Chapter 4

Janelle's POV

“Oh my God… no… no, not here…”

The words tumbled out of my mouth in broken panic as darkness swallowed me whole.

The basement was pitch black, thick with damp air and a smell of rot I could not place.

I scrambled up and threw myself at the door, pounding with both fists.

“Help me!” I screamed, voice cracking with terror. “Please, somebody open this door! You can’t lock me in here… please! Let me out!”

Tears blurred my vision as I kept banging, desperation turning violent.

“Kennedy!” I sobbed. “Kenn, please… don’t do this to me. You know I can’t stay here. Please open the door.”

“You should have thought about that before running your mouth.”

My body went weak.

I pressed my forehead against the cold metal, shaking violently.

“Kenn…” My voice broke. “Please… I’m scared.

Brenda’s soft laughter drifted through the door.

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” she said lazily. “Perhaps a few hours in darkness will teach you humility.”

Fiona laughed. “Look at that. The lioness has become a kitten.”

Leonard added mockingly, “Give her ten minutes. She’ll probably eat the rats in there out of hunger”

What broke me wasn't their cruelty, it was Kennedy's betrayal.

He knew that after being kidnapped as a teenager and trapped in a dark room for days, tight spaces sent me into panic so violently my lungs forgot how to work.

And he still left me here.

Was this how much Kennedy hated me?

Had I become so worthless in his eyes that he could lock me in a basement at his mistress’s request and walk away without a second thought?

Maybe fighting was pointless and pride was a luxury I could no longer afford.

If kneeling before Brenda, unpacking her luggage, drawing her bath, and sleeping outside her bedroom door would get me out of this nightmare, then so be it.

Becoming a servant to my husband’s mistress was humiliating but it was still better than dying in here.

I dragged in a shaky breath and crawled weakly toward the door, parting my lips to surrender—

Then suddenly, the sharp screech of tires cut through the night air outside.

The mocking voices beyond the door disappeared at once, replaced by loud excitement.

“Oh my God… he’s back!”

“He’s finally home!”

Excited footsteps rushed past the basement corridor as the entire house erupted into jubilation.

My tearful eyes lifted toward the door.

Who was back?

Then came my mother-in-law’s voice, shaky in a way I had never heard before.

“My son… my son is back after ten years…”

I froze completely, my hand still half-raised against the door.

In all the years I had been married into this family, no one had ever mentioned another son.

Then I heard an unfamiliar male voice speak.

“Long time no see, brother.”

Kennedy’s voice came next, colder than I had ever heard it.

“What brings you here after ten years? Wouldn’t it have been better if you stayed wherever you came from?”

His mother snapped instantly, her voice sharp with warning.

“Kennedy! That is your brother you are speaking to.”

There was a brief pause before the man spoke again, and when he did, there was something almost amused in his tone.

“Well,” he said lightly, “I can see you are still the same. Adulthood really did you no good at all.”

Kennedy’s response came fast, laced with irritation.

“You will watch how you speak to me. I am your elder brother, and I have achieved more than you could ever imagine.”

“I can see you are not up to date with the news.”

The atmosphere shifted slightly, as though everyone had gone still.

“This is no longer the Zane who left ten years ago,” he continued.

“I am now the Chief Executive Officer of Luxe & Thread, a global fashion and textile conglomerate. We are currently ranked number one among emerging fashion houses in New York, with partnerships across Milan, Paris, and London.”

A brief silence followed his words.

Then Kennedy suddenly laughed, cutting through the tension.

“You?” he scoffed. “A CEO? Are you trying to be funny right now?”

His voice turned dismissive, almost cruel.

“Everyone knows you were useless. There is nothing in you that can produce anything worthwhile. Nothing good can ever come out of you.”

Zane let out an unbothered laugh like Kennedy’s words had no weight at all.

“I’d ignore you, Kennedy,” he said evenly. “Because we are not on the same level, but if you push my buttons one more time…”

I couldn't hear the rest of his statement because my strength was slipping away.

My breath trembled violently as I scraped my nails weakly against the door trying to stay conscious.

