Rust Upon the Soul

When I woke up again, I was already lying on a hospital bed.

The doctor looked at me with pity in his eyes and spoke gently, “Ma’am, your body is too weak and your injuries are too serious. We’re really sorry, but we unfortunately couldn’t save the baby.”

I slowly placed my hand over my now flat stomach, but I actually didn’t feel any sadness. I stayed in the hospital for one more day. During that time, I contacted the leader of the Romani community and asked him to meet me at the mountain gate.

Ever since we had been threatened seven years ago, the entrance to the Romani community had become very well hidden. Only people from the community knew where it was.

I also asked the butler to bring the urns containing my grandmother’s and my son’s ashes from the mansion to the hospital. I planned to leave the hospital early the next morning. But later that night, the butler called and told me the urns had been broken. He told me to come quickly.

I felt like my whole body had turned to ice.

When I arrived at the mansion, I saw a large white area on the ground. A Tibetan mastiff was lying nearby, foaming at the mouth and shaking. Tears filled my eyes and I dropped to the ground, trying to gather the ashes with trembling hands.

Suddenly, Angelo grabbed me by the collar. His eyes were full of fury.

“So it really was you! This evil thing belonged to you! Do you know Maria almost lost her ability to have children because of this?”

I stood up and slapped him hard across the face as I shouted back at him, “These are ashes! They’re the ashes of my grandmother and my son! They are not evil things!”

For a second, Angelo looked surprised.

But then his face twisted in rage.

“Whose ashes would poison a dog? Sophia, you’ve become so cruel that you would even curse your own family!”

“Maria told me you brought this thing here to cast a spell and make her lose the baby. I didn’t want to believe her, but now I see it’s true. If you’re willing to harm her, how could you care about anyone else?”

“Isn’t it true that Romani blood can cure all sicknesses? Then, even if she drains all your blood today, I won’t stop her!”

He dragged me into the operating room like I was garbage and threw me down in front of the doctors.

“Take as much blood as Maria wants. Just make sure she doesn’t die.”

I was tied to the bed, unable to move. Sadly for me, I couldn’t do anything other than watch it as the blood bags filled up one by one. Not long after that, I started to feel cold and my heart was beating more slowly. I wondered if I might really die in this place.

Just then, Maria walked into the room. She looked surprised to see me still conscious. With a smug smile, she handed the full bags of my blood to the doctor.

“Take them now and run your tests while they’re still fresh.”

After that, she turned to me and looked straight into my eyes.

She asked me mockingly, “So, how does it feel to lose your grandmother and your child?”

My eyes filled with rage. In fact, I wanted to rip her apart with my bare hands. But she looked pleased with my pain and kept going.

“Don’t think that giving your blood to Angelo for years means you matter to him. You’re nothing but a joke.”

“You’re pathetic, Sophia. I’ve done everything I can to torture you over the past five years, but you still act like a dirty dog that won’t leave this place.”

I let out a cold laugh and looked at her with disgust.

“If Angelo truly felt nothing for me, you wouldn’t be trying so hard to hurt me or push me away.”

“And you, Maria … you’re just as pathetic. You knew that Mrs. Lombardi was the one who caused the Rossi Family to go bankrupt and yet you still follow her granddaughter like a lost puppy. So, who’s the pathetic one?”

Maria’s face twisted with anger. She raised her hand to slap me, but I grabbed her wrist and slapped her first. For the first time in all these years, she was the one who got hurt. She looked shocked and furious.

She went wild, screaming and kicking me hard in the lower stomach.

“You disgusting woman! I’m going to kill you!”

She pulled me by the collar and slammed me against the wall.

One of the doctors nearby dropped the blood bag and rushed over, clearly scared.

“Stop fighting! This is the blood transfusion room! If someone from outside walks in, our entire plan will be ruined!”

Maria slowly calmed down. She then messed up her hair with her hands and even slapped herself twice to make it look more believable. When she finally opened the door to the blood transfusion room, she looked like she had been badly beaten.

She cried out in a pitiful voice, “Angelo, Sophia refused to give me a blood transfusion and she even said she wanted to kill me!”

Angelo was filled with rage when he saw how miserable Maria looked. Without a second thought, he kicked me hard and I fell to the ground in pain. He pulled Maria into his arms and held her gently while giving me a cold and hateful look.

“You still want to hurt Maria after everything she’s been through? You’re completely hopeless!” he shouted.

I clutched my stomach tightly because of the pain and started sweating. I pointed toward the doctor and the box of blood bags not far from me.

“They’re lying … ” I tried to explain, but before I could finish, Angelo gave an order to the bodyguards.

“Shut her up. Take her to the basement and lock her there for a few days. Don’t give her any food or water!”

Not long after that, he left quickly with Maria to have her checked by a doctor.

Meanwhile, I was being thrown into a cold, dark room in the basement. Time passed slowly, while I was feeling weaker every moment. When I was about to pass out from hunger and exhaustion, the basement door finally opened.

Mrs. Lombardi stood at the door. The moment she saw my condition, her eyes widened in shock and she almost dropped to her knees in front of me.

“I will punish that wicked woman for what she’s done to you,” she said with anger in her voice.

I gave a tired smile and handed her the small monitor I had hidden on my collar. Her face turned serious right away. However, she quickly passed the monitor to her assistant to investigate the truth.

On that very same night, I left the Lombardi Family’s mansion. I also took the urns of my grandmother and my son with me and walked away without looking back.

Meanwhile, Angelo stayed by Maria’s side for an entire day and night. He only left after the doctor confirmed that the baby in Maria’s belly was healthy and safe.

It was only then that he suddenly remembered I was still locked in the basement. He waited until Maria fell asleep, then rushed back to the Lombardi Family’s old home. On the way, he asked his assistant to buy a slice of chocolate cake. It was my daughter’s favorite.

But when he entered the house, he didn’t see me. Instead, he saw Mrs. Lombardi sitting at the head of the room. Her face was full of disappointment and anger as she looked at her grandson.

“Look at what you’ve done,” she said sharply.

“Maria, that evil woman, is going to destroy this whole family!”