Chapter 2

Summer's POV

Once Ethan was sure I was calm, he left the room with a few reassuring words.

I bolted to the bathroom. The second the lock clicked, I threw myself over the toilet.

I shoved my fingers down my throat, my nails scraping against the raw flesh of my tonsils.

I gagged violently, tears streaming down my face.

Finally, the blue capsule, slick with saliva and stomach acid, splashed into the bowl.

The blue coating had already begun to dissolve, releasing a bitter, chemical stench.

Staring at the dissolving pill, my entire body shook.

If I had swallowed it tonight, I would have been a stuttering, mindless shell of a human by tomorrow morning.

Ethan wanted me crazy. I didn't have time to grieve. I had to transfer the cathedral's intellectual property immediately.

I flushed the toilet, watching the poison swirl away.

I grit my teeth and looked up at the mirror.

My face was ghostly pale, my eyes bloodshot, and a smear of dried blood stained the corner of my mouth.

I closed my eyes and practiced a vacant, twitchy smile.

Only when my reflection looked exactly like a textbook psychiatric patient did I open the door and step back out.

In the bedroom, Ethan was standing by the nightstand.

He held a white ceramic jar, lighting the aromatherapy candle with a match.

Seeing me enter, he blew out the match and waved me over. "Summer, I had this special lavender blend made just for you. It'll cure your headache."

I walked over. The thick, sweet scent of lavender filled the air.

But beneath the floral notes was a faint, metallic tang, like rotting fish.

The slow-acting neurotoxin. The chemical designed to destroy my nervous system.

"It smells wonderful, Ethan."

I leaned meekly into his chest, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath of the tainted air.

Ethan stroked my back, his hand moving like he was petting a dying cat.

But I could feel his body tensing. He was watching my face, waiting for the reaction.

I let my head slide onto his shoulder, letting my eyes glaze over before slowly closing them.

"Ethan... I'm so sleepy. I'm going to close my eyes for a bit..." I mumbled, letting my limbs go limp as I drifted onto the mattress.

"Sleep, sweetheart. I'm right here." Ethan lifted my legs onto the bed and pulled the duvet over me.

He sat by the edge of the bed for a few minutes. Once he was certain I was dead to the world, he stood up, switched off the lights, and quietly slipped out of the room.

The moment the door clicked shut, my eyes snapped open.

They were sharp, clear, and completely alert.

Ethan had no idea that I had secretly swapped the poisoned wax in that jar with pure, organic lavender wax weeks ago.

I slipped out of bed and reached into the deepest corner of my closet, pulling out a hidden burner phone.

I dialed a number.

The line rang once before a gravelly, older voice answered. "Summer?"

"Robert, it's me," I whispered, my voice cold as ice.

"My father's reputation is gone. I can't let them take the last thing he left behind."

Robert was my father's most trusted legal counsel.

"Summer, are you sure about this? If you secretly transfer the patent rights and Ethan finds out, he will ruin you." Robert's voice was thick with worry.

I gripped the phone, my knuckles aching. "I don't have a choice."

I spat the words through my teeth. "Ethan is going to force me to sign the cathedral over to Chloe tomorrow. I have to move every single design patent into my father's offshore private trust before he can touch them."

"Understood. I'll handle it immediately. It'll be done within two hours. But Summer... what are you going to do tomorrow?"

I didn't answer. I silently hung up the phone.

I turned my head and looked at the closet, where the white gown Ethan had chosen for me hung.

In the pale moonlight filtering through the window, the dress looked like a shroud.

I closed my eyes and lay back down in the dark.