“Please…” I whispered faintly. “Please… I can’t… breathe…”

Above me, the argument continued, but it was fading in and out like I was sinking underwater.

Zane’s voice cut through the noise suddenly.

“What is that sound?”

For a second, no one answered, then my mother in law laughed nervously, dismissing it too quickly.

“Sound?” she repeated lightly. “Oh, stop it, son. Your senses are probably heightened after years away from home. You’re imagining things.”

Above me, Zane didn’t respond immediately, then I heard him exhale slowly.

“Okay,” he said at last, though his tone didn’t fully agree with them. “If you say so.”

Then, more casually, “I got the invite for Kennedy’s engagement. Isn’t he supposed to be married already?”

Kennedy opened his mouth to respond, but before he could speak, my body gave another weak, involuntary hit against the door.

Zane stopped mid-step.

“Again,” he said sharply. “I heard that.”

Fiona moved quickly, stepping into his path.

“Where are you going, big brother?” she said with a forced laugh, blocking him completely.

“There’s nothing there, really. Just rats. The basement hasn’t been fumigated in a long time. You know how old this house gets”

Zane looked down at her.

And for the first time, his voice dropped lower.

“Move.”.

Fiona hesitated. “Zane—”

“Something isn't right, my instincts tell me…”

The tension snapped instantly.

Kennedy stepped forward, anger flashing across his face.

“To hell with you and your instincts,” he barked. “You’ve been here five minutes and you’re already acting like you run things. Who the hell do you think you are?”

Zane finally turned fully toward him now.

“What can you do,” he said quietly, “if I say I will check it myself?”

Zane didn’t even look rattled. He turned slightly, as if Kennedy’s anger was background noise.

“What would you do,” Zane said calmly, “if I said I wanted to check it myself?”

Kennedy’s eyes darkened instantly.

“Don’t you dare.”

A faint, almost mocking smile touched Zane’s lips.

“I dare you, Kennedy James Jones.”

And before anyone could stop him, he turned sharply and kicked the basement door.

And there I was collapsed on the floor, drenched in sweat, my chest rising and falling in swallow broken gasps.

“Jesus Christ…”

I felt Zane's hands on me shaking me gently

“Hey…hey, stay with me,” he said sharply. “Look at me…”

But I couldn’t, my eyes barely stayed open.

Behind him, the room had gone completely silent.

Then Zane’s voice broke through again.

“Who did this to her?”

“Have you all gone dumb?” he snapped. “I asked a simple question. Who did this to her?”

His grip on me tightened slightly as if grounding himself.

“I swear, I'll have you all arrested if you don't tell me who is behind this barbaric act”

Then Leonard’s voice finally broke, sounding terrified.

“It… it was them,” he stammered. “I mean… us.”

“Kennedy asked us to do it… she’s his wife, but Brenda…his fiancée.. said she should be punished.”

Zane slowly, he lifted his head.

“I don’t understand,” he said quietly. “What kind of man has a wife and a fiancée at the same time?”

He looked down at me again and something in his expression shifted

Then softer, for just a second.

“You’re safe now,” he said, almost to himself.

Carefully, he lifted me into his arms like I weighed nothing at all.

Kennedy’s expression twisted instantly the moment Zane lifted me into his arms.

“She’s none of your concern,” he said coldly, stepping forward. “Put her down and leave her there.”

“I swear,” Zane said quietly, his voice dangerously controlled, “one more word from you, Kennedy James Jones… and I will make sure you are six feet under before sunrise.”

Zane adjusted me slightly in his arms when I made a weak sound, his hold instinctively tightening as if to shield me from everything around.

Then he looked around the room.

Something in his face hardened into disappointment so deep it was almost painful to witness.

“I leave this place for ten years,” he said slowly, “and this is what I come back to.”

His jaw tightened.

“I’m ashamed. Truly ashamed that I share blood with people like you.”

Then his voice dropped, colder than before.

“Just pray nothing happens to her.”

His eyes flicked down to me for a second, softening just slightly.

“Because if anything does…I'll make life miserable for all of you because she belongs to me now”