4
He had my mother’s grave dug up.
12.50
He had his men place her urn on a wooden plank, suspended directly over the gaping maw of
tank.
“Jena is in agony,” Caden snarled, his face a mask of cold Kuy. “Why should you get to be happy?”
He tightened his grip on my jaw. “Tell me where her mother is Anette. Il send your mother’s ashes to hell.
”
I fell to my knees, the world dissolving into a blur of horror. For the first time, I regretted it. I regretted being reborn, regretted choo- sing Caden.
“Caden, I didn’t kidnap anyone! Please, investigate! I’m begging you!” I sobbed, my voice raw. “Please, s ashes! I won’t be jealous anymore. I won’t hate you for being with Jenna. Just give my
give
mother
back,
me back my mother‘
I’ll divorce you right now.”
He
should have been happy to hear that. Instead, his face darkened, a storm brewing in his eyes.
“You’re that eager to leave me, Annette?” he hissed. “Where would you go? Running back to Julian? Have stood by and did nothing while you died in our last life?”
My blood ran cold. How could he know that?
you forgotten how he
“Caden…” I whispered, a terrifying realization dawning on me. “You came back too, didn’t you? You remember
everything.”
My eyes searched his, desperate for a flicker of recognition, of the man he used to be. “I never hurt anyone. Why won’t
me?”
you believe
He let out a short, harsh laugh. “What are you talking about, Annette? Trying to change the subject? I know you’ve always resented Jenna and her mother for what happened to yours. But can’t you be reasonable for once? Your mother’s time was up. It was no one‘
s fault.”
As he spoke, he tilted the urn. A stream of gray ash drifted down, disappearing into the filth below.
A guttural scream tore from my throat. I crawled towards him, my hands outstretched in a desperate plea. “Caden, please! Don’t do this to my mother! I swear, I didn’t hurt anyone!”
He looked down at me, his tall frame silhouetted against the sky. He was no longer a man; he was a demon. “You brought this on yourself,” he repeated, his voice devoid of all emotion.
He made a motion as if to dump the entire urn.
The world went black. I coughed, a spray of blood splattering on the ground before me, and collapsed.
“Mr. Astor! We’ve found her! We’ve found Mrs. Collins!” a guard shouted.
Jenna, suddenly revived, fluttered into Caden’s arms like a delicate butterfly. “Oh, Caden! They have news about my mother! The kidnappers… they said they need my sister to be there.”
She turned to me, her eyes burning with a righteous fury. “Annette, we’ve been sisters for so long. If you’re jealous of me and Cad- en, I can leave. I’ll disappear from your lives. But please, don’t take it out on innocent people. The kidnappers will only release my mother if you’re there. I’m begging you… I’ll get on my knees right now…”
She spoke of kneeling, but instead, she closed her eyes and gracefully fainted into Caden’s arms.
Caden’s hand shot out, grabbing my arm in a brutal grip. He dragged me to his car and sped off towards the remote, mountainous region bordering the next country.
13.50
Chapter 2
“Miss Annette has to come over herself,” the kidnapper’s voice crackled
12.51
Oworthe “Only then will we release the hostage.”
“I don’t know these people,” I pleaded with Caden, my voice shaking. “I’ve
His eyes were chips of ice. “It’s too late for lies, Annette. You don’t have a choice
see
will this.”
While Caden got out of the car to negotiate, Jenna leaned over from the front seat, he
Annette? You’ll never win against me.” Her eyes glittered with malice. “You
in
my life.”
S
venomous whisper in my ear. “See,
Vant
your
- me. Ten head–bows to the ground. Then, lick the mud off my shoes. If you do that, I’ll consider giving them back to you.”
“Jenna, I never touched your mother! Stop this!”
ashes? Get on your knees and beg
She leaned closer, her long nails tracing a line down my cheek. “I’m enjoying this. What are you going to do about it?” she purred.“–
You don’t have to beg, of course. I can just have someone feed your mother’s ashes to the dogs right
I couldn’t let that happen. My mother deserved peace. Gritting my teeth, I knelt before in 1
Once. Twice. Each bow was a fresh wave of humiliation.
the dirt.
“Look at you, Annette,” she sneered. “The great ice queen. You’re nothing but a pathetic, stray dog.” She laughed, a cruel, sharp
sound. “And you’re so naive. I said I’d consider it. I never said I’d actually give them back.”
She leaned in again, her final words twisting the knife in my heart. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. That urn? It’s full of my dead dog’s
ashes. Your mother’s were flushed down that septic tank a long time ago. And Caden? Oh, he knew.”
A primal rage surged through me. I struggled to my feet, my hand raised to strike her, but Caden returned at that exact moment,
kicking me so hard I fell back to the ground.
A strange, broken laugh escaped my lips. I was past pain, past grief. I was in a place of pure, desolate clarity.
“Caden Astor,” I said, my voice eerily calm as I looked at him. “I regret everything. If I could do it all over again, I would run as far
away from you as possible.”
His pupils constricted. But it was too late. He grabbed me, shoving me forward, towards the kidnappers.
Jenna’s mother walked past me, completely unharmed. And I was left in their hands, their cold, clammy hands already sliding over
my back.
“Annette Astor,” one of them grinned, his teeth yellow. “We’ve heard all about the famous ice queen. The boys and I are gonna take
real good care of you tonight.”
I couldn’t save my mother’s ashes. Now my own dignity was about to be shattered.
What a failure my life had been.
I let out one last, bitter laugh, my eyes meeting Caden’s across the clearing.
“Caden Astor, I am returning everything I owe you from our past life. From this moment on, we are severed. In life and in death, we
will never meet again!”
Before anyone could react, I scrambled to my feet and ran, launching myself off the edge of the nearby cliff and into the bottomle-
ss abyss below.
The last thing I heard was his voice, a raw, guttural scream tearing through the air.
“ANNETTE!”
