The Seabreeze of Port City

1
After the divorce, I fled to the mainland, scarred and broken, and disappeared into a quiet life under a new name and face. Everyone believed Id died in a gang war that burned the docks to ash.
For five years, my ex-husband Marcos men visited my graveuntil an old acquaintance walked into my barbecue shop. Stunned, he asked, Youre alive? Why havent you returned? Marcos been trying to kill himself out of guilt. Hes given up on the Family.
Marco, once one of Port Citys underworld Reapers, had vowed with his partner Isabella not to marry until they restored their Familys glory by thirty. But he met me at twenty, married me, and broke their pact.
Isabella turned vengeful: she poisoned me on our wedding night, locked me in a freezer while I was pregnanteach time, Marco saved me. This went on for three years.
On the ninety-ninth attempt, she strapped me with timed bombs and left me at a rival gangs door. With three minutes left, I ran to the police.

When Marco finally arrived, the first words out of his mouth weren't of concern, but of accusation.
"There are a dozen guys in the Family who could've defused that. Did you run to the cops on purpose? Were you trying to get Bella arrested?"
The complete lack of care in his voice left a bitter taste in my mouth. "She was trying to kill me! Your men all listen to her. Where else was I supposed to go?"
For the first time, I didn't back down, and my defiance infuriated him. "I came up with Bella in this life. I know her. She values loyalty above all else. She was just trying to toughen you up."
"I'll send her overseas to expand our operations later," he continued, "but she's the one who brings in the money for the Family. Nothing can happen to her."
He slid a settlement agreement and a credit card across the table, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Sign it. There's a hundred thousand on the card. For your trouble."
I stared at him, my heart feeling like it was being crushed in a vice. Was that all I was worth to him? A hundred thousand dollars?
When I didn't move, he frowned. "Ava, everything you have, everything you wearBella's work paid for it. Don't bite the hand that feeds you."
"I'll sign it when I'm dead."
Marco's eyes turned to ice. "You can do this the easy way or the hard way." He swiped his phone open. The sound of our daughter's terrified screams filled the air as one of his men twisted her little hand at an unnatural angle.
"No!" I shrieked. "Marco, that's your daughter too!"
A cold smile touched his lips. "Sign it, or she spends the rest of her life as a cripple. Your choice."
On the screen, the man snapped our two-year-old's forearm. She convulsed in agony.
"Don't hurt her! I'll sign!" I sobbed, my hand shaking too violently to hold the pen. Marco grabbed my hand and forced it to trace out my name, stroke by stroke.
I looked at the man I had loved for so many years, my voice choked with tears. "Why? Why would you do this to us, just for her?"
A flicker of regret crossed his face. He started to reach for me, but then he saw Isabella in the interrogation room next door and stopped himself. "I didn't want to use our daughter, Ava. I had no choice. Try to understand."
"Bella is my second-in-command, and she's my mentor's only child. She's never seen the inside of a precinct before. She's not like you."
He called one of his men and ordered them to take our daughter to the best hospital in the city. "If anything, and I mean anything, happens to my little girl, I'll have your heads."
I watched, my heart turning to a block of ice, as he snatched the agreement and rushed to get Isabella.
My love for him, blurred by a torrent of tears, died with that signature.
As I left the precinct, I called his mentor, Don RossiIsabellas father. My voice was raw, final. "Don Rossi, I know you've always seen Marco as your son-in-law. I know you've always thought I stood in the way of him and your daughter."
"Now, you have your wish. I'm divorcing him."
The old Don was surprised, but his voice was laced with smug satisfaction. "You're a smart girl. But everything Marco has, the Family and my daughter gave to him. You'll leave with nothing. And you'll leave Port City for good."
"Sign the papers and get them to me as soon as possible. The divorce will be final in a month. After that, I never want you to show your face in front of Marco again."
"Done," I said, my voice crisp.
I hung up, signed the divorce papers immediately, and had a lawyer deliver them to Don Rossi.
For the next two weeks, it was as if Marco had vanished from the face of the earth. I stayed by our daughter's side in the hospital, sleepless and alone.
He only reappeared the day she was discharged. He was wearing an apron, a feast laid out on the table to celebrate our "homecoming."
