Chapter 4

The jewelry Lucas had given her was worth over a hundred million dollars, and Chloe just couldn't keep it to herself. She immediately pulled out her phone and started bragging to her friends about it.

When she walked out of the restroom, she saw Vivian standing right by the door, and her face went completely white.

Her phone slipped from her hands and clattered to the floor. "You heard everything?"

Vivian gave her one cold look and turned to leave.

But Chloe's expression shifted, and she rushed forward to block her path. "You're going to run and tell Lucas? You think he'll believe you?"

Vivian's grip tightened around her phone. "If you're so sure he won't believe me, then what are you scared of?"

Chloe suddenly looked up, her eyes darting to something behind Vivian. Then, in one swift motion, she grabbed Vivian's hand and slammed it against her own face.

Before Vivian could even process what was happening, Chloe stumbled backward and collapsed onto the floor.

She clutched her cheek and looked up at Vivian, tears in her eyes, her voice trembling with feigned innocence.

"Vivi, there's nothing going on between Lucas and me, I swear. He just felt bad for me because I've never had anything nice, so he gave me a few pieces of jewelry.

"I know you're from this wealthy family and I could never compare to you. Please don't be upset—I'll give everything back as soon as we get home. I promise I'll never do it again."

Behind them, Lucas' panicked voice rang out. "Chloe!" He rushed over and shoved Vivian aside without a second thought.

Vivian didn't see it coming. Her side slammed hard against the edge of the sink, and all the color drained from her face as pain shot through her body.

She looked up, and her breath caught. Lucas didn't care one bit that Chloe had dirt all over her from the floor—he was already scooping her up, his face tight with worry.

Chloe squirmed in his arms, putting on a show. "Lucas, let me go. I don't want Vivi to get the wrong idea."

Lucas' head snapped toward Vivian, and his eyes went ice cold. "Vivian, who the hell gave you permission to hit her?"

Vivian pressed a hand against her throbbing side, her face pale. "I didn't—"

Lucas let out a harsh laugh. "I saw it with my own eyes, and you're still gonna lie to my face?"

Vivian's mouth opened, wanting to explain, but when she met his freezing glare, the words died in her throat. What was the point? He wouldn't believe her anyway.

Lucas held Chloe tighter and turned to leave, his voice softening with concern. "Come on, I'm taking you to the hospital."

Chloe nestled against his chest, but she glanced back at Vivian over his shoulder. Her lips curved into a smile, and she mouthed silently, "You lose."

Vivian bit down hard on the inside of her cheek and forced herself to move. Every step down the stairs sent fresh waves of pain through her side, but she had to get to a hospital and make sure nothing was seriously damaged.

She'd barely made it outside when two men came out of nowhere and rushed at her.

Something damp pressed over her nose and mouth, and panic sliced through her. She gasped without thinking, and her body went limp. The world tilted, and then everything went dark as she fell to the ground and collapsed.

When Vivian woke up again, she found herself in a strange room.

Her hands and feet were tied, and she was slumped on the floor.

A man stood in front of her with his phone out, filming her.

Another man raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face.

The sharp crack echoed through the room.

Her cheek burned with searing pain, and the force knocked Vivian to the ground. The man grabbed her by the collar and yanked her back up roughly.

She struggled to focus on them through the haze. "Who are you?" she managed to ask.

The man let out a cold laugh. "Ms. Grant, you only have yourself to blame. You pissed off the wrong person."

Chloe's smug face flashed through Vivian's mind as she had walked away earlier.

Who else could it be?

Before she could process it, the man slapped her again.

The blows came one after another, and Vivian couldn't even form words anymore.

Blood filled her throat, and she doubled over, choking and coughing up a mouthful of it. Everything spun around her.

Just when she thought it was finally over, the man who'd been hitting her suddenly grabbed her right hand in a vice-like grip.

Dread flooded through her, and then she heard it—a sharp crack.

He'd broken her hand. Just snapped it like a twig.

She couldn't hold back the scream that tore from her throat. Her vision went black, and she collapsed on the floor, her body convulsing from the unbearable pain.

Just as her consciousness started to slip away, she heard a man's voice through the haze, speaking respectfully into his phone, "Mr. Sterling, the person who hurt Ms. Reed has been dealt with."

The voice on the other end was achingly familiar. "Good. Send the person to the hospital."

Tears slid silently down her face. The person who had ordered this—who had hurt her—was her own husband, the man she'd once loved more than her own life.