Chapter 230

Excruciating pain shot through Bella Quinn's ankle, yet her expression remained unflinching.

She grabbed her coat and staggered toward the exit.

"Bella!"

Bruce Bowman's voice cut through the air like ice, making her pause mid-step.

"Do you still want your grandmother's ashes returned?"

The words stabbed her heart like a dagger.

Her fists clenched until nails dug crescent moons into her palms.

After fourteen years, she finally saw the monster beneath the man she'd loved.

"I'd rather die than marry Hugo Thompson!"

She flung open the door, dragging her injured leg behind her.

"Bruce..."

Michelle Thompson's tearful voice floated down from upstairs.

Bruce's eyes darkened as he made a call.

Within moments, a dozen black-suited bodyguards blocked the villa's entrance.

"Deliver her to the Thompson residence."

"Let me go!" Bella thrashed against their grip. "You don't own me, Bruce!"

Her struggles proved futile against trained professionals.

"Stop pretending you're above this." His laugh held no warmth. "Starting tonight, you belong to Hugo."

Bella suddenly went still.

Her gaze held the detachment one reserves for strangers.

"Dead or alive..." She repeated the phrase with a bitter smile.

To him, her life held less value than weeds.

The sports car carried her toward Hugo's apartment in eerie silence.

Gold-leaf opulence couldn't mask the apartment's underlying decay.

A battered woman struggled beneath Hugo on the bed.

Spotting Bella, he kicked the woman aside.

"Get out!"

The woman fled naked, stumbling in her haste.

Bella's stomach dropped.

Her eyes darted, searching for escape routes.

Hugo's phone rang.

"Michelle?" His grin turned predatory. "Don't worry, I'll give her a proper welcome."

"Marriage? Don't be ridiculous."

"Understood..."

His reptilian stare crawled over her skin.

As he turned away, Bella lunged for the open window.

Sixteen stories promised certain death.

But anything was better than Hugo's hands.

She climbed onto the ledge without hesitation.

Night wind lifted her hair like a butterfly's broken wings.