The Imposter Bride (Natalia and Magnus) novel Chapter 462

The kitchen knife in Gabby's hand rose and fell with relentless fury, its blade splattering her face and clothes with a macabre painting of red. Unperturbed, she continued her onslaught on the lifeless body of the woman on the floor, releasing the tempest of rage that had been brewing within her.

Finally, when the blade of the knife curled from the violence of her strokes, Gabby shook as if waking from a nightmare. The once seductive figure lying motionless on the ground was now unrecognizable—a canvas of violence. Yet, fear didn’t touch Gabby. Instead, her eyes shone with a chilling, sinister light.

She tossed the ruined knife onto the floor, her pale face breaking into a twisted smile. She got up, her movements ghostly, and drifted over to the sink. With the water running, Gabby washed away the bloodstains with no more concern than if she were rinsing off spilled wine, indifferent to the possibility of Lucius coming down the stairs.

Once she cleaned herself up, a low chuckle escaped her lips. How could she have forgotten? The man she loved with all her heart had never loved her in return. The other woman had been nothing but his plaything. Would he really come downstairs out of concern for anyone?

Gabby lifted her hands, now clean of the blood that had coated them just moments before, her body trembling slightly. She left the kitchen and left the house that had once felt like a home.

The night was deep and dark as she stepped out of the villa, gazing up at the bedroom window. Lucius was probably still asleep. Sleep well, she thought bitterly.

That man was not her destiny. And if he had cared for her, even a fraction, maybe she wouldn’t have found herself in this dire predicament.

With a lingering look at the bedroom window, her eyes filled with a mix of longing and sorrow, Gabby disappeared into the night.

The solitude of the night mirrored the desolation in her heart. She pressed a hand to her racing pulse, staggering toward the hotel like a specter at midnight.

But she wasn’t completely alone. Anna was waiting at the hotel, the daughter she had claimed as her own—a sweet, understanding child who always seemed to warm Gabby's aching heart at just the right moment.

With thoughts of Anna’s sweet, smiling face, Gabby stumbled back to the hotel. She opened the door to her room, intending to scoop up Anna and leave that very night.

However, the room was a scene of chaos, as if ransacked by thieves. Gabby's heart lurched. She hurried to the bedroom, to the bed where Anna had been sleeping peacefully just hours before. Now, only an empty bed remained. Gabby was stunned. She frantically turned on all the lights and began a desperate search for Anna.

The kitchen was empty. The living room was also empty. The bathroom was empty. The balcony was empty.

After a thorough search with no sign of Anna, tears streamed down Gabby’s cheeks. How could Anna just vanish in the short time she was gone?

Returning to the bedroom, Gabby’s eyes fell on a note on the bed—a detail she had missed in her panic. She snatched up the note, her voice trembling as she read aloud, “If you want your child back, bring ten million dollars to the pier. Call the police, and you can collect her body instead.”

Gabby’s mind reeled. Anna was kidnapped, and they wanted ten million dollars. God, where would she get ten million? The money she had taken from Magnus had all gone to Lucius, and she hadn’t kept a cent for herself.