Chapter 13%
I gasped for air, jolting upright. My chest heaved as the nightmare replayed in my mind–the rooftop, the fight, Sarah’s twisted face, and the terrifying fall. My hands flew to my body, searching for wounds, for pain, but all I found was the tug of bandages wrapped tightly around my arm.}
“Breathe, Sofia.“}
I turned toward the voice. Rafael stood by the window, his sharp eyes softened for once. He moved closer as he sat beside the bed. “You’re safe,” he said. “It’s over.”
I stared at him, my heart still pounding. “Sarah-?”
Rafael didn’t flinch. “Dead.“}
The word hit me like a slap, but not for the reasons it once would have. I didn’t feel sadness. I felt relief. And guilt for that relief. I swallowed hard, the memory of her scream as she fell still echoing in my ears.”
“You held on,” Rafael continued. “Long enough for me to reach you. You didn’t fall.”
I tried to process his words. I remembered clinging to the edge, my fingers slipping, but Rafael’s strong hands pulling me back just before I lost my grip. And Sarah->
“She’s gone,” I whispered.
Rafael nodded. “She didn’t survive the fall.”
A shaky breath left my lips. It was over. No more Sarah. No more betrayals. No more threats.
But then Mikael’s face flashed in my mind. His smirk. His cruelty.
“Mikael?” I asked.
Rafael’s expression darkened. “Alive. Barely.“}
My stomach twisted. “Where is he?”
“In the basement,” Rafael said. “The torture room.”
I didn’t flinch. I should have, but I didn’t. Instead, something inside me hardened. “Why isn’t he dead yet?”
Rafael studied me for a moment, as if weighing whether to tell me more. “Because I wanted him to feel everything first. Every ounce of pain he caused you.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. Part of me wanted to face Mikael, to look him in the eye and make him pay. But the other part–the
part that had already survived too much–wanted nothing more to do with h
“I don’t need to see him,” I said finally. “I just want him gone. For good.” Rafael nodded. “Then it will be done.”
I leaned back against the pillows. But Rafael didn’t move. He waited, as if “Rafael,” I said softly, “when it’s done… I want to see his corpse.“} He raised an eyebrow but didn’t question me. “Consider it done.“} Two days passed before Rafael returned with the news. was stronger fiercely.2
f sensing I had
more to say.
橋
my wounds healing, but the fire inside me burned just as
“Are you ready?” Rafael asked.}
estate. We stopped outside a steel door. Rafael pushed it open,
I nodded, letting him guide me through the dimly lit hallways of his estate. We revealing the cold, sterile room beyond. And there he was.
Mikael.”
Or what was left of him.”
His body lay motionless on the table, bruises and cuts covering his skin. His face, once so smug, so untouchable, was barely recognizable.”
I stepped closer, my heels clicking against the floor. The sight should have disturbed me, but it didn’t. Instead, I felt calm. Almost detached.”
“Is this what you wanted?” Rafael asked.
I stared down at Mikael, my heart as cold as the room. “Yes.”
I leaned in, my voice a whisper. “This is for everything you did to me.“}]
Then I turned back to Rafael. “Burn it.”
Rafael’s lips twitched in a small, approving smile. “Consider it done.“}
I walked out of the room without looking back, leaving Mikael to the flames.”
11:54 AM
