Chapter 6 - Rising from the Ash
“I was coming back for you!” Vincent roared, the agony of three years tearing out of his throat. “I swear to God, Anna, I took three steps away to put Sophia on the grass and I sprinted back! I didn't leave you to die!”
“You left me to burn!” she struck back, stepping into his space, her eyes blazing with raw fury.
With a sharp motion, she reached behind her neck and unzipped the high collar of her gown, pulling the fabric down past her left shoulder.
Vincent stopped breathing.
Across her shoulder, down her left arm, and stretching across her ribs were thick, jagged, textured burn scars—tissue grafted together through dozens of surgeries. It looked like the bark of a scorched tree, a permanent map of torment etched into her flawless skin.
“The flight attendant found me,” Anna whispered, her voice shaking with controlled rage. “She dragged me toward the tail exit while you were being a hero for your first love. The fuel exploded before we reached the slide. She died covering my body. Do you understand that, Vincent? A complete stranger died shielding your pregnant wife, while you were outside holding Sophia!”
Tears carved tracks down Vincent’s face. He fell to his knees on the cold marble of the terrace, completely broken. The billionaire titan of Wall Street knelt before her like a condemned beggar.
“Anna… God, Anna… forgive me…” he sobbed, reaching out to touch the hem of her gown, too reverent and terrified to touch her scarred skin. “Forgive me. Please. Punish me. Take everything I own. Take the company, take my life. Just let me be your husband again. Let me be a father to our son.”
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Anna looked down at him, her expression a mix of sorrow and utter disgust.
“You think this is about money? You think this is about revenge, Vincent?” She pulled her dress back up, hiding the scars once more. “I spent eighteen months in an intensive burn ward in Switzerland. I endured twenty-four reconstructive surgeries while Julian Vance kept me alive. Every skin graft, every stitch, every drop of sweat—I did it for Leo. Not for you. You don’t exist to me.”