He bought me a limited-edition sports car. He commissioned a solid gold statue in our daughter's name at the local cathedral, to ensure her "divine protection." The tabloids hailed him as a "devoted family man," while I was the "trashy girl who got lucky."
It was as if his cruelty at the precinct had been a figment of my imagination.
But I knew this wasn't about guilt. It was about confidence. He was sure that, just like every other time, a few grand gestures would be enough to make me forget, to make me continue to endure Isabella's abuse.
Nausea churned in my stomach. I ran out of the cathedral for some fresh air, only to come face-to-face with Isabella herself.
"Well, well, Mrs. Ricci. A new car, a golden statue. You must be on top of the world," she purred, blowing a cloud of smoke in my face. "Marco loves you so much, doesn't he? But do you know where he was while you were playing nurse?"
She grinned, a venomous, triumphant look in her eyes. "He was with me. On a private resort down the coast, helping me get over the 'trauma' of being in a police station. We hiked during the day, and he kept me warm in bed at night. While you and your brat were left to rot in that hospital."
Every word was a dagger to my heart. He knew how badly our daughter was hurt, and he still chose to comfort the uninjured Isabella.
This was a house of God. I clenched my fists, forcing myself to swallow my rage.
But Isabella blocked my path, whispering in my ear, "If you don't want your precious daughter to end up in a body bag, meet me in the chapel in ten minutes."
I rushed there, my hand freezing on the door handle.
From inside, I could hear the unmistakable sounds of sex. A woman's voice, moaning, "Marco I'm coming"
The world went black, and I stumbled backward.
A young acolyte saw me and rushed to help. His voice, calling out, "Ma'am, are you alright?" silenced the noises from within.
The door creaked open. Marco stood there, shirtless, his pants half-zipped. Our eyes met.
The color drained from his face. He fumbled with his zipper and ran after me. "Ava, it's not what you think! A rival family drugged Bella! She barely escaped with her life and came to me for help!"
Tears were already streaming down my face. I slapped him, hard. "Go to hell!"
I turned and ran, blindly, crashing straight into a group of workers moving the new golden statue into the cathedral.
The massive, heavy statue toppled over, crushing me beneath it. I felt my bones splinter, and then, without even a cry for help, I blacked out.
I don't know how much time passed. I thought I heard Marco's voice, somewhere in the darkness.
When I opened my eyes again, I was on an operating table. A doctor was on my phone, speaking frantically. "Mr. Ricci, your wife has multiple fractures. A piece of bone has pierced her heart. She's in critical condition. We need you to get down here and sign the consent for surgery immediately."
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Then, a sound that made everyone in the room blush. A woman's sultry moan.
"Oh, Marco you're so big so deep"
Marco wasn't even listening to the doctor. His voice was a ragged pant. "My wife I'm saving Bella whatever it is it can wait"
The line went dead. The entire surgical team looked at me with pity.
A bitter, ironic smile touched my lips. Every breath was an agony. It took me a moment to find my voice. "My apologies for the scene," I rasped. "I'll sign for myself."
When I woke up again, it was the next day. Marco was by my bedside, his eyes bloodshot, his hair a mess.
He saw me open my eyes, and his own filled with tears. "Ava, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I didn't know you were really hurt. I thought you were just angry about Bella and trying to get my attention."
I didn't even look at him. I fumbled for the call button. "There's a visitor disturbing my rest. Please have him removed."
"Ava, I'm not leaving. You don't have anyone else in this city. I have to take care of you." He was genuinely panicked now by my cold indifference, gripping my hand tightly. When security arrived, he pulled out a gun and pressed it to the guard's forehead.
He cancelled all his meetings, delegated all his responsibilities, and stayed by my side, day and night. The tabloids called him "Husband of the Year."
The day I was discharged, Marco went to handle the paperwork. His men cornered me, and a sharp blow to the back of my neck sent me into darkness.
A bucket of ice water shocked me awake. I was naked, strapped to an operating table.
Isabella stood over me, holding a splintered wooden rod, her eyes gleaming with a sick, manic excitement. "You little slut. You like using hospitals to steal Marco from me? Well, today, you're going to get all the 'treatment' you can handle. By the time I'm done with you, the thought of touching you will make him sick."
