CHAPTER 27: – SAVANNAH’S VISIT –

An SUV pulled up in front of a hospital. The chauffeur stepped down, rounding over to open the door.

He bowed.

A red pair of heels settled on the concrete floor before a figure stood, eyes rising to the building. Savannah Di-grassi slowly smiled.

"You wait out here. I have someone to pay a lone visit."

She tucked her hair behind her ear and began toward the entrance, stepping through the glass doors that were opened by the security.

"Welcome, Mrs. Di-grassi," they greeted.

Savannah ignored them, glancing at the nurse who’d rushed over to her, bowing slightly before straightening up with a polite smile on her face. Amadeo, of course, was the biggest sponsor of the hospital, and his first wife, Viviana’s mother, was admitted into one of their wards.

"Welcome, ma’am. How can I help you?"

Savannah offered a smile. "I’d like to see Rosalia Di-grassi."

"Oh..." The nurse blinked. "Um... w-well..."

"What’s the problem?" Savannah’s smile faded.

"Well..." The nurse hesitated, fidgeting with her fingers. "You see, the lady Di-grassi gave strict orders that we couldn’t allow anyone other than her and Mr. Di-grassi to see her mother."

"Is that so?"

Savannah scoffed a laugh.

"What are you going to do now, then? Rosalia is my family. I should be able to see her if I like, no?"

The nurse panicked, intimidated. "O-of course, ma’am."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Savannah stepped into her space. "Will you take me to her, or..."

She didn’t complete her sentence, but the nurse knew it was a bad idea to infuriate a woman like her in any way. Worst case scenario, she would lose her job, and she couldn’t afford that.

Forcing a smile, she gestured, "P-please follow me."

"Good." Savannah adjusted the blue jacket of her suit, dusted at her pants, and followed behind the nurse toward the elevator.

They rode up to the second floor and stepped out once the doors chimed open. Her heels grew steadily louder the closer they arrived at the ward where Viviana’s mother was admitted.

"She’s in here, ma’am," the nurse said, her face ghastly pale in fright.

Savannah waved her off. "You may leave."

She turned the handle and slowly pushed the door open with a soft creak. One foot stepped inside, then the other, and as she shut the door behind her, her eyes drifted to the bed where Rosalia sat, shoulders slumped, staring dazedly out the window.

"Would you look at that?"

Rosalia quickly turned her head only to freeze as if she’d seen a ghost. Her face grew pale instantly, and she frantically crawled back further into the bed, wanting to get away.

"Oh... You don’t look too happy to see me, Rosalia." Savannah simpered. "That’s heartbreaking. I was hoping we could have an endearing union. But look at you. You wouldn’t even give me a smile."

"W-what are you doing here? What are you..." Rosalia stuttered, curling up to herself.

Savannah lifted a brow. "You’re acting like I’m a monster. My goodness, I’ve only come to pay you a visit. What are you so afraid of?"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Rosalia rapidly shook her head.

Savannah rather chuckled.

But Rosalia was finding it hard to breathe.

And Savannah grinned, taking steps toward her.

Rosalia shook and yelled, "D-don’t come close to me. Don’t come close to me! GET AWAY FROM ME! Stay away from—"

"Oh, shut up!"

Savannah snatched her by the jaw and dropped her bag on the bed.

"Don’t you know your screams are unpleasant? What are you yelling for?"

The wetness in Rosalia’s eyes broke. Her body was quivering uncontrollably. She could barely breathe.

Savannah roughly tipped her head to the side. She spat out, "Look how pathetic you are. I remember when I’d only met our husband. You were so pretty, it made me jealous. The worst part was you were so nice to me even though you knew he was having an affair with me. And it irritated me so bad. I mean, why were you acting like such an angel? You thought you were better than me, is that it? Or did you think I was going to kiss your foot because you were so good to me?"

She scoffed, repulsed by the vague memory.

"You were so stupid. So naive. And just like you, your daughter is being a moron."

"V-Viviana," Rosalia’s eyes grew distant.

That made Savannah grin devilishly. "You must’ve heard, no? How she stormed her own wedding with a new man. I know it must have made you happy. After all, she ended up marrying the man she wanted, not the one I chose. But what do you have to feel so gleeful about, Rosalia?"

Rosalia’s wet lashes flickered up at her, face growing paler. "Savannah... please."

"Please what?" Savannah sneered. "Don’t be stupid now, Rosalia. I know you’ve seen the news. It’s all over the place. Her wedding, the face of that nobody she’d made a part of our family. Makes me want to... puke. Do you even know how pissed Amadeo is? What do you think is going to happen from now on, hm?"

"I’ll kill you," Rosalia threatened suddenly in a barely audible tone. "If you—if you hurt my girl, I’ll harm you, Savannah. I’ll—"

Savannah broke into a mocking laughter, slapping a palm over her mouth while a little bubble of tears formed at the edge of her eyes. "You’ll kill me? Rosalia, I had no idea you were this funny. Oh my goodness."

But every trace of that amusement vanished from her face in the very next second. She snatched Rosalia by the root of her hair, pulling.

Rosalia screamed in excruciating pain. "Let go of me!" She grabbed at her wrist. No one was coming to her rescue.

"Listen here, let me tell you something." Savannah forced eye contact. "You see, Amadeo, our husband, he is under my palms. He will do anything I ask. Or don’t you get it? You’re in this hospital, your bills paid because I allowed it. You’re still alive and breathing because I wanted it this way. If I wanted you dead, you’d have been smoked out by now!"

A pitiful look clouded her face.

"But the thing is, I love seeing you this miserable. Why? Because you are Viviana’s weakness. You are the only thing that can break her, so the more you rot in here, sick and pathetic like a loser, the more unhappy she’ll be. And bit by bit, she’ll fade away just like you did."

"The worst mistake your daughter has made was going against me, Rosalia." She angled her head. "It’d only just made me mad. But nothing to worry about. I’m going to teach her how to remain obedient like her mother. Quiet and invisible until she stops existing."

Her smile twisted, dark. And she took a step back, saying, "Like mother, like daughter. Congratulations. I can’t even begin to imagine how happy your daughter’s marriage has made you." She applauded her. "But I’ll take good care of Viviana. Very good care of her."

She grabbed her bag and walked off to leave.

Rosalia, who’d been quiet up until now with a horrified look on her face, tumbled out of the bed, falling to the floor with a heavy thud. She crawled after her, grabbing her leg. "Savannah."

She sniffled, sobbing quietly. "Please, no. You can’t hurt my child. I’m sorry... I’m sorry for whatever I may have done to you without knowing. I’m begging you. Don’t hurt my girl. Please."

Savannah angrily kicked her, causing her to buck on the floor in pain.

"Don’t put your filthy hands on me again!" A disgusted look spread all over her face, and she hissed at her, slamming the door shut.