"Gemma, how could you do something like this? You actually hired men to rape Sallie. That's disgusting. You are beyond redemption. You deserve to die. If someone hadn't passed by that room tonight and saved her, you would have destroyed your own sister!" Brendan Edwards tightened his grip on her hair and shoved her under again. Fury filled his voice. "No matter what happened between the two of you, she is still family. How could you be this cruel?"
He dragged her back up for a second before forcing her down once more.
Only after Gemma's strength faded and her body went limp did he finally stop. With a rough motion, he threw her toward the edge of the pool.
Her body curled on the floor as she coughed hard, trembling without control. "Brendan, I didn't do it," she said weakly. "I swear I didn't."
Pain twisted through her lower abdomen from her period, and the cold water soaking her clothes made her shiver so badly she could barely speak.
Brendan wrapped an arm around Sallie Elliott and pulled her close. Her clothing was disordered, and quiet sobs came from where her face pressed against his chest. He glanced toward Gemma, who lay collapsed on the floor. "What? Are you going to claim Sallie framed you? Apologize to her right now. If you refuse, you know what will happen."
With great effort, Gemma lifted her head. Tears clouded her vision as she looked at Brendan, the man she once insisted on marrying no matter the cost.
For six years she had loved him in silence. Three more years passed after that as his wife.
Even though she knew she had only taken the place meant for her older sister, she still held onto the foolish hope that someday he might treat her with a little warmth.
Yet now, because of Sallie's accusation, he treated her like something worthless beneath his feet.
The coldness in his eyes crushed the last piece of hope she carried.
Water slipped from her lashes, and she couldn't tell whether it came from the pool or from her tears.
Her fingers gripped the soaked fabric of her clothes as she spoke slowly, each word trembling but clear. "I didn't do it. I won't admit to something I never did."
"Brendan, please don't blame Gemma. This is all because of me." Sallie's voice trembled as she leaned closer into Brendan's arms. "When we were children, I accidentally lost her and she suffered outside because of that. Later, I went abroad for treatment, and she ended up marrying you in my place. I shouldn't have returned. I'm to blame for the strain on your marriage. This is all my fault."
Her crying turned uneven as she struggled to finish her words. "If she resents me, then I deserve it."
The moment those words left her mouth, Brendan's anger flared.
For years, he had searched everywhere for Sallie without stopping. The woman he loved had finally returned, so how could he allow her to suffer even the smallest grievance?
His arm wrapped around her as he held her close, and he lowered his head to kiss her forehead.
When his gaze shifted back toward Gemma, every trace of warmth disappeared, leaving only hatred.
"People answer for what they do." His voice carried a cold edge as he addressed the group of thugs standing nearby. "Whatever Gemma intended to do to Sallie, do the same to her. Break her hand first. After that, do whatever you want."
"Yes, Mr. Edwards!"
More than a dozen men moved at once. Fear for their own safety drove them forward. Chairs, baseball bats, and beer bottles were grabbed without hesitation as they closed in on Gemma. Each strike landed with clear intent, targeting places that would cause the most pain without ending her life.
Blood covered her body in less than a minute.
Then the man leading them lifted his foot and stomped down on her hand.
A sharp crack echoed through the room.
Gemma's scream tore through the air.
She dragged her injured body forward across the floor streaked with blood, inch by inch moving toward Brendan. "Brendan... I didn't do it... please... save me..."
Their marriage had lasted three years. The union existed only for business, and Sallie had always been the woman Brendan wanted. He had never been intimate with Gemma.
Yet as he watched her struggle toward him, something in his expression shifted. Every day for three years, she had woken before dawn to prepare meals suited for his stomach problems.
For a brief moment, Brendan hesitated. Gemma had learned her lesson-a harsh one. Perhaps this was enough.
"Alright. You all can-"
Sallie suddenly grabbed his shirt. Her face showed discomfort as her breathing became uneven. "Brendan... I don't feel well..."
Brendan's face hardened the moment he heard that. "Gemma, you even drugged Sallie?"
