Chapter 22

Vincent's kick came without warning.

Susan's knees slammed onto the hard ground.

The searing pain drained all color from her face.

"Don't be scared, Candy." Vincent cradled Candy Wilson protectively, his voice dripping with tenderness. "I promised no one would hurt you."

Candy... wait for me...

Susan's vision blurred as she recalled Vincent whispering those same words to her countless times in the dungeon.

The irony tasted bitter.

The two people who'd forced her to kneel—one was the man she loved, the other her sworn sister.

Those she cherished always crushed her dignity with their own hands.

The pain radiated from her knees to her stomach.

By the time she hauled herself up using the wall, the hallway stood empty.

Night swallowed the city as she wandered aimlessly, a hollow shell.

Neon lights flickered but couldn't pierce the darkness ahead.

A million dollars—a drop in the ocean for Daniel's treatment.

But she'd claw that money from fate itself if needed.

Three hours later, Susan returned to Willow Lane.

The apartment belonged to Andrew Lucas, but some of her belongings remained—maybe they could fetch some cash.

The living room lights stabbed her eyes when she opened the door.

Andrew sat on the couch, radiating dangerous energy.

"Finally decided to come back?" He stood with a冷笑, hurling photographs at her face. "You never cease to disgust me, Susan."

The photos scattered—misleading shots of her "embracing" Vincent in the garage, others capturing her humiliating fall.

"Andrew, these photos—"

"Explain this!" He seized her throat, fury blazing in his eyes. "You spread your legs for me yesterday, and today you're already hunting for your next man?"

The familiar suffocation almost made her laugh.

At this rate, he'd reshape her neck into a swan's.

"Vincent and I are清白." She pried his fingers loose, her voice eerily calm.

Andrew picked up a photo showing Vincent's foot mid-kick. "This is your version of清白?"

Suddenly, explanations felt pointless.

Her lips curved into a broken smile. "Andrew, we're divorced."

"Whether I seduce one man or ten—it's none of your business." She met his gaze squarely. "Mr. Lucas, remember—you're nothing to me now."

"Susan!" He slammed her onto the couch, his breath scalding her skin. "Even if I discard you, you don't get to run!"

She didn't resist, just closed her exhausted eyes. "I just came from another man's bed. Won't your OCD kick in, Mr. Lucas?"

Andrew recoiled as if burned, disgust flashing across his face. "You make me sick!"

The door crashed shut behind him.

Susan rolled off the couch, curling into a ball as stomach spasms wracked her body.

No painkillers—this agony might kill her.

Crawling toward the door, she suddenly found herself stuffed into a burlap sack by two black-clad men.

Engine roar. Darkness.

Damp, frigid air greeted her when consciousness returned.

This was... Henry's dungeon!

"Like Catherine Capra?" Candy's sweet voice came from behind.

Susan turned to see Candy cradling a bandaged arm, smiling.

"Nina said you should become just like her. Wouldn't that be perfect?"

Catherine's missing pinky finger...

The knife in Candy's hand sent ice slithering down Susan's spine.