ana

choing through the hushed ballroom-all perfectly choreographed to paint me as a monster. The crowd' s horr

have you done?!

asked, my voice dangerously calm, cutting through the stunned silence. "I've done nothing but expose the truth, a truth you refuse to see. An

ms, her eyes fluttering shut. "Baylee! Baylee!" Britton cried, his rage instantly replaced by fr

form in his arms, his eyes never once straying to m

er manicured hand flying across my face. The sharp sting of her slap was a welcome jolt, a physical pain that momentarily eclipsed

grip like iron. Ernestine gestured towards the back of the ballroom, a malevolent smirk twis

n't do this!" I spat, my voice laced with defiance. "I'm

hreats mean nothing now. Your 'celebrated' career is in tatters, an

ork, until we reached a secluded, dimly lit pagoda in the sprawling estate gardens.

ge, my sharp mind, felt useless against raw, brute force. One of the men approached, a si

ence," he murmured, his

pierced through my ange

us of triumph. "Oh, just a little family tradition, dear. A reminder of humility." She nodd

ced beneath the nail. I screamed, a raw, primal sound ripped from the depths of my being. My body convulsed, a desp

aw Ernestine' s silhouette in the doorway, watching, savoring my suffering. My vision swam, the ornate carvings of the pagoda twisting

the doting hero to his manipulative intern. The betrayal wa

ng with an unbearable ache. My body was slick with sweat, trembling uncontrollably. My breath came in ragg

ed, her voice devoid of any emotion. "A

o a small utility room, stripped, hosed down with cold water, and dressed in a sim

neered, her eyes filled with contempt, as she roughly brushed

voice hoarse, my fingers throbbing with agoni

ery step was a fresh agony. My spirit, however, remained unbroken

lia

, and Britton stood there, his eyes flashing with a possessive anger. He looked

, his voice a low growl. "I've

pained grunt. "We need to go to the hospital. Baylee's

This was a new layer to her intricate web of lies. And Britton, s

lurring into streaks of color. He talked, frantically, about Baylee, about his co

the speaker. "Britton! They've found my family! But... but they've been hurt! They're sayin

, his eyes blazing with a cold, terrifying fury. "Elliana, what have you done?! How could

f pain, my soul a wasteland. But in that wasteland, a seed of pure, unadulterated hatred began to sprout. He had truly become my enemy. He had a

My silence was my only weap