Chapter 3
69%
My phone buzzed while I sat slumped against the edge of the bed, hollow from crying. I forced myself to look at the screen. Martin.
Don’t worry, his message read. I just sent that to test if your husband would act. He didn’t. Then divorce him. Got it? Gwen is safe with me. Not even hurt.
For a second, my chest loosened. Relief crashed over me, so sharp it nearly broke me again. My Gwen. Safe. My baby was alive.
My fingers shook as I typed back. Then do me a favor, Martin. Fake my baby’s death–and mine too. I never want him to touch our lives again. Not after this. Not after everything.
The reply came instantly. Consider it done. See you soon, love.
Love. The word made me flinch, but I didn’t care anymore. I needed freedom. I needed Gwen safe. Whatever it took.
I dropped the phone and pulled out a suitcase. My hands moved quickly, shoving clothes into it, tossing shoes, jewelry, anything I could carry. Every zip of the bag was a nail on the coffin of the life I was leaving behind.
Then came the voice I least wanted to hear.
“I’m so sorry about the baby,” Nadine’s syrupy tone filled the doorway.
I froze, my jaw tightening.
“But you see,” she continued, stepping in uninvited, “he doesn’t trust you anymore. Not after what your father did. Honestly, Emerald, you should’ve told him about your father’s scam. Hiding things never ends well.”
I kept my back to her, folding another dress, forcing myself not to explode. She wanted a fight. I wouldn’t give her one.
Inside, though, my chest burned. My father? His sins had never been mine. I never cared about his mistakes. Why was I still being punished for them? Why did Nadine think she could dangle his shame in my face like this?
She came closer, her hands reaching for my clothes. “So you’re leaving?” She gave a laugh, pretending to sound kind. “That’s better. You really don’t have a place here anymore. Come, let me help you pack.”
“I don’t need your help,” I snapped, turning sharply. “I can handle this. Go away, Nadine. I know you’re faking every word.”
But she didn’t leave. She forced her way further into the room, touching things that weren’t hers. And then it happened–her arm brushed against the side table.
The vase toppled.
It crashed to the floor, shattering into jagged pieces. My eyes widened, my breath caught.
Not the vase. It was Gwen’s. The one she made in school, the one she’d painted with her
tiny hands and won first prize for. My Gwen’s masterpiece. Gone.
Chapter 3
2/3 8.9%
11:56 Mon, Sep 29
69%
tiny hands and won first prize for. My Gwen’s masterpiece. Gone.
Red flared in my vision. I shoved Nadine back, my voice breaking. “What the hell is wrong with you? I told you not to help me!”
She staggered back and immediately screamed, louder than necessary. “Leandro!”
Footsteps thundered down the hall. Leandro burst in, his eyes narrowing at the scene. “What’s happening?”
“I was just trying to help her pack,” Nadine said quickly, her voice trembling like a victim. “I didn’t mean to. The vase fell–and she pushed me.”
My chest heaved. “She knocked it over! I told her not to touch my things-”
Leandro’s glare sliced into me. “Over a vase? Are you serious? What’s wrong with you?”
I stared at him, incredulous. “That vase was Gwen’s! She made it-”
“And why are you packing?” His voice grew harder, suspicion twisting his features. “Seriously, Emerald? Was this your plan? To run away? Is it because you found out I agreed to send half the ransom?”
My breath stopped. “You… you agreed to send half?”
Jax
“Yes.” He sneered. “And now you’re pretending you didn’t know? Don’t lie to me. You’re running.”
“No–I didn’t know, I swear-
”
“You don’t deserve my trust.” His voice rose, cruel and final. “If anything, Gwen might not even be mine. For all I know, you’ve been cheating on me.”
The air rushed out of my lungs. “No! Of course not, Leandro-‘
“Don’t deny it!” His eyes darkened. “Come here. You deserve punishment. Since you’ve been toying with me, you’ll never see your child again.”
Terror slammed into me. I tried to step back, but his men appeared in the doorway. My scream lodged in my throat as he barked the order.
“Take her. Remove her toenails–one by one. Let her feel what Gwen felt. Let her know
pain.”
“No! Leandro, please-” My voice cracked as I struggled, thrashing against the guards‘ grip.
“Don’t! Don’t do this-”
But my cries were useless. His eyes were cold, merciless, a stranger’s gaze in the face of
the man I once loved.
The first rip of pain came like fire. They forced me down, pinning my arms, and I felt the sickening pull as one of my toenails was torn away. My scream echoed through the walls, desperate, ragged.
“Help me!” I cried, choking, my vision blurring with tears. “Please–someone, help me!”
But no one came. Not a single soul. Nadine’s silence was louder than any mockery.
Chapter 3
2/3 8.9%
11:56 Mon, Sep 29 G
169%
Leandro’s expression never softened–he only watched, as if my suffering was entertainment.
The second nail. Then the third. Every tear of flesh sent lightning bolts of agony racing up my legs, wracking my body with violent sobs. My voice grew hoarse from screaming until it was nothing but broken gasps.
And then–darkness. My body couldn’t take it anymore. I fainted.
When I woke again, pain throbbed through me like a living thing, every breath trembling against it. My feet were bandaged, my body cold and weak. But even through the haze, a thought anchored me.
It’s okay… just a few more days. Just hold on.
Soon, I would be gone. And I would never look back.
