Chapter 7

When the current stopped, I gasped desperately for air. Tears blurred my vision as my entire body trembled uncontrollably.

“I didn't...” I choked out between ragged breaths. “I didn't hurt her, Connan.”

Connan didn't move.

“Apologize,” he said with an icy glare. “Stop feeding me this bullshit, admit what you did, and maybe I'll believe there's still something worth saving in you.”

“I won't.” My voice shook. I struggled to lift my head. “I won't apologize for something I didn't do, and I won't confess to a lie just to make you happy!”

His face darkened.

“Again,” he snapped without hesitation. “Since she still doesn't know when to shut the hell up, keep going until she does.”

The electricity surged through me a second time.

My entire body convulsed as another scream tore from my throat. Something warm trickled from my nose before blood dripped onto my dress.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Each shock was low enough that it wouldn't kill me, but it was enough to leave every nerve in my body burning.

Through my blurry vision, I saw Connan standing beside Kathleen. He never flinched, and Kathleen quietly rested her head against his shoulder while a tiny smile tugged at the corner of her lips whenever she thought I wasn't looking.

Finally...

Connan raised his hand.

“That's enough,” he said with a tired sigh. “If she still refuses to admit what she did after all this, then shocking her again won't change a damn thing.”

The machine powered down.

My body hung limp against the restraints.

Every inch of me hurt.

Blood continued dripping from my nose onto my lap.

Connan looked at me with nothing but disappointment.

“You've spent ten years in prison, and you're still too damn stubborn to admit when you're wrong,” he said coldly. “That attitude will get you killed one day, and nobody will be there to save you when it finally happens.”

He turned away.

“Maybe this lesson will teach you something,” he added without looking back. “If it doesn't, then that's your own damn problem.”

Then he looked toward the butler.

“Call the family doctor,” he ordered calmly. “Make sure she doesn't die because I don't want to deal with another headache tonight.”

With that, he wrapped an arm around Kathleen's shoulders.

She leaned against him like she were the one who had suffered the most.

Neither of them looked back.

I watched them disappear into the warm, brightly lit villa while I remained strapped to the chair, bleeding, broken, and wondering...

When had the man I loved stopped seeing me as his wife, and started treating me like I was less than human?

…

When Dr. Peters finished examining me, his face grew serious.

He carefully checked the burns left by the electric shocks, the bruises covering my arms and legs, and the cuts I'd gotten from falling down the marble stairs. After letting out a quiet sigh, he opened his medical case and frowned.

“Her skin has electrical burns and several deep abrasions, so I need IV pain medication before I clean these wounds,” he said as he searched through his supplies. “That's strange... the medication is gone.”

One of the maids nervously lowered her head. “Miss Kathleen asked for it earlier, Doctor. She said her feet were hurting badly, so she took all of the IV pain medication.”

Silence filled the room.

Dr. Peters looked back at me, and pity filled his eyes. “I'm sorry, Donna. Without the medication, cleaning your wounds will be extremely painful, but if we leave them untreated, they'll become infected.”

I forced a weak smile. “It's okay. Just clean them because I've survived worse than this, and I don't want the wounds getting infected.”

The first touch of disinfectant against my burned skin made my whole body jerk violently.

Pain shot through every nerve, and I bit down so hard on my lip that I tasted blood, but a broken sob still escaped.

It hurts. It hurt so much.

Once, I'd gotten a tiny cut on my finger while trimming the stems of fresh flowers with a floral blade.

It wasn't even serious.

But Connan had panicked.

He carried me straight to the emergency room like I was about to die. While the doctor cleaned the tiny cut, I barely frowned, yet Connan almost lost his temper because he couldn't stand seeing me in pain. After we got home, he threw away every floral blade in the house, and whenever I arranged flowers after that, he'd insist on trimming the stems himself because he was terrified I'd get hurt again.

Back then… He couldn't bear seeing me in pain. Now… My whole body was covered in wounds because of him. And all he thought was that I was a nuisance.

Another wave of pain nearly made me pass out. Through my blurry vision, I noticed someone standing outside my bedroom door.

Kathleen.

The moment our eyes met, she smiled. Then she quietly walked away.

...

The next morning, I woke to loud crying downstairs.

Cabinets slammed shut, drawers were pulled open, and servants hurried through the villa searching every room.

“Connan...” Kathleen cried as though she were completely heartbroken. “The ruby necklace you gave me is gone! I know I left it on my dressing table before I went to sleep, but I've searched everywhere and I can't find it.”

Connan gently rubbed her shoulder. “Hey, calm down. It's only a necklace, and if it's really gone, I'll buy you another one, so stop crying.”

Kathleen shook her head while tears rolled down her cheeks. “No... it's not about the money because you gave it to me, and that's what made it special. I'm not accusing anyone, but I've heard people who spend years in prison sometimes pick up bad habits, so maybe we should search every room. I don't want to suspect Giselle, but what if someone inside the house took it?”

My heart sank.

After a long silence, Connan finally spoke.

“Butler, search every room,” he ordered coldly. “And search Donna Giselle's room too because nobody gets special treatment. If someone stole that necklace, I'll find out who the hell it was.”

The bedroom door burst open.

The butler entered with several servants, and without asking permission, they searched my suitcase, my drawers, and every corner of my room.

“I didn't steal anything,” I whispered. “I've never even touched Kathleen's necklace, so you're searching the wrong person.”

Nobody answered.

Suddenly, one of the maids gasped.

“I found it!” she exclaimed as she held up a velvet jewelry box she'd pulled from the pocket of one of my old coats. “The necklace was hidden here all along.”

I stared at it in horror.

“No...” I desperately shook my head. “Someone planted it there.”

Nobody cared.

Two servants grabbed my arms and dragged me downstairs, and every step sent unbearable pain through my injured body before they threw me onto the living room floor.

Kathleen immediately burst into tears. “Giselle, we're sisters, and we've shared everything since we were children. If you liked the necklace that much, you could've just asked me, so why would you steal it?”

Connan looked from the necklace to me, and for a brief moment, his expression softened.

“Giselle,” he said with disappointment. “If you wanted that necklace, all you had to do was tell me because I would've bought you one, or even ten. But stealing from your own sister? What the hell has prison turned you into?”

I forced myself to lift my head despite every wound screaming in pain.

“I didn't steal it. I can barely walk because my body still hurts from yesterday, so how could I sneak into her room? Can't you see what you've done to me?!”

For one brief second...

He hesitated. I saw doubt and Kathleen noticed it too.

She quickly spoke up. “Then let's check the security cameras,” she suggested gently. “If Giselle is innocent, the footage will clear her name, and none of us will ever accuse her again.”