Chapter 4
I never dared to keep anything with almonds in the kitchen-just the faintest trace could trigger his allergies.
Every year before Memorial Day, I would travel to Napa Valley myself, just to bring back the freshest premium green tea.
I remember the time he became obsessed with racing.
I secretly enrolled in driving courses, passed the test, and earned a license-thinking I could surprise him.
But when I told him, smiling with excitement, he only gave me a cold glance.
“Don’t touch my car.”
Five years of marriage.
All I had left was a marriage certificate.
No photos.
No shared memories.
Even our fights were one-sided-I argued in silence, and he never bothered replying.
At dawn, the door slammed open.
Damien burst in, face twisted with fury.
He stormed up to me and wrapped his fingers around my neck.
“Where’s Amber?”
I gasped, clawing at his hand. “I don’t know…”
“Still lying?” His grip tightened, cutting off my breath.
“She disappeared this morning after getting an anonymous message. Who else but you would
want to hurt her?”
“I really don’t know,” I choked out, shaking my head.
His eyes darkened.
He motioned to the bodyguards.
Before I could react, they dragged me out to the pool and threw me in.
The icy water slammed into my body, stealing the air from my lungs.
I struggled to surface, coughing-
Only to feel Damien’s hand push my head under again.
“I’ll ask one last time,” he said above me. “Where is she?”
Water surged into my nose, my throat, my lungs.
The world spun, and my vision began to blacken. Somewhere, through the growing numbness, I heard his voice:
“You really won’t cry until you see the coffin, will you?”
Chapter 4
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When I came to, bright white lights stabbed into my eyes.
I was tied to an iron chair, wrists bound, my body aching.
Across from me sat Damien, his once-familiar gaze now filled with cold, murderous rage.
Amber curled in his lap, sobbing dramatically.
“Mr. Sinclair… If you hadn’t arrived when you did… I… I would’ve been…”
She let the words trail off, her shoulders shaking in practiced tremors.
I turned my neck, muscles stiff, and saw more than a dozen men kneeling on the ground.
Faces bloodied.
Begging.
Damien didn’t spare them a glance.
3
He crossed his legs slowly, voice sharp as frost.
“Elena, I underestimated you. Even this kind of despicable trick… all to win sympathy?”
I opened my mouth to explain-
But in that instant, he lifted his hand.
A flick of his wrist.
The venomous snake he had raised for years slithered free-
And lunged at me.
Its fangs sank deep into my arm.
Agony exploded through me like fire, spreading fast, relentless.
My vision blurred. My body trembled uncontrollably.
“When you wake up,” he said, standing up with Amber in his arms, “come back to me on your
knees.”
The warehouse door slammed shut behind him.
Silence.
Then low, cruel laughter echoed from the bloodied men on the floor.
The one in front spat out blood, his smile turning savage.
“Damien dares to mess with us? We’ll make him pay-through his woman.”
Panic surged, but the venom had already paralyzed my limbs.
I thrashed in my restraints as their footsteps closed in.
Rough hands tore at my collar-
And the world went dark.
When I woke again, everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
1:43 pm Ds
When I woke again, everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
Pain wracked every inch of my body. My ribs felt shattered, my skin torn open.
I coughed, and blood spilled from my lips.
My fingers twitched weakly, every movement screaming.
Memories flickered like a dying reel of film-
My sister’s gentle smile.
The way my heart once raced when I first saw Damien.
2
Those nights spent listening to him and others from behind a locked door…
And then-
The iron door creaked open.
A figure stood in the doorway, tall and backlit by blinding white light.
His face was shadowed, but the silhouette was firm, unmoving.
I didn’t know who he was.
But he wasn’t Damien.
With the last shred of strength left in my body, I raised my bloodstained hand, trembling.
“Help… me…”
When he looked up, I froze.
