Chapter 3
As the bodyguards dragged me toward the shock room, I thrashed and screamed, “Jeremy! Are you out of your mind? She really tried to kill me! You know it’s true!”
My fingernails raked bloody lines down the guard’s forearm as I struggled, one of my heels flying off and clattering to
the floor.
But their grip was ironclad. I was like a moth with its wings pinned-no matter how I fought, it was useless.
They strapped me down onto the electric bed, the cold leather biting into my skin as they bound my wrists and ankles.
The moment the guard flipped the switch, a current ripped through my body.
I convulsed like a fish out of water, only to be yanked back by the relentless straps.
My teeth broke through the skin on my lip, the taste of blood spreading across my tongue.
“Still want to press charges?” the guard asked, pressing a button to increase the voltage.
It was as if a thousand needles were racing through my veins, stabbing from my fingertips straight to my heart.
I heard a guttural, inhuman whimper escape my throat, my teeth shredding my lower lip until it was raw and bleeding.
I shook my head, sweat-soaked hair plastered to my face.
I’d nearly died because of someone else’s lie-why shouldn’t I press charges?
The current hit again, even stronger this time.
My vision blurred, and my muscles spasmed uncontrollably.
“Ah… ahh…”
A third time. Fourth. Fifth. Tenth.
“Stop… please, stop…”
At last, I broke down, sobbing, tears mixing with the blood and saliva running down my chin.
“Still want to press charges?” Jeremy’s voice came from above me.
Weakly, I lifted my head and saw him standing there, backlit and immaculate in his suit, while I was a wreck- soaked, shaking, utterly humiliated.
Suddenly, I laughed, tears streaming down my cheeks.
“I won’t press charges…”
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12:51
Chapter 3
I heard my own voice, eerily calm. “I won’t press charges for anything.”
All I wanted was freedom.
To get away from Kendra. To leave Jeremy behind.
Jeremy’s brow furrowed, as if my surrender unsettled him.
But he quickly slipped back into his usual coldness. “You’d better inean it.”
He turned and walked away, never noticing the resolve in my eyes.
I wiped my tears and dialed an overseas number.
“I accept your offer. I’ll join your studio.
“I’ll leave as soon as I get the divorce certificate tomorrow.”
No sooner had I hung up than Jeremy stormed back in, his stare dark and menacing.
“What divorce certificate? Where do you think you’re going?”
I quickly ended the call and hid my phone behind my back. “You heard wrong.”
He narrowed his eyes, stepping closer, ready to press me for answers, when suddenly my phone rang.
A voice blared from the other end of the line.
288 ¡Vouchers
“Mr. Corwin, Ms. Haskin was so distraught over Mrs. Corwin’s false accusations that she jumped from a building to prove her innocence! She’s in the ER right now!”
That call wiped away whatever Jeremy had planned to say.
He hung up, shot me a cold glare, and barked at the bodyguards, “Take her to the hospital!”
I heard Kendra was hemorrhaging badly, and as luck would have it, I shared her blood type.
So Jeremy, ignoring my anemia, ordered me to donate blood to her.
He leaned in close, his voice low and cold.
“This is what you owe her. If you agree to give blood, I’ll withdraw the divorce petition.”
His breath, tinged with cedar and cold cologne, brushed my ear.
Once, that nearness would have made my heart race.
Now, all I felt was a bone-deep chill.
