Chapter 3

"Are you Chloe Miller?"

The man in front of me looked me up and down. Before I could even greet him, he snapped, "My wife did nothing wrong. How could you call the cops on her? Don't you have any decency?"

I was stunned. Then it hit me—this man wasn't here for business. He was—

"Our company has been partnering with Sterling Group for years. We have a massive project coming up. Chloe, I'm sure you don’t want any 'accidents' to happen to this project, right? It would be a huge financial loss for both of our companies."

"Maybe you should reconsider how you want to handle this?"

He smiled coldly and handed me a business card.

[Logan Vance, Vice President of Apex Materials]

This was a blatant threat. Compared to Sabrina's childish demands, her husband, Logan, was much smarter. He knew how to use business leverage to pressure me.

Unfortunately, I was currently in a crucial period for my promotion, and I desperately needed this project to go smoothly.

So, I took the card, smiled, and nodded. "Of course. I’ll clarify things with the police. It was all a misunderstanding."

When I escorted Logan out, he had a smug grin on his face. He rushed straight to the police station to bail Sabrina out.

According to the first-hand report from my lawyer, Sabrina was complaining loudly to Logan as they left, yelling, "We cannot let Chloe off easy!"

For the next few days, things were peaceful.

By the weekend, I had finally survived a brutal week of overtime. I stumbled back home in my sweatpants, exhausted. But the moment I stepped into my apartment, I smelled a foul, sour stench.

In the next second, I was violently dragged into a sweaty, suffocating embrace.

A creepy voice murmured above my head, making me shiver. "Hehe, pretty wifey, give me a hug."

"Who are you?!" I struggled wildly, getting his gross sweat all over me. "How did you get into my apartment? Get out!"

"His family owns half the land in our hometown. It’s your lucky day that he even looks at you."

It was a voice I knew all too well.

I looked up and locked eyes with Sabrina. "You promised to give me your car but went back on your word. Since you played dirty and threw me in jail, I’m going to make sure you suffer."

Sabrina walked slowly toward me. "Cletus, this woman is yours tonight. Once you lock her down, you won't be the only bachelor left in the family."

She reached into my bag and snatched my phone. "Don't bother screaming, Chloe. I already cut the wires to your security cameras. Nobody knows what’s happening in here. And—"

"Nobody will think it's weird when you don't show up for work tomorrow."

Using my phone, she drafted a sick-leave email and sent it to my boss.

Sabrina stepped forward and slapped me hard across the face. "That’s for calling the cops on me!"

Another slap. "And that’s for not giving me the car!"

"Since you love acting so high and mighty, let’s see if you can still laugh when you’re pregnant with a fool's baby."

A few seconds later, I heard the heavy click of my front door. Sabrina locked it from the outside, completely cutting me off from the world.

Looking at the drooling, grinning giant in front of me, my hands shook with rage.

I tried to run for the door, but Cletus grabbed a ceramic vase from the console table and smashed it over my head.

A sharp pain shot through my skull. I reached back and felt something warm and sticky.

"Wifey, you can't leave!"