Chapter 23

"No..."

Susan Thompson struggled desperately, but could only watch as the sharp blade approached her pinky finger. She feared pain, but feared losing that finger even more.

The iron door of the dungeon burst open. Vincent King strode in with a group of bodyguards. His black trench coat made him look especially sinister under the dim light.

"Vincent!" Candy Wilson immediately threw herself at him, tears streaming as she clutched his arm. "Please spare Susan! She just acted impulsively..."

Vincent gently wiped Candy's tears away, but his gaze turned icy when he looked at Susan. "I warned you. Anyone who hurts Candy will pay the price."

Susan looked up at the man who was once gentle as jade. His lips, just as Bella Quinn had described, bore the mark of deep loyalty. But now, Vincent's eyes held only cruelty.

"Vincent, I never touched Candy!" Susan's voice was hoarse. "I went straight home after leaving the garage tonight. How could I have hired someone to hurt her?"

"Susan..." Candy shook her head pitifully. "I know you didn't mean it..."

"Enough!" Susan snapped. "Candy, aren't you tired of acting?"

Vincent's expression darkened further. "The men confessed. You paid them to break Candy's hand." He gripped Susan's chin. "You deserve to die."

Candy suddenly dropped to her knees. "Vincent, please spare her life! Just... just cut off one of her fingers?"

Vincent frowned and helped her up. "Candy, you're too kind."

"Vincent!" Susan suddenly laughed. "You're truly blind! How can someone like Candy be called kind?"

"Silence!" Vincent roared. "Do it!"

Susan thrashed wildly, her eyes landing on a phone on the floor. She strained to reach it, fingers trembling as she dialed Andrew Lucas' number.

"Andrew, save me..."

Nicole Capra's smug voice came through the line. "Sis, Andrew's in the shower."

Susan's heart plummeted. She heard the bathroom door open, followed by Andrew's impatient voice. "Who is it?"

"It's your wife. She says she's dying..."

"Let her die!"

The phone crashed to the ground. Susan's entire body went cold, Andrew's words—"Let her die"—echoing in her ears.

When the pain came, she didn't even have time to scream. Her pinky finger was severed clean off, blood gushing out. But compared to the agony in her heart, this was nothing.

"It hurts..." Susan curled into a ball, her right hand clutching her chest. "Andrew, it hurts so much..."

She remembered how he used to come running at the slightest whimper of pain. Now she was dying from it, while he was tangled up with someone else.

Tears splashed onto the phone screen—the call was still connected. Nicole's moans of pleasure stabbed into Susan's heart like knives.

Vincent stared at the woman lying in a pool of blood, his chest tightening inexplicably. He turned away irritably. "Let's go."

"Miss Candy, what about the finger...?"

The last thing Susan saw was Candy's triumphant smile before darkness swallowed her whole.