My Mother's Ashes, My Fury Unleashed

Calista POV

The force of the slap sent me stumbling. I hit the polished marble floor of the hotel lobby, the cold shock momentarily clearing my head. My cheek burned, a fiery imprint of a hand.

"You bitch!" Collin's face was contorted with rage, his phone shoved inches from my eyes. On the screen, a blurry video played-too dark to make out details, but the sounds were unmistakable. A couple, intimately entwined. Jaime' s unmistakable giggle, Collin' s low growl. My humiliation, broadcast for the world to see.

"How dare you leak this?!" he roared, his foot connecting with my side. A searing pain shot through me. I gasped, struggling to catch my breath.

"I didn't..." I rasped, pushing myself up on my elbows, my cheek throbbing, the taste of blood in my mouth. "I wouldn't."

Before I could finish, another sharp crack echoed in the lobby. Jaime. She stood over me, her face a mask of fury, her hand still raised from striking me. My head snapped back, hitting the floor with a dull thud. My lip split, a thin line of crimson tracing down my chin.

"You jealous hag!" Jaime shrieked, her foot lashing out. It connected with my stomach, a brutal, sickening impact. A gasp escaped my lips, but it was cut short by another kick, and another. "You tried to ruin me! You tried to expose us!"

A sharp, stabbing pain erupted deep within my abdomen. It was different from the superficial pain of the kicks, a deep, twisting agony that made me double over. I could feel something warm and wet spreading beneath me.

"Madam Calista is bleeding!" Maria, our maid, screamed from somewhere nearby, her voice laced with terror.

Collin, who had watched Jaime's assault with a detached, almost pleased expression, flinched. His eyes widened slightly. He took a hesitant step towards me, a flicker of something that looked like guilt, or perhaps just panic, crossing his face.

"It's just her period, Collin!" Jaime shrieked, clinging to his arm, her voice deliberately loud. "She's always so dramatic about it! She probably just got her period, and now she's trying to make you feel bad. Remember what you promised me? That you'd always protect me?"

Collin stopped, his gaze falling from my blood-soaked dress to Jaime's tear-streaked face. He looked at me again, then away. The flicker of guilt vanished, replaced by a cold indifference. He was a puppet, and Jaime held the strings.

"I'll... I'll take care of the online rumors," he muttered, his voice strained. "But you shouldn't have done that, Jaime."

"I have nothing left, Collin!" Jaime wailed, suddenly pulling a small, silver penknife from her pocket. She held it to her wrist, her hand trembling theatrically. "She ruined everything! My reputation! My future! My honor! I gave you everything, Collin! My youth, my innocence! And now, because of her, I'm nothing!" She sobbed, her voice rising to a hysterical pitch. "I can't live like this! If I die, I hope I find you in the next life, Collin! Then we can finally be together!"

My eyes, already swimming with pain, watched as Collin's face softened. Fool. She was playing him like a fiddle.

A sudden, sharp scream tore from Jaime's throat. Not a wail of despair, but a shriek of pain. A thin line of blood appeared on her wrist. She hadn't cut herself deeply, but it was enough to make Collin's eyes go wide with horror.

"Jaime!" he cried, rushing forward, cradling her in his arms. He glared at me, his eyes blazing with a renewed fury. "Look what you've done to her!"

He stumbled over my prostrate form in the dim light of the lobby, not even noticing he'd kicked me again. He didn't look back. Just scooped Jaime into his arms and started barking orders at his security detail.

"Find whoever leaked that video! Erase every last trace of it!" he thundered, his voice echoing through the silent lobby. "And as for her..." His eyes, cold and venomous, landed on me. "She'll pay for this. She'll pay for everything."

He stormed out, Jaime sobbing dramatically in his arms, leaving me bleeding and broken on the cold marble floor.

"Maria," I choked, reaching out a trembling hand. The pain was unbearable now, a fire consuming me from the inside out. "Help me, please."

Maria, rooted to the spot, shook her head, her face pale with fear. "I... I can't, Madam Calista. Mr. Fields said... he said I'm not to touch you."

I tried to call Collin. My phone, still clutched in my hand, showed his number. Ring. Ring. Busy. I tried again. Ring. Ring. Voicemail. Again. Again.

Desperate, I tried one last time. It rang once, twice, then clicked. Disconnected. He hung up.

The world began to spin faster, the edges of my vision blurring. The pain in my stomach intensified, a suffocating grip. My head lolled to the side. I could hear Maria's frantic whispers, but her words were like distant echoes. The floor felt cold against my bleeding cheek.

Then, darkness. Just before it consumed me entirely, I felt a strong pair of arms scoop me up. A familiar scent, not Collin's cologne, but something earthy, safe. A whisper in my ear, too faint to understand. Then, nothing.

Collin, speeding away from the hotel, gripped the steering wheel, his jaw tight. He was seething, but not at Jaime. No, he was furious at whoever had dared to expose his carefully constructed facade. His phone buzzed, a quick message from his head of security. "Sir, the online video has been contained, but we've found a trail. It seems to originate from an email address linked to Calista's old work accounts."

A cold dread settled in his gut. Calista. He had to be sure. He called his assistant. "Did you manage to get those funds for Calista's mother's treatment reversed?"

"Yes, Mr. Fields," his assistant replied, her voice crisp. "The hospital confirmed the transfer was successfully recalled."

Collin felt a surge of righteous indignation. So, she was trying to blackmail him. This was her revenge. He would make her regret it.

His phone rang again. It was his secretary, her voice frantic. "Mr. Fields! The stock! Your company shares are plummeting! It's a massive sell-off!"

Collin slammed on the brakes, the sudden stop jarring Jaime, who was still sniffling dramatically in the passenger seat. His world, so meticulously built, was suddenly crumbling.