She plunged the rod into me. Blood bloomed between my legs.
Several of his men were already unbuckling their belts, their greasy hands stroking my thighs. I trembled, screaming, "No, no, please"
Isabella just laughed, filming the whole thing on her phone.
Just as they were about to descend on me, the door to the operating room burst open with a deafening crash.
Marco stood there, a gun in each hand, his face a mask of demonic fury. When he saw my state, a guttural roar of rage tore from his throat. He opened fire, each shot finding its mark.
"Ava!" He ran to me, his hands shaking as he fumbled with the restraints. He pulled me into his arms, his entire body trembling. "It's okay, you're safe now! Anyone who hurt you is going to pay!"
The terror of what had just almost happened washed over me, and I finally broke down, sobbing. He gently covered me with his jacket, his voice a soothing murmur. Then he swept me up into his arms to get me to a doctor.
Isabella, her face twisted in a snarl, blocked our path. "You're not going anywhere! She pissed me off. I'm going to cripple her today."
Marco didn't back down. His eyes were cold steel, his voice lethal. "Isabella, for the sake of our history, I've put up with all your games. But you don't mess with my wife's honor. She's my woman. Only I can touch her. If anything serious happens to her today, I will personally take your head and offer it to her as an apology."
The sheer killing intent rolling off him made her stumble backward. She couldn't comprehend it. The Marco who had always taken her side was now defending me. Her eyes went wild. "Apologize to her? That piece of trash? You broke our vow first! You're the one who betrayed me! Leaving her with me is the least you can do. If you insist on leaving you'll have to walk over my dead body!"
She snatched a gun from one of the dead men and pulled the trigger on herself.
The moment the shot rang out, Marco instinctively dropped me and lunged for Isabella.
I hit the floor hard. The wooden rod inside me was driven deeper, and blood poured from the wound. Marco didn't even hear my scream. He was already running out the door with Isabella in his arms.
I didn't dare pull the rod out. I started to crawl, leaving a smear of blood on the floor behind me. I had just made it out of the operating room when a hand grabbed my hair and yanked me up. It was Marco.
He dragged me, kicking and screaming, down the hall to another O.R. "Bella's kidney was damaged by the bullet. You're a match. You're giving her one of yours."
I raked my nails down his arms, drawing blood, my voice a hysterical shriek. "You're not human, Marco! She set me up! She shot herself! Why do I have to pay for her crimes?"
His grip didn't loosen. His eyes were resolute. "She did it because she was mad at you, Ava. You're the one who caused this. Besides, you can live with one kidney. Bella has lived a pampered life. She needs both of hers. I'll owe you for this one. I'll get you the best doctors, the best care. I'll even buy you a villa on the Peak as compensation."
I tried to fight, but he pressed a cloth soaked in chloroform over my mouth and nose.
His last words to me before I passed out were, "Since you're not objecting, I'll take that as a yes."
My mind screamed, I object, Marco! And I hate you!
And then, I was lifted onto the operating table, and the world faded to black.
When I opened my eyes, he was there, just like before. The concern and guilt in his eyes were real. "Ava, you're awake. You were in bad shape. The doctors were worried."
"Here, let me help you sit up. Have some soup"
Before the spoon could reach my lips, I slapped the bowl from his hand. It shattered on the floor, the shards digging into his feet. He didn't even flinch, so desperate was he to appease me.
But it was too late, Marco.
The next evening, while he was on a phone call, Isabella stormed in. She looked down at me, her eyes filled with contempt. "My kidney was fine, you know. I lied to him. And he didn't even think twice before he had yours cut out for me."
"Pathetic, isn't it? The great boss's wife, so pitiful and weak. He says he loves you, but every time I hurt you, he takes my side. Don't you see who he really loves?"
I was shaking with rage, barely able to grit out the word, "Get out."
Her expression soured. She slapped me across the face. "You dare talk to me like that, you bitch? Fine. You just wait. I'm going to finish you today."
She stormed out. A moment later, Marco came in, his face livid.
He punched me, right on my surgical wound.
Pain exploded through my body. Blood soaked through my bandages. "Ava, I told you I would make it up to you. Why did you have to go after Bella?"
