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After the Don Left Me to Die, I Chose Freedom
Novelix
Completed
Three months pregnant, Emma Hale is abandoned on the Moretti family’s private mountain by her husband, Luca, a mafia boss who believes she needs to be punished. When an avalanche buries her alive, every call for help is dismissed as another lie—because Grace, the fragile adopted daughter, has already turned everyone against her. Emma loses her baby and nearly loses her life, while the people who betrayed her drown in regret. But apologies cannot thaw a heart frozen under snow. As Grace’s secrets unravel and Luca begs for forgiveness, Emma chooses freedom—and the man who believed her when no one else would.
Chapters (3)
第1章
To punish me on behalf of my adopted sister Grace, my husband, Don Luca Moretti, abandoned me—three months pregnant—at a camp on the snowy mountain.
He said he wanted to teach me a lesson.
North Ridge was the Moretti family's private mountain. Up there, a single word from Luca carried more weight than any distress signal.
That day, the avalanche came.
I was buried in the snow, crying as I dialed the rescue line.
"Help me, I'm Emma Hale... There's been an avalanche on North Ridge. I'm buried."
The person on the other end let out a cold laugh.
"Ms. Hale, Boss Luca already informed us that you might abuse the rescue line today. He told us to ignore you."
The call was disconnected.
I called my parents next.
They heard me crying, and all I got was impatience.
"Emma, Grace has always had a fragile constitution."
"You deliberately locked her outside and gave her a fever. Sending you to the mountain to reflect was supposed to make you remember your lesson."
The last call I made was to Luca.
All he said was: "Stop being hysterical. Think about what you've done."
The final avalanche swallowed me whole.
Before my eyes closed, blood had soaked through the snow beneath me.
And he was holding Grace's hand, walking slowly toward where I lay...
...
"Help... there's been an avalanche. I'm buried at the North Ridge camp..."
The snow had already risen past my waist.
I dialed the Moretti family's internal rescue line over and over again.
My right leg was pinned under a broken tent pole. The slightest movement felt like bone splintering from the inside out.
Worse still, my lower abdomen had begun to tighten in waves.
The call finally connected. I choked out the words: "I'm Emma Hale. I'm buried under snow. My exact location is the east side of the North Ridge camp—"
Before I could finish, a familiar voice on the other end cut me off.
"Ma'am?"
I froze for a moment.
"Boss Luca already gave us instructions. He said you had a fight with him today and might try to tie up the rescue line to force him to come back."
"If you're trying to make Boss back down, I'd suggest you don't."
My voice cracked with sobs. Everything in front of me was white fog.
"No! I'm not tying up anything. There's been a real avalanche. I'm buried out here. My leg is pinned. I can't get out!"
"Please come quickly. My stomach hurts so badly. I'm really going to die..."
The person on the other end clicked their tongue in annoyance.
"Ma'am, the rescue line is not a marital dispute hotline. Whatever issues you and Boss have, please resolve them privately."
The call was cut off.
The dial tone hammered into my ears, one beep after another. I gripped the phone, my fingers aching from the cold.
The next second, the wind sliced across my face like a blade. Frost crystallized on my lashes almost instantly. The frozen air scraped through my lungs until I could barely breathe.
The leg that was pinned had gone numb, but my lower abdomen felt like something blunt was twisting inside me.
I bit down on my lip and pressed my trembling hands over my belly.
"Don't be scared..."
"Don't be scared, baby. Mommy's going to try one more time..."
I dialed again immediately.
This time, they picked up even faster.
Before I could finish a single sentence, the voice on the other end had already turned cold.
"Ma'am, why are you calling again?"
I screamed through my tears: "I'm not lying!"
I held the phone out toward the howling storm.
A deep rumble echoed from inside the mountain. Snow cascaded down in sheets.
"Listen! You can hear the avalanche! I'm pregnant. My stomach really hurts."
"I can't hold on much longer. Please, just trace my phone and send someone..."
Low laughter came through the line.
"Boss Luca really called it."
"With a woman like this at home who loves putting on a show, no wonder Boss doesn't want to go back."
When the operator spoke again, his tone was nothing but dismissal.
"Ma'am, you're creating a nuisance. If you continue to harass the rescue line, we will log a report."
"Please stop taking resources away from people who actually need rescuing."
My entire body went cold.
"But I am the person who actually needs rescuing..."
Before the sentence left my mouth, the call was disconnected again.
The instant the screen went dark, a message popped up.
From Luca.
"Emma, are you done throwing your tantrum?"
"I only sent you to North Ridge to reflect. Was it really necessary to drag the entire rescue team into this?"
"They're busy. They don't have time to play along with your act."
I stared at those lines of text.
My tears hit the screen and froze almost instantly.
I was truly about to die.
And no one believed me.
With the last of my strength, I dialed the emergency center.
