Chapter 251/The Prison of Absolute Illusion

Chapter 251: 251/The Prison of Absolute Illusion

Chapter 251

Stephanie’s point of view

Silence reclaimed the rocky ledge, punctuated only by the distant, heavy rhythm of waves crashing against the jagged rocks below. I stared at my hands, plastered with dirt and gravel, as an icy numbness spread rapidly through my veins.

Then came a sudden, horrifying heat slick, heavy, and wet seeping slowly between my thighs.

My eyes widened in terror. I looked down. Dark, thick blood was soaking through the fabric of my pants, spreading rapidly and staining the cold dirt beneath me.

My chest constricted violently. A weak, terrified whimper escaped my lips as I pressed both hands over my stomach.

"My twins... Oh God... My babies!"

Panic hit me like a lightning strike, overriding the pain in my shattered knees and the horror of the cliff. I scrambled to my feet, staggering back toward the open car door. I threw myself half-inside, my numb fingers scrambling through my leather bag until I found my phone.

With blurred vision and tears stinging my eyes, I dragged my thumb across the screen until it landed on Vincenti. I hit call and dragged the receiver to my ear, my ragged breathing racing against the tone.

His deep, tense voice filled the line. "Stephanie?"

"Dominic..." The word tore out of me, fractured by breathless terror. "My twins... They’re dying... Save me!"

His tone shifted instantly, sharp and lethal. "What happened, Stephanie?! Where are you right now?!"

"I’m... I’m on a side road near Alexander’s estate... overlooking the sea..." I wiped my face with the back of my trembling hand, my voice dropping to a hollow whisper. "And I think... I think Cédric and Alexander are dead..."

"What?!"

I gripped the phone with everything I had left, my voice breaking into a desperate plea. "Please... Hurry, Dominic..."

The phone slipped from my limp fingers, clattering onto the asphalt. The world spun out of focus, darkness closing in from the edges as my knees buckled, plunging me into pitch black.

My eyelids fluttered open to a blinding white light that burned my retinas. That familiar, suffocating smell of antiseptic and sterile air invaded my lungs the distinct hospital scent that seemed to track me like a shadow. My eyes moved slowly around the room: the clean ceiling tiles, the square LED light panel, the sheer white curtains... The exact same room. The room I had woken up in after that nightmare weeks ago, where I discovered my marriage certificate was nothing more than ink on worthless paper.

My fingers trembled as I slid my hand frantically down to my stomach...

It was completely flat.

The subtle bump that held my children was gone. My hand glided over the cold fabric of the hospital gown, finding nothing beneath it.

"My twins..." I whispered, the air catching in my throat.

I bolted upright, throwing the covers back with a frantic, unhinged motion, feeling zero pain in the knees I had smashed on the stone stairs. I swung my legs over the bed, my feet hitting the freezing floor, and slammed my hands against my head. A guttural scream tore from my throat, shaking the walls of the room.

"NOOOOO!"

Scalding tears spilled down my cheeks as hysterical sobs wrecked my chest. At that exact moment, the heavy door swung open, and Dominic stepped inside with hurried strides, wearing a white lab coat draped over his broad shoulders.

He rushed to my side, his eyes locked on mine with intense concern. "Stephanie! What’s wrong?!"

I lunged forward, grabbing the lapels of his white coat with frantic strength, shaking him as I sobbed. "My twins are dead... They’re dead, Dominic!"

He caught both of my wrists gently, holding them firm. His voice was low, slow, and completely devoid of emotion. "Stephanie, calm down... You were never pregnant."

I took a step back, the tears freezing on my face as I stared at him in stunned horror. "I was pregnant! What is wrong with you? Have you lost your mind?!"

He stepped toward me again, raising his hands in a cautious, soothing gesture. "Stephanie, please... You’re having an episode."

"I am not crazy!" I screamed into his face, my voice raspy and raw. "Alexander is dead! Cédric is dead!"

Dominic set his jaw, shaking his head with firm finality. "Alexander isn’t dead... He’s alive. And so is Cédric."

"What are you saying?!" I hit my own chest, my entire body shivering. "I watched them drown! I saw their car go over the edge with my own eyes!"

He spoke with chilling composure. "None of that happened, Stephanie."

"I saw them!" I screamed, the room spinning violently around me. "I saw them with Valentina! And I saw Grandfather Victor on top of their mother while she was in a coma!"

The warmth drained entirely from Dominic’s face, replaced by a stone wall of indifference. "Stephanie... Please, just calm down."

"And I saw Kyra and Cédric together!" I cut him off with a ragged sob, looking around the room like a trapped animal. "They were in the same bed... He cheated on me too!"

Dominic turned toward the open doorway, his voice turning hard as iron. "Mayla... Get in here now!"

Within seconds, a middle-aged woman dressed in a crisp white nurse’s uniform walked into the room, holding a syringe filled with clear liquid.

My eyes locked onto her face, and an icy terror ran straight down my spine as her features registered...

It was the maid. The estate maid who had warned me.

"I believe you now..." I whispered, the breath leaving my chest as I backed up until my spine hit the cold wall. "I believe there are secrets in the basement..."

Nurse Mayla didn’t look up, nor did she utter a single word. She advanced with deliberate steps, her grip slamming onto my arm with unyielding strength. The cold tip of the needle pinched my skin as she drove the liquid straight into my vein.

My knees buckled instantly. The bright white light of the ceiling expanded and dissolved before my eyes, dragging me back into the abyss.

I opened my eyes slowly.

Warm daylight filtered gently through the sheer curtains of a immaculate, quiet hospital room. I turned my exhausted head to the side and found Dominic sitting in the armchair beside the bed, his arms crossed over his chest, watching me in silence.

Our eyes met. A soft, warm smile touched his lips as he spoke in a low, gentle voice. "Stephanie... Thank God you’re awake."

My fingers gripped the edge of the blanket as I looked at him, my voice barely a timid whisper. "My twins... Are they okay?"

He nodded slowly, looking at me with deep affection. "Yes, they’re perfectly fine... Don’t worry."

I closed my eyes for a long moment, letting out a heavy, burning breath that cleared the weight crushing my chest.

"I had the most horrific nightmare..." I whispered, my voice breaking softly.