I couldn't believe it. "She came here to provoke me!"
"Bullshit!" Another punch landed on the same spot. "The nurse confessed. You bribed her to throw away Bella's anti-rejection meds. You were trying to kill her."
He didn't even investigate. He just pronounced me guilty.
My heart felt like it had been carved out of my chest. "Is that what you really think of me, Marco? That I'm that evil? Have you even considered that I've been by your side every single day? When would I have had time to bribe a nurse?"
"For years, she's been the one hurting me! Have I ever once fought back? Haven't I always let it go, just because you asked me to?"
"You're the only one with a motive to hurt her," he said, his voice cold and final.
"Couldn't she be the one lying? Trying to frame me?" I screamed. The injustices of the past three years felt like mountains pressing down on me. His distrust was the final straw.
I struggled to sit up, grabbing anything within reach and hurling it at him. "You're a monster, Marco! A heartless bastard! You say you love me, but everything you do is to protect her! For three years, the words I've heard most from you aren't 'I love you,' but 'Let it go, Ava. I owe Bella.' I'm sick of your love! I don't want it anymore!"
He'd never seen me so furious. He looked lost, reaching out to comfort me. But then Isabella ran in, her face pale, a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth.
She threw her arms around his waist, sobbing. "Marco, I almost died. Aren't you scared? Do you want this to happen again? Ava's been with you for three years, and she still hasn't learned how to be an obedient wife. If you can't teach her, then I will. Just say the word, and we'll call it even."
Marco hesitated. His fists were clenched at his sides.
Isabella tugged at his sleeve again, and something inside him seemed to snap. He made his decision.
"Fine. Teach her some manners. But don't kill her."
Isabella's lips twisted into a cruel smile as she glanced at me. Two of his men rushed in, grabbed me, and dragged me out to a waiting van.
I was helpless. My only hope was to appeal to him one last time. "For the sake of what we once were, don't let them take me. They'll kill me!"
He just looked down, taking Isabella's side once again. "Ava, it's time you learned how to be a good wife. I'll come get you when you're ready."
For the next week, I was tortured.
Nails were driven through the soles of my feet. Filth was poured over my head. I was strapped to an electric bed, thrown into a freezer until I passed out, and then scalded with boiling water to wake me up.
Isabella watched it all from a chair, sipping a glass of red wine.
She only called a halt when my vital signs began to plummet. "Useless thing. I wasn't even done playing! When is Marco going to let me kill you? I'm getting bored."
She ground her heel into my bloody, mangled face. "Get her to a hospital. If she actually dies, Marco will probably kill himself."
I was dumped at the entrance to the emergency room. The doctors were afraid to even touch me, for fear I would die on the spot. It took a team of specialists three days and three nights to bring me back from the brink.
The moment I opened my eyes, I received a message from Don Rossi.
[The divorce is final. It's time for you to honor your promise and disappear.]
I replied instantly. [Good. Arrange for my faked death. Tie up all the loose ends.]
This time, he called. "There's a turf war going down at the docks tonight. I'll have my men start a fire in the confusion. I've already found a body double for you. Get on the boat at the harbor and don't look back."
After I hung up, a wave of relief washed over me, greater than any I had ever known.
I changed into street clothes, avoided the cameras, and headed straight for the harbor.
The lights of Port City grew smaller and smaller, until they were just a faint glimmer on the horizon.
At that same moment, Marco received a call from the hospital. "What's wrong with Ava? You said you were just teaching her some manners. Why is she in critical condition?"
"Bullshit! Manners don't cause full-body skin ulceration, multiple fractures, and internal bleeding! She was tortured!"
Marco flipped a table at the casino and drove like a madman toward the hospital.
But as he reached the docks, he found his path blocked by a full-blown war between the city's two largest gangs. He dodged knives and bullets, getting cut several times as he tried to push through.
He had just reached the hospital entrance when he saw the thick, black smoke and the towering flames. A panicked crowd surged out, making it impossible for him to move forward. He could only watch as the fire consumed everything.
Finally, the fire crews pulled a charred body from the wreckage.
"Mr. Ricci, we've confirmed it's your wife. Please accept our condolences."

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