After The Don Left Me To Die I Chose Freedom Chapter 01
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.