Chapter 9

I stayed silent under Daniel's questioning. He stood by the bed, waiting for my answer. But I just stared at the ceiling.

Then, his phone rang.

Serena's tremulous voice came through the line. "Danny, my hand hurts so much…"

Daniel's expression softened at once. "I'll be right there."

He hung up, looked at me, and said, "Think hard about what you've done."

And with that, he walked away, just like so many times before, leaving me behind for Serena. Once again, I was alone in the hospital room.

The door swung open about an hour later. Serena walked in, her right hand heavily bandaged, though she seemed in good spirits.

"Freya, how are you feeling?" she asked, concern edging her voice.

I turned my head toward her, but said nothing.

She pulled a chair over and sat, a sweet smile on her face. "Freya, I want to tell you a story."

"I don't want to hear it."

"But the story is about you." A glint of smugness flashed in her eyes. "It's about why Danny agreed when Mr. Seymour asked him to keep you in line."

My hands clenched.

Serena began, "Danny was my boyfriend in high school. Back then, we were close. He took care of me and remembered everything I liked. He even said he'd marry me after graduation. But then something happened."

She paused, watching my face. "One night, people from a rival company cornered him. To save him, I stepped in and took a knife for him."

She pointed at her left shoulder. "It went through here. I almost died. Since then, Danny's been eaten up by guilt. He swore he'd spend the rest of his life protecting me, making it up to me."

I said nothing, but my heart kicked into a run.

"After that, I went to Norvane to recuperate, and Danny promised he'd marry me as soon as I came back."

Serena leaned closer, her voice turning venomous. "We stayed in touch the whole time. I told him my mother had married into the Seymour family, and that the Seymour heiress mistreated her day after day.

"It broke my heart. So Danny said he'd get revenge for my mother. That's why he offered to keep you in line himself."

Serena beamed. "You thought Mr. Seymour forced him? Wrong. Danny asked for it himself."

My blood ran cold. "What did you say?"

"There's more," she said, taking out her phone. "Did you know there was surveillance on you every time you were with him?"

"What?"

"Danny installed hidden cameras in the bedroom. He recorded it every time you were together." Her smile twisted further as she went on. "He said he'd hand me those videos as a weapon to keep you in line."

The world started to spin.

Serena stood up. "Freya, are you shocked? Danny never loved you. He was just doing a job. Now that it's done, he's going to marry me."

She walked to the door and looked back at me. "By the way, I've already made a copy of those videos. Cross me again, and I'll put them online."

After she left, I sat on the bed for a long while. Her words kept replaying in my head.

Daniel had offered to keep me in line for Serena, to avenge her. He'd recorded all our private moments.

All at once, I jumped up, yanked the IV out, and bolted out of the hospital room. A nurse called after me, but I ignored her.

I burst out of the hospital, flagged down a cab, and told the driver to go as fast as possible toward Falkner Estate. I had to see for myself whether what Serena said was true.

20 minutes later, the cab pulled up at the gates of Falkner Estate.

I used the spare key to unlock the door and headed straight for the study. There was a hidden room in the study. I knew the code.

I keyed in the code, and the wall slid open, revealing what was behind it—several computers, a wall of surveillance monitors, and all kinds of recording equipment.

I sat at the main computer and opened the file browser. Inside a folder named "F", I found an encrypted subfolder. It was called "FreyaPrivate".

My hand started to tremble, but I opened it anyway.

The screen brimmed with video files, neatly organized by date. From the first night we slept together to the last, every video was there. I opened the first one.

Footage of Daniel and me flickered to life. We tangled together, every detail clearly recorded. It even caught me saying "I love you" in his arms, capturing every fragile moment of weakness and need.

My legs went weak, and I fell to my knees.

So what Serena said was true. Daniel really had recorded it all.

I laughed at myself for being so foolish and naive, and before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face.