Chapter 3

I went back to the villa and began packing my things.

At the time, William had arranged for my room to be on the second floor so that he could keep me within sight, closer to him and to them, close enough that every night I could hear Elvira crying out in bed.

For three years, I had barely slept through a single night, and I did not even have the right to complain.

Every time they slept together, it meant William and I were one step closer to the future he had promised me.

I sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the photo from the nightstand. Behind us stretched a sea of flowers. I looked at the camera. William had turned his head and was looking only at me.

I stared at the picture for a long time. In the end, I set it back exactly where it had been.

I packed nothing connected to William or the Jamison family. Not one thing.

Just then, Brent called to tell me my old identity had already been erased. All that remained was to wait for the new one to be entered into the system. Once the visa came through, I could leave for good.

After I hung up, I let out a long breath.

A few seconds later, Elvira pushed the door open and walked in. "I heard from Father that you finally came to your senses."

I gave a flat hum in reply.

She leaned against the back of the door, smug from head to toe. "Stephanie, I thought you could hold out a lot longer. So this is all you had in you."

I did not answer.

She did not seem bothered. She simply kept talking. "Still, it's better if you leave. Otherwise, I was honestly starting to worry I wouldn't be able to resist using the kids to keep messing with you."

My head snapped up. "What do you mean by that?"

Elvira gave a soft laugh. "You already figured it out, didn't you? If nothing had happened to the children over and over, why would Liam have stayed by my side every time? Why would the Jamisons have become more and more dependent on me?

"Stephanie, you lost because you were too naive. Did you really think a man would give up his family business, his children, and all his responsibilities just because he felt sorry for you for a while? Did you really think he would run away with you?"

My heart sank with every word. "Elvira, those are your children."

She laughed again, as if I had said something absurd. "So what if they are? If their father's heart isn't here, it doesn't matter how many children I give birth to. I would still be a joke. But as long as Liam is willing to stay for them, they are the best leverage I have."

My breathing caught. For a long moment, I could not speak.

Elvira still looked unsatisfied. Then she lifted her hand and waved the ring on her finger in front of me. "Actually, Liam lied to you today. This wasn't compensation. He gave it to me that night because we had a very good time in bed."

My nails dug into my palm. When I spoke, my voice was flat and cold. "So?"

Elvira slowly slipped the ring off her finger.

My chest dropped, but I was already too late.

In the next instant, she threw herself at me, grabbed my hand, and slammed the ring into my bleeding palm.

"I'll give it to you! I'll give you everything!" Her eyes reddened instantly. Her scream was so shrill it seemed to tear through the entire villa. "Please, just stop hurting my children! My son only just got out of the hospital, and now Summer fell down the stairs for no reason at all. Why can't you leave them alone?"

Less than 10 seconds later, hurried footsteps thundered outside the room.

Brent and William burst in almost at the same time.

William saw the blood-smeared ring in my palm at a glance, and his face darkened. "Stephanie, what are you doing?"

"Liam…" Tears spilled down Elvira's face, one after another. Her voice shook. "I only came back to check on our daughter, and I found her hiding in her room, crying. Her knees were covered in blood… I asked what happened, and she just clung to me and shook. She said Stephanie pushed her. She begged me not to leave her home alone again."

The moment she finished, Brent raised a hand, his face cold.

Two bodyguards stepped forward and pinned me down at once, then began dragging me toward the stairs.

"She likes pushing people downstairs, doesn't she?" Brent looked at me with icy contempt. "Then let her see how it feels."

William's fists clenched. "Father!"

"What, are you going to protect her again?" Brent shot him a cold look, his voice thick with disgust. "When Summer fell down the stairs, did she think about the consequences? When the baby went into allergic shock and ended up in the hospital, did she think about the consequences then?"

By the end, his voice had turned completely cold. "William, let me make this clear. If you protect her again, I'll have you push her yourself."

That single sentence froze William in place. He stared at the long staircase that ran down to the first floor. His face went pale, his eyes filled with pain and hesitation.

In the end, he stepped back and gave the bodyguards room.

At that moment, I no longer wanted to defend myself. I did not want to ask how a child could tumble down a staircase that dangerous and walk away with nothing worse than scraped knees. I did not want to ask why no one ever checked the security cameras.

No one in this house believed me. Worse, no one in this house loved me anymore. The William who had once made those promises to me had been lost somewhere over the past three years, and I had lost him with everything else.

I slowly closed my eyes and let their hands shove me forward.

In the next instant, the world flipped, and my back, elbows, and knees slammed against the hard steps. Pain tore through me so violently that I could not even scream.

Somewhere in the haze, I heard frantic footsteps from above.

William came running down as if he had finally gone mad, shouting my name. "Stephy, wake up… I don't want the children. I don't want any of it…"

He had said that three years ago too, when I found out I could not have children.

Back then…

I tried to break up with him first because I did not want him to lose everything for me.

He refused, tearing up the test results in front of me. His eyes were red as he spoke, word by word. "Stephanie, listen to me. I want you. Not a child."

Later, he truly did turn against the Jamison family for me. He ran away with me, only to be dragged back again and again, beaten until his skin split open.

The worst time was when he went to the hospital to get a vasectomy, and Brent caught him on the spot. He nearly lost his life for it.

I stayed by his hospital bed, crying and begging him to give up. He held my hand so tightly it hurt. Cold sweat covered his face, and he still tried to comfort me. "Hold on a little longer. Stephanie, one day I will make the Jamisons bow."

…

My consciousness began to slip away.

Somewhere far off, I thought I heard an ambulance.

William held me so tightly it hurt. His tears fell, one after another, onto the back of my hand. He looked as if he were truly losing his mind.