Chapter 2

CINDY’S POV

“Sister!” he screamed.

“You finally called after all these months,” Alaric’s voice came through the line, breathless with surprise.

“The last time I called you, you scolded me. You told me never to call you unless you called first. I’ve been waiting for your call all this while. Have you finally decided to leave that dog?”

I swallowed hard, closing my eyes as the sound of his voice pulled something tight in my chest.

Dad and Alaric had always warned me about people like the Callahans. And I still chose them. I even went as far as convincing Dad to anonymously invest in their family business.

I begged him to help them grow. I thought they were kind people back then.

I thought they deserved it.

I couldn’t believe I’d been the reason the Callahans climbed their way into the top ten companies in Texas.

And they had no idea it was all me.

All these years, they thought it was by their own merit, by their so-called business genius. They didn’t know that the day Gregory Callahan died and Henry took over, I was still quietly investing through proxies, making phone calls, moving strings behind the scenes. I even used Virelli Holdings’ offshore subsidiaries to funnel capital into their failing sectors.

I had made their company stronger. I had made him stronger.

And now, they were using that power to humiliate me.

That was the reason I cut off my family.

That was why, months ago, I told Alaric not to call me again unless I reached out first. I didn’t want them to find out the truth. I didn’t want to risk them discovering what I had sacrificed for the Callahans.

Now I knew they were right.

“Sister? Are you there?” Ric’s voice pulled me back, softer now, but etched with worry.

“Yes,” I said quietly, clutching the phone tighter, nails biting into my palm.

“You were right, Ric. I made the wrong choice. I shouldn’t have married him.”

There was a pause.

“What happened?” Ric asked, his voice suddenly tense, a shift in his breathing like he was pacing.

“Did he hurt you? Did he do something to you?”

I couldn’t stop the tears anymore. I pressed a hand to my mouth and sobbed, trying to muffle the sound, my shoulders shaking.

“You can’t understand. I’ve done things… I’ve hidden things from you and Dad, things I can’t even say. Henry brought another woman home, and I can’t fight back.”

“I lost my leg, Ric,” I added quietly.

The silence on the line turned sharp, like the moment before glass shatters.

“What?” Ric’s voice cracked, disbelief mixing with anger.

“You lost your leg? Cindy, what do you mean you lost your leg?!”

“I didn’t tell you,” I whispered. “I knew if I did… I knew you wouldn’t take it well. I knew you and Dad would destroy them in an instant. And I… I was still in love with Henry back then. I couldn’t see clearly.”

“Cindy,” Ric growled, his breathing heavy, “Explain. Right now.”

“Three years ago,” I said through choked breaths, “I saved Henry. He was walking into an incoming truck. I pushed him out of the way, and the truck hit me instead. It crushed my legs, my spine was damaged, and I’ve been a cripple ever since. And now… he hates me for it.”

I could feel his rage burning through the phone, even though he was miles away, like a heat wrapping around me.

“They did this to you? You lost your leg for that bastard and they still mistreated you? I’m going to ruin them. I swear it.”

“No!” I snapped, sitting upright, swiping tears off my cheeks.

“No, Ric. That won’t be sweet enough. That’s not the best revenge.”

There was silence. Then, quieter and more focused, he asked, “What do you want to do?”

“I want to destroy them myself,” I said, voice calm, a dark certainty hardening inside me. “But not fast. Slowly. Gently. I want them to rot from the inside out.”

Ric exhaled like he was bracing himself for something terrible, the sound crackling softly on the line.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to handle this?”

“No, but I need your help,” I said.

“First, I need you to come get me right away. Fly me to the best hospital in the world. I want to treat my leg.”

“You haven’t treated it?” he asked, stunned, his voice a notch lower.

“No,” I said. “I didn’t want you or Dad to find out. The surgery is very expensive and if I had treated myself without the Callahan’s help, they would have suspected something. But now… I’m done hiding. I want to walk again. I want to take everything back.”

“Send me the address, I’ll arrange it right away,” he said without hesitation, determination evident in his voice.

“Anything else?”

“Yes,” I said slowly, pulling in a breath. “There’s one more thing. Something important.”

“Name it.”

“Damian.”

There was a pause.

“My best friend?” Alaric asked, confusion and suspicion mixing in his voice.

“Yes. I need him to pretend to be my boyfriend.”

“What?!” Ric barked in disbelief. “What the fuck are you up to?”

I let out a deep breath, my voice steady now and my eyes dry of tears for the first time in a long while.

“Since Henry has the guts to bring in another woman, I’ll show him two can play the game.”