Chapter 2
He treated me and Lily like we didn’t exist.
I wondered if something had happened at the estate, if he was being pressured somehow.
But when I voiced my concerns, he just looked at me like I was an idiot.
“You don’t actually think Grandfather is threatening me, do you? Have you been watching too many soap operas?”
“Olivia, I just realized that developing feelings for you was disgusting.”
Disgusting! That’s how he described our relationship.
Up to that point, we might have still maintained a facade of normalcy.
But then Melody appeared and things spiraled beyond the point of no return.
He fell madly in love with her, defying family pressure for her sake, nearly giving his grandfather a heart attack.
When I confronted him, he offered no explanation.
He didn’t love me. He didn’t even respect me.
My phone buzzed insistently in my palm. It was that unknown number again:
[Coward.]
I whispered under my breath, “If being a coward means my daughter and I survive, then so be it.”
Marcus loves Melody. Let him love her then. I won’t interfere this time.
After leaving Lily’s room, I called my lawyer.
“Hello, I need help handling the division of marital assets…”
This time, I’ll agree to the divorce. I’ll take Lily and leave this place far behind.
But it seems fate enjoys playing cruel jokes on me.
An hour later, Marcus came home after being away for ages.
He kicked the door open with a thunderous bang.
Before I could even ask what was wrong, he knocked me to the ground with a vicious kick.
I fell backwards into the fish tank. The glass shattered everywhere.
Shards of glass embedded in my back, blood immediately pooling beneath me.
Marcus stared at the blood, a dark glint in his eyes. Rage burned in his gaze as he ground his shoe into my hand.
“Olivia, where have you hidden Melody?” he snarled, yanking my head up by the hair.
Melody had run away again?
The pain was blinding. I hastily tried to explain: “I don’t know, I didn’t do anything. She must have left on her own.”
“You dare lie to me?”
Marcus slammed me against the wall. I heard my bones crack.
He advanced on me step by step: “She’s such a good girl! She promised she’d wait for me. You must have done something to scare her into running away!”
“I told you, it wasn’t me!” My voice shook from the pain.
Why wouldn’t this monster just leave me alone? I hadn’t done anything this time around.
Even in my past life, all I did was help Melody leave at her own request. How did that result in such a gruesome end for me and my daughter?
Marcus sat on the couch, his expression unreadable as he stared at me.
After a long silence, he suddenly spoke: “Don’t you care what happens to Lily?”
My whole body went rigid with fear.
The horrific image of my daughter’s death was still vivid in my mind.
This inhuman beast was threatening our child again.
Something snapped inside me.
Ignoring my injuries, I crawled towards him. I kowtowed over and over, begging:
“Please, I’m begging you, don’t hurt our daughter. Don’t hurt her…”
“Believe me, I never did anything to Melody. I’ll sign the divorce papers right now if you want.”
Seeing my panic, Marcus fell silent.
Suddenly, he stood up and roughly dragged me down to the basement.
The stench of mold and decay assaulted my senses.
As icy chains locked around my wrists and ankles, I finally saw the machine in the corner.
It was the electroshock device Marcus used for torture.
“Tell me where Melody is,” he said, turning a dial on the machine.
The hum of electricity filled the basement.
“It wasn’t me!” I cried.
The current felt like it was exploding through every inch of my skin.
I had experienced this torture in my past life too. That time, I had nearly died.