Chapter 21

She turned toward the double doors of the dining room, where two of her massive, suit-clad security guards stood waiting. They were built like professional athletes, all broad shoulders and thick arms, their faces carefully blank. "Bring the bucket in."

The guards moved instantly. One of them hauled a massive, heavy metal bucket filled to the brim with freezing water, carrying it across the room and dumping it onto the floor right beside the gasping, groaning Andrew. The water splashed against the marble, dark and cold, and I saw Andrew's eyes go wide with terror as he realised what was about to happen.

"Start," Taylor commanded, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched like an executioner.

The two burly guards stepped forward, grabbing Andrew by his collar and biceps, hoisting him up onto his knees despite his frantic, weak struggles. He was still gasping for breath from the kick, his face pale and sweaty, and there was a wild, animal fear in his eyes that I had never seen before.

"W-What are you going to do?!" Andrew choked out, blood draining from his face as he stared at the murky water in terror.

Without answering, the guards forced his head downward, plunging his face straight into the full bucket of water.

"Mmph!" Andrew thrashed wildly, his hands clawing desperately at the guards' arms, his body jerking as he tried to pull away, but their grip was like a hydraulic press, holding him completely submerged. Bubbles rose to the surface of the water, frantic and desperate, and I could see his shoulders heaving as he fought for breath.

After a long, agonising few seconds, they yanked his head back up. Andrew gasped violently, his mouth wide open as he coughed and choked down huge gulps of air, water streaming down his face and soaking his shirt. His hair was plastered to his forehead, and his eyes were wild and unfocused.

Before he could even draw a full breath, the guards slammed his face back down into the water.

Splash.

"No!" Kate screamed, lunging forward, but my mother and father instantly grabbed her by both arms, holding her back as she thrashed and wept. "Taylor, please! Let him go! If you keep this up, you'll drown him!"

I stood frozen beside Taylor, watching the brutal spectacle unfold. The sound of Andrew's desperate gasps, the splash of water, the frantic bubbling it all blurred together into a horrible, hypnotic rhythm. And yet, I couldn't look away.

The amount of water she choked on in the pool yesterday...

How long she stayed under... how desperate she was...

He has to experience it all, exactly the same.

The thought echoed in my mind, cold and clear and utterly certain. This wasn't cruelty for cruelty's sake. This was justice. This was balance. This was every second of terror and pain that Andrew had allowed to happen, reflected back at him in full.

I slowly turned my head, looking up at Taylor. Her face was hard, her jaw set, but there was something in her eyes something fierce and protective and utterly devoted that made my heart clench.

"You were watching," I whispered, my voice barely audible over the sounds of Andrew's choking. "Yesterday. You saw what happened in the pool."

Taylor didn't look at me. Her eyes remained fixed on Andrew, on the guards, on the punishment she had orchestrated with such precise, terrible care. "I saw everything," she said quietly. "I saw you go under. I saw you struggle. I saw them watch."

Her voice dropped even lower, so soft that only I could hear. "And I swore to myself, in that moment, that I would make them feel it. Every second. Every gasp. Every moment of terror. They would feel it all."

Hearing those words spoken with such fierce, protective conviction sent a jolt straight through my heart. I finally understood the terrifying depth of what Taylor felt for me. She wasn't just playing a role; she was waging a war to avenge every single second of pain I had ever suffered. She cared about me deeply, fiercely, unconditionally in a way no one ever had.

Andrew's movements began to slow. His hands, which had been fighting the guards a moment before, went completely limp, his body slumping forward as the threat of unconsciousness crept in.

The guards glanced at Taylor, waiting for a signal, and she gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.

They pulled him up one final time, and Andrew collapsed onto the floor, coughing and retching, water pooling around him on the marble. His chest heaved as he gasped for air, his whole body trembling.

Seeing Andrew on the verge of drowning, Kate broke free from my parents' grip with a desperate shriek. She threw herself onto her knees, sliding across the wet marble floor until she was right beside the bucket. Her expensive dress soaked up the water, staining the pale fabric dark, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Taylor, I was wrong! I was wrong!" Kate sobbed hysterically, pressing her forehead directly against the cold floor tiles, banging her head in frantic, self-punishing despair. "I shouldn't have pushed Sophia! Please, I beg of you, spare Andrew! Just let him go!”

Taylor didn't even blink. Her face was a mask of cold, implacable fury. "You're begging the wrong person."

Kate stopped banging her head, her tear-stained face snapping up toward me. Her eyes were red and swollen, her cheeks streaked with tears and smeared makeup, and for the first time in my life, I saw her- I really saw her not as the powerful, cruel sister who had tormented me for years, but as a scared, desperate woman who had finally realised she wasn't untouchable.

She scrambled across the floor, grabbing the hem of my dress and pressing her wet face against my shoes. The fabric soaked up her tears, and I felt the warmth of her breath against my ankles.

"Sophia... please! I'm begging you!" Kate cried out, her voice breaking into a ragged wail as she shook uncontrollably. "Please tell Taylor to let him go! Please!"

I looked down at her at my sister, at the woman who had made my life a living hell and for a long, terrible moment, I felt nothing. No pity. No compassion. No sisterly love. Just a cold, empty void where all those emotions used to be.

And then, slowly, something else began to stir.

I took a deep breath and looked up at Taylor.

"Let him go," I said quietly. "He's had enough."

Besides, I don't want to see them anymore.

Taylor held my gaze for a long moment, searching my face for something doubt, hesitation, weakness. She found none. Slowly, she nodded.

"Enough," she said, her voice carrying across the room. The guards released Andrew immediately, stepping back, and Kate let out a choked sob of relief.

But Taylor wasn't finished.