Chapter 15
With a single masterstroke, Victoria and Isabella–who mere days ago were reviled as social pariahs–had been catapulted to the pinnacle of Riverside City’s elite.
Who would dare whisper about the mistress who stole her way into the family now? Who would question their venomous schemes?
All of this… because of Nathaniel.
The sky hung heavy with gloom.
I’d lost track of how long I’d been sitting motionless in the garden.
You can’t fight city hall–someone had once warned me with those very words.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Nathaniel returned.
Today marked the final day of our three–year contract.
Backlit by the dying light, his features were shrouded in shadow when I lifted my gaze.
He approached, casually draping a thin blanket over my knees. “You knew she had protection. Why humiliate yourself?”
Humiliate myself?
A laugh bubbled up only to transform into a violent cough that sprayed dark blood across my lap.
3
“Emily!” Panic flashed across Nathaniel’s face as he fumbled to support me, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe my mouth with trembling hands.
The gentleness of his touch almost convinced me he cared.
My heart turned to ice even as my lips curled into a smile. “Did you know? Catherine could have
won the SKP championship that year. But she was pregnant with me… so she missed her chance.”
My voice cracked. “After I was born, she gave up her career entirely to raise us. By the time she fell
ill…” I stared at my ruined hands, “she never held a brush again. That championship… it was her
unfinished dream. Mine too.”
I met his eyes. “You’ve destroyed my last chance at either. Are you satisfied?”
Nathaniel froze. Something like guilt flickered in his gaze before vanishing. “You… knew all
Chapter 15
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along?”
My laughter turned jagged. “The dark room you locked me in–that’s where my claustrophobia began! The tendons you severed, the bones you broke–you made sure I’d never create again! And now you’ve crushed my final hope… Tell me, Mr. Hawthorne,” I spat the title like poison, “what’s next? How else will you punish me for Isabella’s sake?”
He rose with a heavy sigh. “I never wanted to hurt you…”
A gesture of his hand summoned black–suited bodyguards materializing from the shadows. They encircled my wheelchair like vultures.
Strangely, I felt no fear–only a perverse amusement as I smiled up at him. “Killing me so soon?”
His brow furrowed briefly before smoothing into indifference. “I warned you not to touch Isabella.”
Another signal sent the guards seizing my chair. They manhandled me into a waiting vehicle.
“You’ll be taken somewhere… quiet.” His voice turned clinical. “Live out your days there. Don’t appear before Isabella again.”
The engine roared to life, carrying me away from everything familiar.
Through the tinted window, I watched Nathaniel until my traitorous tears blurred his silhouette-
For loving the wrong man.
For my own helplessness.
And for Catherine, who never closed her eyes in peace.
Chapter 15
Whiteout Survival