Chapter 2

Astrid’s POV

For a moment, I simply stared at my husband.

The silence in the room felt suffocating.

Something was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

“Adam?” I said again, my voice shaky. “Did you hear what I said? Dad collapsed. They rushed him to St. Catherine’s. The doctors think he was—”

“Poisoned.”

The word slipped from Adam’s mouth so calmly that I stopped mid-sentence.

A strange chill crawled up my spine.

“Yes…” I said slowly. “How did you—”

“I know.”

My brows knitted together.

“You know?”

Adam leaned casually against the edge of the bed, completely relaxed. His posture was so calm that it made my chest tighten with unease.

He looked nothing like someone who had just learned that his father-in-law.....the man whose company he worked for.....might be dying.

“Adam,” I said carefully, taking a step toward him, “what do you mean you know?”

Instead of answering, he walked over to the small bar cabinet near the window.

The sound of ice clinking against crystal filled the quiet room.

I watched in confusion as he poured himself a drink.

My heartbeat quickened.

“Adam… we need to go to the hospital.”

He swirled the amber liquid in the glass before taking a slow sip.

Then he sighed, like a man unwinding after a long day.

And smiled.

“I told you,” he said lazily. “I know.”

A cold knot formed in my stomach.

Something in his tone made my skin prickle with unease.

“How?” I whispered.

Adam glanced at me over the rim of his glass.

For a moment, our eyes met.

Then he said the words that shattered my world.

“Because I’m the one who poisoned him.”

The room tilted.

I blinked.

Once.

Twice.

My brain refused to process what I had just heard.

“What…?” The word barely left my lips.

Adam took another sip of his drink.

Like he had just told a harmless joke.

Like he hadn’t just confessed to attempted murder.

I forced out a shaky laugh.

“Adam… this isn’t funny.”

He didn’t laugh.

He just watched me.

And suddenly, I realized something terrifying.

He wasn’t joking.

My phone slipped from my numb fingers and fell on the floor.

“You’re lying,” I whispered.

Adam shrugged.

“Am I?”

My chest tightened painfully.

“Why would you do that?” My voice rose in disbelief. “That’s my father!”

“Yes,” Adam said simply. “Exactly.”

My heart pounded in my ears.

I shook my head, stepping backward.

“No… no, this doesn’t make sense. Dad trusted you. He made you CEO of half the company operations. He—”

“He made me his dog,” Adam interrupted coldly.

I froze.

The bitterness in his voice shocked me.

Adam set the glass down on the table and walked toward me slowly.

Each step he took made my stomach twist tighter.

“Do you know how humiliating it is,” he continued, “to work under a man who looks at you like you’re nothing?”

My brows furrowed.

“Dad never treated you like—”

“Like what?” Adam snapped suddenly. “Like the poor boy who got lucky by marrying his daughter?”

I flinched.

“I never cared about your background,” I said weakly.

Adam laughed.

The sound sent chills through my body.

“You didn’t,” he agreed. “But I did.”

My breath caught.

He stopped a few feet in front of me.

His eyes were cold.

Calculating.

Like I was seeing him for the first time.

“You really believed I married you because I loved you?” he asked mockingly.

Pain stabbed through my chest.

“Yes,” I whispered.

Adam shook his head slowly.

“Astrid… Astrid…”

The way he said my name felt like a knife sliding between my ribs.

“You’re not that special.”

My throat tightened.

“Everything you have,” he continued, gesturing around the enormous bedroom, “belongs to your father.”

I didn’t like where this was going.

“But when Arthur Woods dies,” Adam said slowly, “all of this becomes yours.”

My stomach dropped.

“And when you die…” he added softly.

Our eyes locked.

His lips curled into a smile.

“It becomes mine.”

For a second, I couldn’t breathe.

“You’re insane,” I whispered.

Adam’s smile widened.

“Am I?”

My chest rose and fell rapidly.

“You’re my husband,” I said desperately. “We’ve been together for seven years. You proposed to me. We got married. We—”

“Exactly,” Adam said with a chuckle. “Seven years.”

My heart hammered violently.

“That’s a long investment.”

Investment.

The word slammed into me like a punch.

Tears burned in my eyes.

“No…” I whispered.

Every memory flashed through my mind.

Our first date.

Our first kiss.

The night he proposed.

Our wedding day.

All of it suddenly felt… fake.

Like a carefully written script.

“You’re lying,” I said again, but my voice sounded hollow.

Adam’s gaze darkened.

“You should be grateful, Astrid,” he said coolly.

“For what?”

“For the fact that I tolerated you for this long.”

Something inside me snapped.

Rage exploded through my chest.

“You bastard!” I screamed.

Before I could stop myself, I lunged at him.

My hands grabbed his shirt, shoving him backward.

“How dare you!” I cried. “You poisoned my father! You married me for money! You—”

I didn’t even see him move.

Suddenly his hand wrapped around my throat.

Hard.

My back slammed against the wall.

Air rushed out of my lungs.

Adam’s grip tightened.

His eyes were completely devoid of warmth now.

“Calm down,” he said coldly.

My hands clawed at his arm as panic flooded my chest.

“Adam…” I choked.

He leaned closer.

His voice dropped to a quiet whisper.

“You’re going to ruin everything if you keep screaming.”

Terror spread through me.

My lungs burned as I struggled for air.

“Let… go…” I gasped.

Adam tilted his head slightly.

“You know,” he said thoughtfully, “this actually makes things easier.”

My vision blurred.

“What…?”

His fingers tightened around my neck.

“If you die tonight,” he said calmly, “I won’t have to wait for the inheritance.”

The room spun violently.

My heart pounded wildly against my ribs.

He was serious.

Adam Pierce

My husband.

The man I loved.

Was trying to kill me.

And suddenly I realized something even more horrifying.

The mansion was silent.

Too silent.

No footsteps.

No voices.

No staff moving around downstairs.

Adam’s lips curved into a slow, cruel smile.

“Go ahead,” he whispered.

“Scream.”

His grip tightened further.

“No one will hear you.”

My blood turned cold.

“Because I sent all the staff home tonight.”

My vision darkened at the edges.

My lungs screamed for air.

And as Adam’s fingers slowly closed around my throat

I realized I was about to die.