Chapter 7

My breath caught. For several seconds, there was nothing but silence on the other end of the call. Then Jace's voice finally came through, low and threatening.

“If you lay a hand on either of them, I'll make you wish you'd never been born.”

Aegon laughed. “Save your threats. You don't have that kind of power anymore. You have one hour, Jace. Don't be late.”

The call ended.

They tied us up soon afterward. I was dragged toward the edge of the platform and left hanging over the dark water, the ropes biting painfully into my wrists. The sea below looked endless, with nothing but blackness stretching beneath me. Allicent was kept closer to Aegon, and the strong smell of gasoline filled the air. I closed my eyes for a moment and wondered if this was really how my life would end.

Less than an hour later, Jace arrived.

Of course he did.

He stepped out of the car with a controlled expression, though the tension in his face was impossible to miss. His eyes swept across the area, briefly passing over me before settling on Allicent. Only then did he look at Aegon.

“Release them,” he ordered.

Aegon gave him a mocking smile. “You're not the one giving commands here. Where's the money?”

Jace pushed a black case forward. “Five hundred million. You wanted cash, so there it is. Let them go.”

Aegon's men opened the case and checked the money carefully. Once they confirmed the amount, Aegon unexpectedly laughed.

“Actually, I've changed my mind. You don't get both of them anymore. You get to save one. The other one dies.”

My heart began pounding.

I already knew what Jace would do.

Even though I desperately wished I were wrong, I knew him too well.

“I won't choose between them,” he said coldly. “I'll take both.”

For one brief moment, I looked at him in disbelief.

Then I noticed Allicent.

Her expression changed for the slightest second before she lowered her head, allowing tears to run down her cheeks.

“Mr. Cole, you don't have to save me,” she whispered. “All of this happened because of me. Just let me go.”

Before anyone could react, she suddenly shoved the man standing beside her.

He stumbled backward, and the lighter in his hand slipped from his fingers.

Everything happened at once.

The gasoline ignited immediately, and flames shot upward.

“Damn it!”

Aegon grabbed Allicent and threw her toward the flames before turning to cut the rope holding me.

I dropped.

Just before I hit the water, I saw Jace move.

His face had gone pale.

“Allicent!”

He rushed straight into the flames, grabbed her, and pulled her into his arms, shielding her body from the fire.

And I fell into the sea.

**

When I opened my eyes again, bright surgical lights were shining above me. My head felt heavy, and my body seemed strangely disconnected from my mind.

Then I saw Jace standing beside me.

His face was dark, and there was an anger in his eyes that I hadn't seen in a long time.

“Elena,” he said in a dangerously quiet voice. “How could you work with Aegon and pull something like this? Did you really think you could manipulate everyone and walk away without consequences?”

I stared at him, completely confused.

“What are you talking about?”

His jaw tightened.

“Don't pretend you don't know. Allicent told me everything. You didn't want to take responsibility, so you arranged all of this to make her look guilty. You deliberately put her in danger because you wanted revenge.”

My heart sank.

So that was the story she had given him.

I had no idea how she had twisted everything so completely, but Jace believed every word.

“It wasn't me,” I said, forcing myself to sit up despite my weakness. “Please, Jace. Just listen to me for once. I didn't do any of this.”

“Enough.”

His voice cut through mine.

“I don't want to hear another excuse.”

I slowly sank back against the table.

Why was I still trying to explain myself? When had Jace ever chosen to believe me over Allicent?

I gave him a bitter smile.

“Then what happens now? What are you going to do to me this time?”

His expression hardened.

“Someone has to pay for what happened to Allicent.”

My fingers tightened against the sheet.

“She was burned because of you,” he continued. “She needs a skin graft. You're going to give her yours.”

For a moment, I thought I had misunderstood him.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“No. I'm not doing it.”

I tried to get off the table, but several men immediately forced me back down.

“Let me go! Jace, you can't do this!”

“There is nothing left to discuss.”

He turned and walked away without looking back.

The door closed behind him.

Moments later, another bed was wheeled into the room.

I turned my head and saw Allicent.

Her leg was wrapped in bandages, and she had been lying still a moment earlier. But as soon as the door closed, she sat up with ease.

There was no sign of the weakness she had been pretending to have.

She stepped down from the bed and walked toward me normally, then glanced at the doctor.

“Begin,” she said softly. “And don't give her anything for the pain. I want her to remember every second.”

Fear rushed through me.

“No! Don't do this!”

I fought against the hands holding me down, but the restraints around my wrists tightened.

The doctor hesitated, but no one dared disobey.

Then the procedure began.

Pain tore through me so violently that I screamed. Allicent simply watched, her eyes filled with satisfaction.

“Don't stop,” she told the doctor.

I eventually stopped fighting.

There was no point. Every time I screamed, Allicent seemed to enjoy it more. So I clenched my teeth and endured the pain in silence, even when every second felt unbearable.

As the procedure continued, one thought kept returning to me.

How had the man who once treated me as though I were precious become someone capable of allowing this to happen?

By the time it ended, I was drenched in blood and barely conscious. My vision blurred, my body shook uncontrollably, and I could hardly feel my hands.

Then darkness took me again.

**

When I woke, I was back in a hospital room.

Thick gauze covered my thigh, and blood had already seeped through part of the dressing. Even the smallest movement sent pain through my body.

I stared at the ceiling and counted the days.

Five more days.

That was all.

Five days, and I would finally be free of Jace.

I spent the next few days recovering in silence. Jace never came to see me. It was as though the cold distance between us had become permanent.

Four days later, a nurse told me I could finally leave.

I gathered my things and slowly made my way toward the exit. As I passed one of the rooms, I heard Allicent's familiar voice.

“Mom, Dad, I'm completely fine now. Jace has been taking such good care of me. Oh, I almost forgot to introduce him. He's my boss, and he's also my boyfriend.”

I glanced through the half-open door.

Jace was holding her hand.

His expression was gentle.

“I'll take good care of her,” he assured her parents. “You can trust me with Allicent. I'll protect her for the rest of my life.”

Her mother smiled brightly.

“That's wonderful. Allicent is lucky to have someone like you.”

Something twisted painfully inside my chest.

Those words took me back to years ago, when Jace had stood in front of my parents and made almost the exact same promise.

“Mr. and Mrs. Whitmore, please entrust Elena to me. I swear I'll protect her for the rest of my life.”

Now he was making that same promise to another woman.

I swallowed the bitter laugh rising in my throat and walked out of the hospital.

For the first time in a long while, my face was calm.

And strangely enough, I felt lighter.

**

The following day, Jace came home.

He went upstairs, showered, and changed into a neat but casual outfit. Before leaving, he stopped near the door.

“I'll be away on business for a few days,” he said. “I'll bring something back for you when I return.”

He leaned toward me as though he intended to kiss my forehead.

I stepped back just enough to avoid him.

“Alright. Have a safe trip.”

He paused and studied me, clearly sensing that something had changed, but he didn't ask.

Instead, he gave me a small smile and walked out.

The moment his car disappeared, I picked up my bag and left the house too.

I went directly to the courthouse downtown.

My hands trembled slightly when I received the finalized divorce papers, but this time it wasn't from fear. I placed one copy safely inside my bag and had the other sent to Cole Group.

Before boarding the bus, I broke my SIM card in half and dropped the pieces into a trash bin.

For the first time in eight years, I was no longer Mrs. Cole.

I was simply Elena.