When they picked up, I was practically screaming: "Help... I'm on North Ridge Mountain. My stomach hurts so badly. I'm bleeding so much..."
The other end paused for a few seconds.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. Our system shows that your number has multiple flagged records of suspected fraudulent emergency calls."
"Per protocol, we need to contact a family member or the regional authority to verify."
Panic flooded through me instantly.
"Don't contact him—"
"Please just come save me! I really—"
But the call had already been transferred.
A few seconds later, the background noise changed.
It was lively on the other end.
I heard someone comforting Grace.
"Grace, don't worry. Just rest."
"Mom and Dad are here. No one's going to let you suffer."
Then Grace's fragile voice drifted through.
"Is that a call from my sister? Is she still angry at me?"
I heard Luca murmur softly to her: "Don't worry about her. If she won't admit she was wrong, let her stay out there."
The emergency operator asked: "Can you confirm whether Ms. Emma Hale is currently in any life-threatening danger?"
Luca's voice was cold, without a shred of hesitation.
"No. She's throwing a tantrum. Don't send anyone."
I clutched the phone so hard my knuckles went white. A broken sound tore from my throat.
"Luca..."
Wind and snow poured into my mouth. I could barely form a complete sentence.
"I really... it hurts so much..."
Another wave of cramping seized my lower abdomen, and I curled in on myself.
The snow beneath me was turning red.
I didn't care about the pain anymore. I clawed desperately at the snow, trying to drag myself out.
But my leg was pinned, and my abdomen felt like it was splitting open. Every movement sent my vision black.
All I could do was scream with everything I had left.
"Help!"
"Is anyone there..."
The words barely left my mouth before the wind shredded them to nothing.
The next second, the snow above me shuddered.
A massive wall of white came crashing down.
第2章
The snow had reached my chest.
Every breath felt like shards of ice scraping through my lungs.
I didn't dare shout anymore, afraid of shaking loose more snow. I could only press the phone against my cheek and use fingers that had almost lost all feeling to dial my mother Margaret's number.
The moment I opened my mouth, the wind and snow crushed my sobs into fragments.
"Mom, save me. I'm at the North Ridge camp. There's been an avalanche."
"The snow is up to my chest. My stomach hurts so badly. I'm already bleeding..."
For the first time, there was a flicker of panic in my parents' voices.
"What? Emma, you're really in the snow?"
Dad—Victor—sounded urgent too.
"Don't move! Send us your location!"
I clung to that lifeline like a drowning woman.
"It's real, Dad. Mom. I'm not lying to you."
"Please contact the rescue team. Please, hurry..."
But the next second, Grace's feeble voice came through from the other end.
"Dad, Mom, is that a call from my sister?"
"It's all my fault. I'm the reason Luca sent her to the mountain to reflect."
She coughed twice, her voice the picture of frailty.
"But isn't that the Moretti family's private camp? It should be perfectly safe..."
"She probably just thinks I don't deserve an apology from her."
The moment those words landed, my mother's tone shifted completely.
"Emma, how long are you going to keep up this act?"
Dad's voice went cold too.
"You deliberately locked Grace outside and gave her a fever that wouldn't break. All we did was have you stay on the mountain for a while to calm down, and you have to turn it into this?"
I shook my head desperately.
"I didn't—"
Mom cut me off, her voice dripping with impatience.
"Enough! There hasn't been a single peaceful day in this house since you came back."
"Grace has been sickly her entire life. Why do you always have to go after her?"
"You are our biological daughter. Shouldn't you know better?"
In that moment, the pain in my chest was almost worse than suffocating.
In their hearts, my safety didn't even outweigh a single sentence from Grace.
I cried so hard I couldn't breathe.
"I'm going to die..."
"Mom, I'm really going to die out here..."
Silence on the other end.
I thought she might feel sorry for me, even for just one second.
But then Grace murmured softly: "Mommy, I kind of want some hot soup."
Mom panicked immediately.
"Of course, of course. Mommy will have some brought right away."
Dad chimed in: "You rest first. Don't worry about Emma. She's just been spoiled rotten."
The call was disconnected.
I stared blankly at the darkened screen.
So my life mattered less than Grace wanting a bowl of hot soup.
The snow pressed tighter and tighter. I knew I couldn't wait any longer.
I clawed at the snow in front of me with both hands. My nails peeled back, blood mixing into the snow before freezing solid.
I gritted my teeth, tears smeared across my face.
"Hold on..."
"I have to hold on..."
The wind swept the snow right back, filling the gap I'd just dug.
I was on the edge of despair.
Finally, with trembling hands, I sent my mother a video call.
When the call connected, the face on screen wasn't my mother's.
It was Grace.
She looked at my wrecked, desperate face through the camera and smiled faintly. Then she muted the microphone.
I could see everything on their end.
They couldn't hear a word I said.
In the private suite at the hospital, the lights were warm. Mom was bending down to drape a jacket over Grace's shoulders. Dad was handing her a bowl of hot soup, stroking her head with a pained tenderness.
