Chapter 1

"Stop deflecting, Quinn Stewart."

Caleb Larson stopped me from getting into the car to leave. His fleet of cars had surrounded mine. I looked on coldly as he questioned me for the sake of another woman.

"Selene Gardner has been rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. The doctors said her face might be completely disfigured. You just can't let her be, can you?"

Caleb's handsome features were twisted into a frown.

Indeed, I'd ruined Selene's face by splashing hot coffee across her face and instructing my lackeys to slap her multiple times.

"So? Are you here to avenge her?"

I looked up at him, intrigued.

"Are you going to torture me to an inch of my life, or destroy my face as an apology to her?"

Caleb glared at me as though he wanted to kill me.

"Let me ask you again. Why did you do such a horrible thing to Selene?"

"She deserved it," I answered simply.

This response set Caleb off.

"Get out of there!"

As soon as he spoke, a lackey desperate to score points with Caleb rushed forward to yank at my car door.

The door was forced open within a few seconds.

Before he could touch me, my driver, Jason Green, reached out to dislocate his arm. The sound of his bones snapping out of place was followed by an anguished wail.

I massaged my temple, annoyed.

"It's too noisy."

The wailing stopped instantly.

Caleb pursed his lips. Then, he hissed through his teeth, "Quinn Stewart, are you going to beat up everyone around me today? Don't forget that Ashville's my turf. Have you asked for my permission before hurting my people?"

I couldn't help but chuckle.

It was true. The whole of Ashville knew that Caleb was part of the Stewart gang. My father, Mark Stewart, had handed him control over Ashville.

But Caleb was forgetting something. I was the sole daughter of the Stewart family. Before marrying me, Caleb was nothing but a disposable lackey working for the Stewarts. I'd given him everything he had now.

Ignoring Caleb's questions, I raised my hand, signalling that Jason could start driving. I wanted to leave this suffocating place.

As the car sped off, I could still see the burning hatred in Caleb's expression through the rearview mirror.

While I was looking out of the window, my phone buzzed. It was a message from an unknown number with three pictures attached.

The first was a golden bracelet engraved with Caleb and Selene's initials, CS. The second was a picture of a huge bouquet of 999 flowers, laid out on a hospital bed. The last picture was of Caleb passionately kissing Selene in the hospital bed.

The caption read, "Look who Caleb really cares about."

I didn't even frown at the boring attempt to try to get a rise out of me. I deleted the message.

Going back to my home screen, I studied my wallpaper, which was a picture of Caleb and me at our wedding. He was smiling shyly and clasping my hand with his sweaty palm.