Mr. Sterling, Your Ex-wife is a Famous CEO

ONE MONTH LATER

Arabella curled in the corner of the small room, her knees to her chest. Her arms shook from the last injection...they always made her feel like her bones were burning.

She bit down on her lip to stop herself from crying again. Her voice was too hoarse to make another sound anyway.

The metal door clicked. Nala walked in, bored, holding a tray of syringes.

Not again.

Arabella's heart thudded painfully. She watched Nala carelessly drop her phone on the counter before leaning over her.

"Time for your dose."

"No," Arabella whispered, backing away. "Please... no more."

Nala rolled her eyes. "You always fight. It won't change anything. I will lose my job if I don't do this."

A small smile appeared on her lips as she added, "Plus your sister is paying a lot of money for this."

Her smile started to turn into a sinister laugh as she drew up the medication into the syringe.

"I'm making so much more money in a month than I've made in 6 months combined, I can't take this job for granted."

As she turned to drop the medication bottle, Arabella moved. Fast. Desperate.

She grabbed the phone with trembling hands and slipped it under the thin blanket. The nurse didn't notice-not until Arabella pushed past her and ran out of the room.

Alarms started screaming, hospital security running after her.

Arabella's breath came out in sharp, broken gasps as she ran through the corridors of the hospital.

Her legs were blistered from the torture, her body weak from too much injections and too little food, but she ran, dashing into the first unguarded room she saw.

Another patient's room. But she was sleeping...Or so she thought.

Arabella locked the door behind her, docking at a corner.

Her fingers shook so badly she almost dropped the phone. She didn't know what she was doing, only that she had to get out, and had to live. For Axel. For herself.

She opened the call log. Her vision blurred.

There were only two numbers she memorized.

One, Adrian.

She started to type it, but stopped midway.

He definitely had someone following her that day. What's to say he wasn't involved in this?

Adrian was the last person she wanted to ask for help now.

Maybe not the last. Because the other number...she was forced to memorise it.

That number.

The one her Victor had said as he bled out inside the crashed car six years ago.

"Your mother..." Victor had rasped, coughing blood as he sagged in Arabella's arms. "She's dead." But-" his breath had stuttered, fading fast. "I might have found your father."

The number she swore she would never call because Victor's investigation showed he abandoned her mother.

The number she had tried to delete a thousand times. The number she wasn't even sure would still be in service.

But now...he might be her only hope.

Her thumb hovered over it. For a moment she couldn't breathe.

"I don't want to die here," she whispered. "Please...please help me." She prayed in her mind just before she pressed call.

The ringing felt endless, her heartbeat pounding in her ears with every ring.

Then a deep voice spoke as soon as the call went through.

"Hello?"

Arabella's breath cracked. She didn't know what to say. Words tangled in her throat. Tears slid silently down her face.

"Who is this?" the voice asked, sharper now. Strong. Alert.

"It's..." Her voice broke. "I-I...my name is Arabella Greene." She wiped her face with the back of her hand as the door banged behind her.

Fortunately, they had metal doors, making it impossible to tear down.

"I...I am supposed to be the child you had with Isabella Greene."

There was a hard, stunned silence.

"...Arabella?" His voice was rough now, like something hit him in the chest. "I–Isabella had our baby? Who are you? How did you know of Isabella?"

"I know it's hard to believe a random person claiming to be your child, but you are my last resort. I'm trapped in a mental hospital. I could die any moment," she whispered. Her whole body shook. "Y-you couldn't save my mom...maybe you can save me?"

She heard the scrape of a chair, like he jumped to his feet.

"If I find out you are tricking me, I will make sure you regret making this call," he threatened, voice steady but trembling under it. "Where are you? I'm coming for you. Right now...don't hang up."

Over the next few seconds, she could hear him curse under his breath as he shouted words of command to what felt like his guards.

Arabella pressed her forehead against the wall, crying silently.

"Please... hurry." she whispered.

Arabella didn't move. She held the phone to her chest like it was the last piece of hope she had.

She could hear Nurse Nala and Dr. Sebastian arguing behind the door as they tried to open the door with its spare keys.

They weren't about to let Arabella end their paycheck and massive donations.

While the chaos went on, Arabella noticed the patient in the room hadn't moved. Not once.

Despite the shouting, the banging, the alarms.

She tiptoed closer, her breath shallow.

The woman's eyes were open. Glassy. Staring at nothing.

Dead.

The woman had died just minutes ago-the nurse had barely stepped out to call for a gurney when Arabella burst in.

Arabella staggered back, tripping and falling on her back. She covered her mouth with a palm, while she tried to move back with the other.

The phone slipped from her hand. The banging on the door and threats from the nurses didn't stop.

The key box contained rusty spare keys for every room in the hospital so it was hard to find. And even if they did, it might likely not work because of the rust.

Arabella gasped crawling under the bed, hands pressed firmly on her mouth, trying to be invisible.

For over an hour, she heard them struggle with the keys, arguing and cursing, every second felt like eternity.

After a while, the pounding stopped, replaced by a low, wavering noise that seeped through the ceiling.

Under the bed, Arabella held her breath, unsure if it was a helicopter overhead or just the building groaning.

Then it stopped. The banging. The threats. She heard faint footsteps approaching. Then a few furious commands.

Several more minutes passed before the door opened.

"Arabella?" The familiar voice she heard on the phone earlier came.

Arabella was hesitant, but as she peeped out and locked eyes with the pair of beautiful brown eyes that looked just like hers, hot tears poured down her eyes.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, with brown eyes exactly like hers and dark hair streaked with silver. A neatly kept beard framed his jaw, giving him a dignified, commanding look.

She slowly crawled out, her vision blurred but she could still make out the figures of several guards surrounding the room.

The man couldn't help mouthing, "Isabella...." as he reached out, giving her a hand which she hesitantly took to get on her feet.

"You...are..." he stuttered, his eyes locked firmly to hers. The resemblance was clear as day...at least for him. "I–I'm Richard. Richard Gallagher..."

"Thanks for saving me." Arabella interrupted as she slowly pulled her trembling hand away from his grip, lowering her gaze.

Yes, he saved her. But that doesn't mean she'd ever forgive him for abandoning her mother. For abandoning her.

"Isabella..." whatever he was about to say trailed off as a guard pushed Dr. Sebastian to the floor, announcing,

"He's in charge here."

Even before he was questioned, Dr. Sebastian started to confess, begging to be spared.

Richard looked at Arabella, jaws tightened with anger on hearing the story.

"You call the shots, Arabella. What do you want to do to them?"

Arabella slowly wiped the tears off her face, the unbearable fear and pain she felt slowly washing away knowing she was safe now.

But the Arabella that came in here was different than the one Richard had rescued.

Now, she will make everyone that hurt her pay dearly...but slowly.

She looked at the corpse laying in the bed and then back to Richard, "Seems like I will be needing another favour from you, Mr. Gallagher."