Chapter 4

"Honestly, I’ve always wondered... just how shameless do you have to be to fall in love with your own guardian? Hmm? Chloe, care to tell me?"

My body went entirely rigid, the blood freezing in my veins. She knew. How did she know?

Watching the color drain from my face, Hailey’s smile grew sweeter.

"Frightened? Did you think your filthy little secret was hard to guess?"

She patted my arm, raising her voice for Christian to hear. "Go on, try it on! Let Christian and me have a look."

Christian glanced over, his brow furrowed, clearly annoyed that I was wasting time.

Right then, Hailey gasped. "Ah!"

In one sudden movement, her body flew backward!

She clutched her stomach, her face twisting in agony as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Ah... my stomach... it hurts so much..."

Christian bolted upright, rushing over in three long strides.

Hailey looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, her trembling finger pointing directly at me, her breath shallow.

"Christian... don’t... don’t blame Chloe... she probably... she probably didn't mean to push me..."

I was dragged down and locked in the basement.

The door was kicked open with a loud bang. Christian stood in the doorway, his long shadow stretching across the damp floor.

"Chloe Miller!" his voice was cold enough to kill.

I scrambled to my knees. At Ridgeview, you had to kneel when being questioned.

"Look at what you’ve done!" He stormed in, grabbing my chin in a iron grip. "Hailey lost the baby! How dare you!"

I looked into his bloodshot eyes. "I didn’t push her."

Hailey’s soft sobbing echoed from the top of the stairs. "Christian... forget it. Chloe is still young, she didn’t mean it... It’s my fault. I wasn’t blessed enough to keep our baby..."

Christian’s chest heaved as he glared down at me. "You were the only one near her! And you still dare to lie?"

I stopped talking. At Ridgeview, if the instructor said you were guilty, you were guilty. Arguing only brought worse punishment.

"Fine. You won’t confess." He let go of me, turning to grab a leather crop hanging on the wall. "I’ll make you confess!"

*Crack!*

The lash struck my back like searing-hot iron.

I bit my lip, refusing to make a sound.

"Speak! Why did you do it?" *Crack!*

"Are you still harbor those disgusting feelings for me? Huh?"

The whip fell again and again. My shirt grew damp, the fabric clinging to the fresh, warm blood oozing from my skin.

I remembered when I was a child learning the piano, and a broken string cut my finger. Christian had held my hand, his face filled with panic.

*Don’t cry, Chloe. Let me blow on it, and the pain will go away. I promise you, I will never let anyone hurt you again.*

The whipping stopped. Christian was panting. He grabbed my arm and dragged me up. "Speak! Are you mute?"

I looked up at him, sweat and blood stinging my eyes.

In his fury, he ripped the back of my shirt open. My bare back was exposed to the light—revealing a horrific tapestry of old and new wounds.

Scars upon scars, deep and shallow, jagged lines and round burn marks.

"What... what is this?" His voice cracked, his hand starting to tremble.

Hailey crept down the stairs, catching a glimpse, and gasped, covering her mouth.

"Oh my god! Chloe, your back... where did all those scars come from?"

She turned to Christian, her voice trembling with crocodile tears. "Christian... could this be... a sympathy play? Did she do this to herself to make us feel guilty?"

Christian’s hand froze mid-air. He looked at me, his eyes a chaotic storm of confusion and suspicion.

"A sympathy play?" he whispered, as if asking himself.

Finally, he let go of my arm, taking a step back.

"Chloe, you are... utterly hopeless."

"No food. You stay in this room until you’ve reflected on what you’ve done!"

I collapsed onto the floor, my raw back scraping against the rough ground. The pain was blinding.

But it was fine. I had survived far worse than this. I could get through this. Just two more days, and I would be free.