Chapter 4

I endured him tearing apart the evidence I had prepared before court and dismissing it as worthless just to see my defeated expression.

I endured him pushing me toward drunk clients at business dinners to shield him from their toasts, then stepping in like a savior when they crossed the line, so I would feel grateful.

It happened again and again.

He broke my self‑respect, then pieced it back together into the shape he wanted.

My voice felt hoarse when I finally spoke. “Mr. Cardea, I would like to request time off.”

Daniel’s fingers stopped. The air around us seemed to grow colder.

The smile behind his gold‑rimmed glasses faded. “Time off. For what.”

“The new year is almost here. The day after tomorrow, I want to visit my father.”

Even though my father had sold me, Daniel believed he was my weak spot. In Daniel’s eyes, that weakness proved I was still human.

Daniel stared at me for a long time. His gaze felt like an X‑ray, as if he wanted to look straight through me.

I did not look away. I met his gaze with a numb calm.

After a long silence, he smiled and pulled his hand back. He tossed the burn ointment onto the nightstand.

“Fine. Go. But you must return on February sixteenth. It is my birthday. I want you to give yourself to me as a gift.”

He leaned close to my ear, and his teeth brushed my earlobe. “You need to be clean and fresh.”

I pushed down the nausea in my stomach and nodded. “Okay.”

He did not need to worry. That day, I would give him a gift he would never forget.

A body in his bathtub on his birthday would ruin every plan he had. It might even become a stain on his perfect record that he could never erase.

It would be the last strike from me.

That night, Daniel slept deeply. He was a light sleeper and needed aromatherapy every night.

I added a small amount of sleep‑inducing essential oil to the diffuser.

I did not dare add much. He was sharp, and any change would alert him.

Once I confirmed he was asleep, I climbed out of bed carefully.

Barefoot, I moved to the study. I wanted to look one last time at what I was worth in this world.

I knew the safe’s password. It was his birthday. He never hid it from me.

The safe clicked open.

I took out the contract that sold me to him and read it under the moonlight.

Party B: Mira Lowe.

Party A: Daniel Cardea.

“If Party B breaches the contract, Party B must compensate Party A ten million dollars and bear all legal consequences.”

My fingers brushed the red thumbprint. I smiled without sound.

“Mira Lowe, you really were a fool.”

I placed the contract back exactly as it had been.

When I returned to the bedroom, Daniel rolled over. His arm reached out and pulled me into his embrace.

The digital calendar on the desk flickered. The time changed to 00:00.

Only two more days.

At that moment, Daniel’s phone lit up with a message from his secretary, Linda.

“Mr. Cardea, the venue for your February sixteenth birthday party has been confirmed.”

His venue was confirmed. My venue had been confirmed as well.