Chapter 1

I loved Leah Williams for twelve years. I gave her everything.

A bullet from her brother's true killer has been lodged in my spine for three years, causing me unbearable pain.

Yet she treated the real murderer like family and me like a dog, forcing me to kneel and watching me suffer endless humiliation.

Clinging to my last breath, I only wanted to give her the truth before I died.

she pushed me into the abyss herself,smiling as she said I deserved it.

Only when I cut open my own chest and dug out that blood-soaked bullet did she finally panic.

And I no longer had the strength to look at her one more time.

Silas POV

I loved Leah Williams for twelve years.

From the day the Williams family brought me back as a bodyguard at eighteen, I gave her everything.

For these twelve years, I'd taken knives for her, drinks for her, and in that kidnapping case, I'd shielded her from everything.

But now, I was just a dog at her feet, beaten and cursed at will.

"Silas, kneel down."

Leah sat on the sofa, looking at me with eyes that held none of the love from years past. Only hatred.

Standing beside her was the scholarship student she sponsored, and also her deceased brother Ethan's best friend, Zane Sullivan.

Zane wore a pair of limited-edition sneakers splattered with mud, looking at me with feigned innocence. "Leah, Silas was head of security after all. Making him clean my shoes seems a bit much. I can just wipe them with a tissue myself."

"What does he have to complain about?"

Leah glanced at me, her eyes full of disgust. "When Ethan died, he said he'd spend his whole life making it up to me. Now I'm just asking him to clean a shoe. Do I need to beg him?"

I stood there, the bullet lodged near the major artery in my spine throbbing with dull pain, pressing on my optic nerve and making my vision blur with double images.

Whenever Ethan was mentioned, she lost control.

I didn't blame her.

Because I also hated myself for failing to save Ethan.

He was Leah's own brother, and someone I'd desperately tried but failed to save.

No one knew that shot wasn't a stray bullet.

It was deliberately fired by Zane, the man now sitting beside her, in the chaos.

The only evidence was that bullet with its distinctive rifling marks. To keep Zane from destroying it, I'd forced myself to leave it lodged in my spine.

It pressed on my nerves, making surgery impossible.

Removing it meant death. Not removing it also meant death.

I swallowed the metallic taste in my throat and offered no resistance, slowly bending my knees.

I lowered my head and reached out to clean Zane's shoes.

My vision blurred again. A precursor to blindness.

I gritted my teeth and used my sleeve to wipe the mud spots from the edges of Zane's shoes.

"What a good dog."

Leah looked down at me from above, her eyes full of revulsion.

She pulled Zane up to head upstairs. "Zane, let's go upstairs. Don't let him ruin the mood."

"Okay, Leah."

As Zane passed me, his foot ground hard into the back of my hand.

The pain pierced through me, but I didn't make a sound.

Only after I heard the door close upstairs did I collapse on the floor, gasping for breath.

I fumbled in my pocket for that critical condition notice. Vital organ failure. Less than a month to live.

Leah.

When I'm dead and they remove that bullet, you'll know the truth.

In the middle of the night, the bullet in my spine began pressing on my nerves.

The pain made me break out in cold sweat.

I crawled up from the storage room and felt my way to the bathroom.

My vision still hadn't recovered. I could only see blurred gray shadows.

I stumbled to the medicine cabinet above the sink, hands trembling as I searched for the heavy-duty painkillers.

The doctor had prescribed them, saying they'd help me go more peacefully.

Found them.

Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, the weight in my hand disappeared.

Someone had taken the pill bottle.

"Silas, up in the middle of the night looking for candy?"

Zane's voice echoed eerily in the bathroom.

I forced down the excruciating pain and reached out my hand. "Give it to me."

"Give it to you?" Zane laughed lightly, shaking the pill bottle in his hand. "These are prescription drugs with morphine, Silas. Taking too many isn't good for the brain."

"Zane!" I gritted my teeth. "Give me the medicine!"

If I didn't take it, I'd die from the pain tonight.

Zane walked to the toilet and, right in front of me, unscrewed the cap.

He poured the pills into the toilet.

"Oops, my hand slipped."

Zane turned around, a malicious smile on his face. "Silas, you don't have many days left anyway. Just tough it out, right? Saves wasting resources."

Rage instantly overwhelmed the pain.

I lunged forward and grabbed Zane by the collar, slamming him hard against the tile wall. "You're asking for it!"

"Help! Leah! Help!"

Zane suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs.

The door was kicked open and Leah rushed in.

Without thinking, she raised her hand and slapped me across the face.