I skidded to a halt.
Lifting my head, I saw him.
Caleb Vance, casually tossing a short knife in
his hand, a cruel smirk on his face.
<
Several tough–looking men stood behind him.
“So,” he drawled, “I hear you’re the one who
pointed the finger at me? Told Damien I was
the one trying to kill him?”
“I don’t even know you. Even if you’re
desperately in love with that asshole, why the
hell would you frame me for his sake?”
I spun around to run, but the path behind me
was blocked too.
With dawning horror, I realized where I was.
Back in the same goddamn alley.
But this time, I was the one surrounded.
Caleb gestured with the knife.
“Go on. Cut off both her ears. Send them to
Damien Thorne. A little birthday present.”
4
The moment mirrored my past life perfectly.
Last time, Caleb had ordered his men to
cover Damien’s eyes.
He was going to cut off Damien’s ears as a
く
gruesome gift for his father.
I had screamed, cried, begged him to stop.
Annoyed, he’d lashed out, plunging the knife
into my ear instead.
I woke up later in the hospital to a world of
silence.
Damien held me, trembling, scribbling
apologies on paper over and over.
But all those ‘sorries‘ eventually boiled down
to one phrase: “You don’t deserve it!”
“Caleb! This has nothing to do with me, from
start to finish! If you want revenge, go find
Damien Thorne!” I pleaded desperately.
“Besides, Damien doesn’t give a shit about
me! Cutting off my ears won’t hurt him at all!”
A dark smile touched Caleb’s lips.
The knife edged closer.
“You’ve got a point there,” he conceded
slowly. “He loves that woman.”
I followed his gaze.
く
Isabelle Moreau was there too, gagged and
bound.
Her face was pale with terror, tears streaming
down her cheeks.
“Your ears,” Caleb mused, tapping the knife
against his palm. “Her eyes… That ought to
make Damien Thorne feel something,
wouldn’t you say?”
Four men moved, two towards me, two
towards Isabelle.
I struggled frantically, looking for any escape
route, but I was completely surrounded.
Just as the blades were about to strike,
Damien’s urgent shout echoed from the alley
entrance.
“Caleb! Let them go!”
The knife points froze inches from us.
Caleb turned, looking amused.
“Let them go? Sure. But you know what I
want.”
く
He positioned Isabelle and me side–by–side,
facing Damien.
But Damien only had eyes for Isabelle.
His gaze was fixed solely on her terrified
face.
“Let Isabelle go,” Damien choked out, his
knuckles white on his wheelchair. “I’ll give you
thirty percent of the Thorne family assets.”
Caleb laughed, a harsh, grating sound. “The
woman you love? Only worth thirty percent?”
He gestured, and the knife point moved back
towards Isabelle’s eye.
She whimpered, shaking uncontrollably behind
the gag.
Damien’s voice cracked. “Fifty! I’ll give you
half!”
“Seventy percent,” Caleb countered smoothly.
The knife tip pressed against the delicate skin
by her eye socket.
“Fine! Seventy! Take it!” Damien screamed.
<
Isabelle was released and stumbled towards
Damien, collapsing into his arms, sobbing
hysterically.
He held her tight, murmuring words of
comfort, his face full of anguish and relief.
He started to wheel her away.
“Hey,” Caleb called out suddenly. “You took
the one you love. What about the one who
loves you?”
Damien’s cold, emotionless gaze flickered
towards me for a fraction of a second.
“Do whatever you want with her,” he said
flatly. “It’d be better if she died.”
Even though I knew he hated me.
Even though I knew deep down he wouldn’t
save me.
Hearing those words directly from his lips
shattered the last vestiges of hope within me. Tears of despair streamed down my face.
From the first moment he walked into my
<
From the first moment he walked into my
family’s gym, I had fallen for him.
He used to get into fights with other students
for me.
He’d run out on hot days just to buy me ice
cream.
Even after he stopped training, he’d still come
by, just to make sure no one was bullying me.
The same person who had once protected
- me.
Now wished I was dead.
Caleb clutched the signed agreement, his
eyes sweeping over my tear–streaked face.
“Chloe Reynolds, isn’t it?” he sneered. “Don’t
you feel pathetic, throwing yourself at him
like this?”
Numbly, I collapsed onto the dirty ground.
Under his condescending gaze, I could only
nod.
The next day Damien released another video
<
The next day, Damien released another video.
He’d hidden a camera in his collar.
The footage showed Caleb holding Isabelle
hostage, threatening Damien for the family
fortune.
It portrayed Damien as a tragic hero,
sacrificing everything for the woman he loved.
Deeply moving, everyone said.
Except, I was completely edited out.
It was like I hadn’t even been there.
With this new “video evidence,” Caleb’s
denials were useless.
His guilt for attempted murder was sealed in
the public eye.
Wanted posters were everywhere.
Even Damien’s father publicly disowned
Caleb.
By this time, I had already changed my name.
With my parents‘ help, I boarded a plane.
Right before turning off my phone, I uploaded
く
one last video file to the internet.
