Chapter 5

The top heart specialist in the country was someone only Ethan's high-society connections could reach.

I let out a bitter laugh and stopped resisting.

At the estate, the wedding decorations were halfway set up.

The pearl satin drapes and the iris-rose archway that I had once loved now felt like a sick joke.

Ethan tied me to the chair again and turned on the camera.

Amber walked up, a microphone in her hand.

"Ten years ago, when you were kidnapped, didn't you feel a tiny bit of excitement? A little thrill?"

"That man only played with you for three days. Don't you think it's unfair that he had to go to prison for so many years?"

"Maybe he just liked you too much and couldn't help himself. Why didn't you give him a chance?"

Amber's words sliced right into my deepest trauma.

Ethan didn't seem to find anything wrong with her questions. He was busy slicing fresh fruit for her nearby.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

After a quick call, he turned to Amber excitedly.

"Amber, I finally got a lead on my mother's case. I have to go check it out right now. I'll be back to pick you up soon."

Ethan had always believed his mother was murdered by his father's business rivals, and he had been searching for the truth for years.

But Arthur's agency had recently discovered the truth: Ethan's mother had committed suicide after years of horrific domestic abuse by Ethan's father.

I was still trying to figure out how to break the news to him gently.

Once Ethan left, Amber walked over and shut off the camera.

She pulled on a pair of latex gloves and drew a surgical scalpel from her bag.

"You know how Ethan's mother really died, don't you?"

"Too bad he doesn't. I told him that your detective father leaked his mother's location to her abusers. And the idiot actually believed me. Hahaha..."

So that was why Ethan's attitude toward me had completely flipped.

A decade of love was completely destroyed by a single lie from a stranger.

I stared at Amber's twisted, smiling face.

Suddenly, her face overlapped with the face of the monster from ten years ago.

"Amber..."

Every single pore on my body screamed in terror.

"You're... you're Marcus's daughter!"

Amber slapped me hard across the face, her nails leaving bloody scratches on my cheek.

"Chloe, you put my father in prison for ten years, and you're only realizing who I am now? Too slow!"

This year was the tenth year!

At the other end of the estate hall, the heavy oak doors slowly creaked open.

A set of heavy, dragging footsteps echoed through the room—the exact sound from my nightmares.

I was tied to the chair, my pupils dilating in pure horror.

I watched Marcus walk out of the shadows, step by step.

He looked like a demon crawling out of hell, his face covered in scars and fat.

He pinched my chin, his greasy breath hot on my face. "Chloe, baby, it's been so long. You've grown up so beautiful..."

The terror of the past and the present crashed over me, shattering my sanity.

I shut my eyes, praying that death would take me quickly.

Amber handed the scalpel and a cheap, revealing dress to Marcus.

"Dad, I'll leave the rest to you. I'm going to call Ethan and make sure he doesn't come back here."

Once Amber left, Marcus began unbuttoning his shirt.

"Chloe, look at this pretty dress I bought for you. Let's put it on, and then we can play. You have to be a good girl, just like before..."

"So this is where you were going to get married? How exciting..."

"Tomorrow, I'm going to hang you high from the ceiling in this dress, so your detective daddy can get a great view of his precious daughter! Hahaha!"

Marcus reached for my collar.

I closed my eyes in absolute despair.

The greasy touch of his hands on my skin made me want to die.

Right when I was about to give up, the heavy doors of the estate were kicked open with a thunderous crash.

"Chloe!"