Luca stood beside her, leaning down to adjust her scarf.
Flowers and cake sat on the table. Mom held Grace's hand, smiling, saying that once she was feeling better, they'd throw her a proper celebration dinner.
Luca sat next to her, ladling soup, passing her napkins. When she coughed softly, he was the first to press a glass of warm water into her hand.
That was a tenderness I had never been given.
I slammed my frozen, cracked fingers against the screen over and over, screaming again and again.
"Mom! I'm right here!"
"Save me!"
Then Mom frowned and mentioned me.
"Emma is getting more and more out of control. Grace has been through so much, and she still has to pull something like this."
"She actually tried to use the baby to manipulate us."
Dad gazed at Grace with gentle affection.
"Forget about her. A few more days of reflection will do her good."
The video call was cut off.
My heart sank to the bottom of the snow.
They were all gathered around Grace, giving her warmth, favoritism, and love.
And I was alone, buried in a mountain of snow, too afraid to even cry out loud.
I clenched my jaw and dragged my body upward.
My chest loosened for just one second.
Cold air rushed into my lungs, and I broke into a violent coughing fit.
But the next instant, I lost my balance and crashed back down.
The phone slipped from my hand and fell into the snow.
Before I lost consciousness, the only thing I felt was the snow beneath me growing redder.
第3章
I was barely holding on.
Snow packed up to my chest, the weight of it turning every breath into swallowing a blade.
The pain in my lower abdomen grew more and more savage. A wide swath of white snow had been stained red with blood.
I pressed my frozen hands over my belly and cried until I nearly blacked out.
"Don't be scared. Mommy's going to get Daddy to come save us..."
The phone had almost no battery left.
I kept sending Luca video calls.
After dozens of attempts, he finally picked up.
"Luca!"
The moment I called his name, the snow above me trembled and began to fall.
I immediately lowered my voice, choking on my own sobs as I begged him.
"Don't hang up. Please don't hang up."
"I'm not lying to you. I'm dying. I've lost so much blood..."
He looked at me, his brow furrowing.
"Emma, what are you trying to pull now?"
"You're still pregnant. Making yourself look like this for sympathy—do you really think that's going to work?"
Warm tears froze against my skin. My entire body was shaking.
"Luca, I'm not—"
I turned the phone to show him the blood-soaked snow behind me.
"Look. I'm bleeding. I'm really not faking it. My stomach is in agony. The baby keeps dropping lower."
"Even if you don't believe me, you can't gamble with the baby's life. It's your child too!"
He said nothing.
I kept begging, my voice splintering.
"Luca, will you come save me? Please?"
"I won't fight for anything anymore. Grace wants Mom and Dad—I'll give them to her. She wants the Hale family's position—I won't compete."
"If she wants you..."
My voice seized so hard it felt like someone was ripping my heart in two.
"I'll step aside."
"I'm only asking you to save the baby. Right now."
When I finished, his pupils contracted sharply. Panic crept into his voice.
"Don't say that."
"Emma... don't be scared. I'm coming right now."
In that moment, my tears broke loose like a flood.
He finally believed me.
But just then, Grace's voice drifted in from beside him.
"Oh my God... Luca, why is she bleeding so much?"
"When I was little, I once saw the cook butchering game. I think the blood was about that color."
She quickly covered her mouth and rushed to add: "I'm not saying you're faking it, Emma."
"I just think the color and the amount are so scary. I'm so frightened..."
The hesitation in Luca's eyes hardened to ice.
He looked at me, his gaze full of disappointment.
"Emma, you really let me down. Do you hate seeing Grace happy that much?"
The hope that had just flickered to life was doused with ice water.
Hatred churned inside my chest.
"Luca, you are the Don of the Moretti family!"
"You've saved countless people. Why won't you save me? Can't you just once—just this once—not believe Grace?"
"If I'm lying, you can let me die."
"But what if I'm not? Luca, what if the baby and I really do die?"
The snow above me shook loose from my shouting, but I was past caring.
In that moment, it felt like something was being torn from my body by force.
I cried until my whole frame shook.
Something in his expression softened, but the instant he met Grace's pitiful gaze, his voice went cold again.
"Emma, settle down. Stop using death to threaten me."
"You're not in a good state right now. I'm worried you'll hurt Grace. Once you've calmed down, I'll come get you."
Then he hung up the video call. Again.
I sat there, frozen, unable to say a single word.
When I tried to call him back, the phone was dead.
I listened to the wind howling around me and surrendered to despair.
I didn't know how much time passed before a deafening roar echoed from the mountainside.
I had no strength to run. All I could do was use whatever I had left to shield my belly.
"Baby, I'm sorry..."
The sky-darkening wave of snow buried me completely.
Then, the next second, I heard footsteps.
Grace's gentle voice floated through the storm.
"We're here, Emma."
