Chapter 8

The second Elena started falling, she thought she was dead.

Bang!

She crashed onto the men below, their bodies breaking her fall.

Pure survival instinct kicked in.

Ignoring the pain ripping through her, Elena scrambled up before they could react and ran.

Shouts and pounding footsteps chased after her.

She didn't stop.

Her lungs burned. Blood filled her mouth.

She had no idea how long she'd been running when headlights finally appeared ahead.

Elena stumbled into the road.

Then her vision went black.

...

When Elena woke up, she was back in the hospital.

Kyle sat beside her bed, eyes bloodshot, exhaustion written all over his face.

"Elena, I'm sorry.

"Allison isn't mentally stable. I've already found a therapist for her.

"I hope you can forgive her this time. She didn't mean it."

He paused.

"Besides, you don't have any proof to press charges."

His message was clear.

Even if Elena wanted Allison to pay, she couldn't do a thing.

Maybe out of guilt, Kyle added, "I already punished her for what she did."

Elena's eyes dropped to the bright red hickey on his neck.

She suddenly smiled.

'Yeah. Some punishment. Looks like he really went all out.'

Elena looked away, her voice calm.

"One billion dollars. Then I won't press charges."

Kyle went quiet for a moment.

"Fine."

He pulled out a black card and set it down.

"Allison's pregnant, and she's too unstable right now.

"For your safety and the baby's, I'm sending her away to recover.

"I'll be back for the wedding next week. No matter what happens, I won't miss it."

Elena closed her eyes.

She had nothing left to say.

Kyle watched her for a moment, then finally left.

The second the door shut, Elena opened her eyes.

There was nothing left in them.

For the next few days, she stayed in the hospital and recovered.

On the fifth day, her lawyer called.

The divorce was final.

Elena checked out and went back to Kyle's mansion.

Wedding decorations still filled the place.

They used to hurt.

Now they just felt like a joke.

She went into the bedroom and stopped by the cabinet at the foot of the bed.

Reaching into a decorative gold vase, she pulled out a small camera.

A month ago, the day before their wedding, she'd recorded a love confession for Kyle, planning to give it to him on their wedding night.

But right after she finished, Kyle had walked in.

Panicking, she'd tossed the camera into the vase.

Elena took the camera to Kyle's study and pulled up the footage on his computer.

Just as she expected, it had captured more than her confession.

It had also recorded Kyle and Allison together.

Elena deleted her part and sent herself the rest.

Then she made a call.

"Play this video at Kyle Fenton's wedding the day after tomorrow."

After Allison kidnapped her, Elena had demanded one billion dollars from Kyle.

But he still hadn't made up for using her to provoke Allison, trading her away, and nearly getting her killed.

'This video should cover the rest.'

Once everything was done, Elena set the wedding ring beside the brand-new divorce decree on the desk.

Then she grabbed her packed suitcase and walked out without looking back.

At the airport, she deleted everything tied to Kyle and shut off her phone before takeoff.

Outside the window, the city shrank below her.

Then it disappeared beneath the clouds.