Without waiting for any answer, he lifted Sallie into his arms and headed straight for the exit. He didn't look back once. "Do whatever you want with her."
The thugs looked at one another.
"Boss, shall we continue with the torture?"
The leader let out a laugh as his eyes ran over Gemma's soaked body. Her wet clothes clung tightly to her figure. "Didn't you listen to Mr. Edwards? He said we could do whatever we want with her. A woman like this... I can't wait to sleep with her."
Crude laughter broke out around him.
They moved closer to Gemma while shrugging off their jackets and shirts.
"What are you doing?" Gemma asked as she dragged her injured body toward the door. "Stay away from me. I'm Brendan's wife. If you dare touch me-"
The man who reached her first tore her coat open.
His fist followed a second later and crashed into her face.
The impact sent pain through her head. Her vision blurred immediately as swelling spread across her face.
"That used to matter," he said with a sneer. "It doesn't anymore. Mr. Edwards handed you to us himself. You really think he's coming back to stop us? Stop dreaming."
A filthy hand stretched toward her.
"Pin her down," he instructed. "I'll go first. The rest of you wait your turn. No one misses out. She's not leaving here."
"Move faster, boss. Everyone wants a turn with her."
His hand moved closer to her chest. Just before it touched her, the blow to her face seemed to shake something loose inside Gemma's mind.
In that moment, the memories she had lost for six years rushed back all at once.
A chill spread across Gemma's eyes. In the next second, her right hand shot forward and locked around the thug leader's throat. Her wrist turned sharply.
A crisp crack echoed.
His windpipe broke instantly. His eyes bulged wide before his body collapsed without another sound.
The others were still staring in confusion when Gemma bent down and grabbed a jagged piece from a shattered beer bottle on the floor. Her left hand was badly injured, but it only slowed her slightly as she moved without hesitation.
One slash followed another, then another, and each strike was direct and fatal as the shard cut across one throat after another.
"Shit! She killed them!"
The remaining thugs panicked and shouted in terror. The speed of her movements and the lack of hesitation shattered their courage. None of them stayed. They turned and ran.
Gemma didn't chase them. Instead, she lowered her eyes and looked at herself. Blood covered her clothes and smeared across her skin.
A mouthful of blood spilled from her lips before she spat it onto the floor. Slowly, she wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.
Whenever she once looked at Brendan, her eyes had been full of love. Now only fury remained.
A hoarse laugh escaped her throat.
"Pathetic," she muttered. "I abandoned the highest rank I held in the Dominion. I did it for my family. I did it for the man I loved. And this is the result."
Memories surged back like a flood.
"Death, are you certain about this? If you want to return to the Elliott family, we will have to implant a chip in your brain. Every memory connected to the Dominion will disappear. Without those memories, you will live as an ordinary woman," a voice said within the memory.
"I have decided," Gemma answered calmly. "I will give up everything. I want to go back to my family."
"In that case, the Dominion will grant your wish."
Six years earlier, she had been the most feared warrior in Eighwell and the ace commander of the Dominion.
Because of family. Because of love. She chose to seal away every memory tied to Death and live as an ordinary person.
What did she receive in return? Contempt from her own family. Cruelty from the man she loved.
If the blow to her head had not shattered the chip in her brain, she might have died tonight.
And she would have died because of the same family and the same man she once sacrificed everything for.
Gemma slowly closed her eyes. When they opened again, cold light filled them.
Her broken wrist hung at an unnatural angle. She grabbed it firmly and forced the bones back into place. A crack sounded. Then she stood and walked toward the exit of the bar.
Blood dripped from her fingertips and marked the floor behind her.
"Sallie. Brendan. Every member of the Elliott family," she said quietly. "You broke my bones. You crushed me under your feet." Her blood-covered hand lifted slowly to her lips as she wiped them. "So don't complain when I destroy everything you have."
The moment she stepped outside, the night wind pulled at her bloodstained clothes. Neon lights from behind cast a cold glow across half of her face.
"Death is back."
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