Chapter 3

They had raised me and my brother, Jake. They worked hard to give us a decent life and sacrificed so much for us. The only thing I had ever done against them was choosing Colter, and that was the biggest mistake of my life.

For a second, something changed in Colter's expression, but before I could say anything else, his phone rang. He answered with an irritated sigh. “What the hell is it now?”

He listened in silence, and I watched his face slowly change.

“Fine. I'm coming.”

He ended the call and looked at Helena. “It's true. They were attacked.”

Helena rolled her eyes. “Seriously? What a mood killer.”

I grabbed my bag. “I'm going to the hospital.”

Colter stood up. “I'm driving you.”

“I can go myself.”

“No.” His voice was firm. “You're coming with me, and don't argue.”

I didn't have the energy to fight him, so I followed him outside. During the entire drive, I kept calling the hospital, but no one could tell me much. I just sat there, holding my phone tightly and praying that my parents were still alive.

Please be alive.

Please wait for me.

When we arrived, I rushed inside. A nurse recognized me and immediately led me toward the emergency room.

“Ms. Winslow? Emergency room is this way.”

I followed her with my heart pounding until we reached a quiet area where two beds were covered with white sheets.

I stopped walking.

“No.”

I moved closer, shaking my head. “Where are my parents?”

The doctor removed his mask, and the look on his face told me everything before he even spoke.

“I'm sorry. We did everything we could.”

My knees gave out.

“No. No, they're supposed to be alive.”

The doctor lowered his voice. “They were badly injured when they were ambushed. They lost too much blood.”

I grabbed his sleeve. “You're lying. They called me. They were asking for me.”

He looked down. “They did.”

My breathing stopped.

“They kept saying your name. Your mother was asking for Faye, and your father kept telling us to find you.”

I pulled back the sheet.

“Mom…”

Her face was pale. I touched her cheek, but there was no response.

“Dad…”

I reached for his hand. It was cold.

“I'm sorry,” I whispered. “I'm sorry I wasn't here.”

My tears wouldn't stop. I looked at the doctor and asked, “What were their last words?”

He hesitated before answering.

“They kept saying the same thing.”

“What?”

“Leave your husband.”

Colter's face immediately hardened.

“Don't put words in their mouths just because they're dead.”

The doctor looked startled. “I am sorry Don, I was only telling her what they said.”

“Shup up!”

I looked at Colter and felt nothing. Even now, he was angry because my dying parents had told me to leave him. But I didn't argue with him. I didn't have anything left in me.

My parents were dead.

My baby was dead.

And my marriage was already over.

...

When we returned to the villa, I barely spoke. I went upstairs, entered the small room they had given me, and closed the door. I didn't cry anymore because I had already cried enough. What was the point? I had lost everything that mattered to me.

Colter allowed me to attend my parents' funeral, but four of his men followed me the entire time. I stood in front of my parents' graves while the rain poured down around me. Jake wasn't there, and I didn't even know where my brother was.

I knelt beside the graves and touched their names.

“Mom. Dad. I'm sorry,” I whispered. “I'll be okay.”

I knew I was lying.

One of the guards checked his watch. “Miss Faye, we need to go.”

I wiped my face. “Give me one more minute.”

“We've already stayed longer than Don Colter ordered.”

I looked at the graves one last time. “I'll come back.”

Then I stood and followed them.

After the funeral, things at the villa became even worse. Helena stopped treating me like a former wife and started treating me like a servant. She would call me whenever she wanted something, and Colter never stopped her.

“Faye, bring me water.”

I brought it.

“Wash these clothes.”

I washed them.

“Take my shoes upstairs.”

I carried them.

Soon, even Helena's underwear and other personal laundry were being thrown at me. She expected me to wash everything by hand while she sat nearby and watched. If I wasn't fast enough, she would insult me, spit near my feet, or shove me aside.

One afternoon, she deliberately stepped on my foot while I was carrying a basket of her clothes. The pain shot through me, but I refused to react.

“Move faster,” she said.

I picked up the clothes she had dropped and continued walking.

Another time, she tossed a used condom into my face with a laugh and ordered me to throw it away. I stared at it for a moment before silently putting it in the trash.

She seemed disappointed that I didn't react.

“You really changed, Faye,” she said.

I continued folding her clothes.

She walked closer and looked down at me. “Your husband doesn't even look at you anymore.”

I said nothing.

She smiled. “Do you know what I like most? You don't even fight back now.”

I slowly looked up at her.

“I'm tired.”

She laughed. “Good. Stay tired.”

Then she deliberately spat near my face before walking away. I wiped my cheek and went back to folding her clothes.

My parents were gone. My baby was gone. The man I loved had forced me to give up our child for his mistress, and now that same woman treated me like a slave inside my own home.

…

That night, someone suddenly started screaming outside my room. I opened the door and froze when I saw Helena standing in the hallway with blood covering her stomach and shoulder. For one second, she simply looked at me with a strange smile before suddenly screaming, “Help! Colter!”

Before I could even react, she dropped the gun at my feet. My eyes immediately went to the weapon, but before I could say anything, Helena stumbled backward and fell against the wall, clutching her shoulder.

“Faye shot me!”

“What?” I stepped back in shock. “I didn't do anything!”

Helena looked at me, and the smile disappeared from her face as she started crying loudly enough for the entire house to hear. “Please, Faye. Don't hurt me again.”

My stomach dropped. She was doing this on purpose. She had planned everything.

A moment later, I heard fast footsteps coming from the other side of the hallway. Colter appeared with several guards behind him, and the moment he saw Helena covered in blood, his face changed.

“Helena!”

He rushed toward her and caught her before she could fall again. “Who did this to you?”

Helena pointed at me with a shaking hand. “Her.”

Colter slowly turned toward me, and the look in his eyes made my heart sink.

“Faye.”