was bright, stinging her eyes. She wrapped her silk robe tighter and stumbled to the door.

Through the peephole, she saw the Sterling couple.

"Bianca..." Mrs. Sterling's eyes turned red instantly. Senator Sterling held a stack of documents, his tone cautious. "We don't mean anything else. We just wanted to see you. This is the transfer agreement for the trust fund under our names."

"Even if you aren't willing to acknowledge us yet, please give us a chance to make it up to you."

Just as Bianca was about to refuse, a violent wave of dizziness hit her. Her figure swayed, and she instinctively grabbed the door frame.

"Bianca!" Mrs. Sterling immediately noticed something was wrong and reached out to touch her forehead. "You're burning up. You have a fever."

The previous caution and politeness were replaced by worry.

The two of them flusteredly helped Bianca back to the bedroom. "George, go get a glass of warm water!"

"The medicine kit. See if there are any fever reducers in the house."

In her blurred vision, she saw Mrs. Sterling's anxious face and Mr. Sterling's clumsy but earnest efforts to take care of her.

Bianca closed her eyes. The hard corner of her heart seemed to be pried open a crack by this strange warmth.

They... seemed to really care about her.

This thought rose, carrying a faint bitterness.

She remembered the gifts the Sterlings had sent through various channels after learning about her background, and the messages asking to meet, which she had coldly rejected.

Maybe having parents wasn't as bad as she imagined?

Before her consciousness sank into darkness again, she felt someone wiping the cold sweat from her forehead and heard Mrs. Sterling's suppressed sobs and her husband's steady comfort.

This strange and distant feeling made her shrink back involuntarily in her sleep.

When she woke up again, the room was quiet. She propped herself up and looked around. No one was there.

The faint warmth in her heart cooled rapidly. Sure enough... was it an illusion from the fever?

The next second, however, Mrs. Sterling walked in carrying chicken soup. "You're awake? Drink some soup quickly. I just made it. By the way, your phone kept ringing. Check if there's something urgent."

The empty heart seemed to be filling with something. Bianca smiled and took the phone.

The screen showed missed calls all from her most capable subordinate. She called back immediately.

"Boss, you finally answered!" The subordinate's voice was urgent. "Dante took his men and smashed three of our most important venues. Heavy casualties. Roxy was taken."

Bianca's eyes froze instantly.

"Location."

In an abandoned pier warehouse in New Jersey, the sea breeze poured in wrapped in salty fishiness.

Bianca arrived alone. She saw her best friend Roxy, hands tied behind her back, blood at the corner of her mouth. Behind her stood a group of hostile Moretti family thugs.

Dante stood in the center, his figure as upright as ever. Beside him sat Mia in a wheelchair, her face pale.

"You're here." Dante looked at her, his voice devoid of emotion. "Because of your push, Mia lost the baby. The doctor said she can never have children again."

Bianca fell silent.

She didn't like Mia, but she had never intended to kill her child. This result was heavier than she expected.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice dry. "I'm willing to make amends."

"Make amends? With what?" Even tied up, Roxy craned her neck and cursed. "Dante! Bianca lost her chance to be a mother seven years ago because of you! I didn't see you making amends to her even a little bit!"

"Now you're blaming her for some unrelated woman?"

Dante frowned. Just as he was about to speak, Mia in the wheelchair suddenly became agitated. She stared at Bianca, her eyes full of bone-deep hatred.

"Blood for blood!"

"Bianca, you made me lose my child. You must taste the same pain!"

Bianca pressed her lips together and didn't speak. Roxy sneered aloud, "Well, she doesn't have the chance! Because of someone, she hasn't been able to get pregnant for a long time!"

Mia's gaze instantly turned to Roxy. "Since you and Bianca are like sisters, then you take it for her!"

"No!" Bianca shouted to stop it.

However, Dante spoke indifferently. "Fine."

Those two light words exploded in Bianca's ears like thunder.

She looked at him in disbelief—the Dante who once said he would always protect her and the people around her.

At his command, several thugs immediately surrounded Roxy. Punches and kicks landed heavily on her body, especially on her abdomen.

"No! Stop!" Bianca's eyes were splitting with rage. She wanted to rush over but was blocked firmly by more men.

Two fists couldn't fight four hands. She could only watch helplessly as Roxy was beaten until she curled up on the ground, her white clothes quickly dyed red.

By the time Dante raised his hand to stop them, Roxy was barely breathing.

"Bianca, when you do something wrong, you have to be punished."

After saying this, Dante pushed Mia and left the pier.

Only then did Bianca have the chance to approach Roxy. She didn't know where to touch her, so she could only helplessly cover the place where Roxy was bleeding.

If Dante had accompanied her for sixteen years, then Roxy was an existence that had been with her even longer.

She was the first person Bianca met after getting lost, and one of the few real sources of warmth in her life.

But now, this warmth was brutally trampled. A metallic sweetness surged up her throat.

She couldn't hold on any longer. She spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground, dyeing the world before her eyes red. Her consciousness plunged completely into darkness.