Chapter 4

Viola ducked behind him at once.

"Derek, she just tried to kill me. It was terrifying.

"All I did was tell her about Mia, and she came at me like a maniac."

Derek looked at me, his eyes ice-cold.

"Sylvia, you really never change."

He flung me aside. I slammed into the iron door behind me, tearing open the old wound in my abdomen. Pain doubled me over.

I opened my mouth, but I couldn't make a sound.

Derek had already turned to leave, but when I still hadn't gotten up after a long time, he stopped.

Viola grabbed his sleeve right away, her eyes red.

"If she's willing to come after me now, what if she comes after you next?"

The hesitation vanished from Derek's face. Disgust took its place.

He bent down, grabbed my arm, and hauled me off the ground.

"Apologize to her."

I sagged in his grip. I didn't even have the strength to stand up straight.

But when I heard that, I began to laugh through my tears.

Derek frowned.

"What's so funny?"

I looked up at him. My vision was already blurry, but I kept my chin up and said, "Derek, Mia's dead.

"You don't have anything left to threaten me with."

His grip tightened. Sweat beaded on my forehead from the pain, but I went on, "Don't you hate me? Then kill me. Avenge your father."

Derek stared hard at me.

"You want to die?

"Sylvia, you owe the Shelby family so many lives, and you think you can just say you want to die and walk away clean?"

I looked at him. I'd lost every reason to want to live.

"Then what else do you want? For me to kneel? To beg?"

I gave a small shake of my head.

"I won't. You never believe a word I say. From now on, even if I'm dying right in front of you, I won't call your name again."

Derek's expression hardened. He grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him.

"You think I can't do anything to you anymore?"

I met his eyes quietly.

"You know I'm terrified of snakes. But what scares me most now is you coming near me.

"Derek, you make me sicker than those snakes do."

The air seemed to freeze.

Derek stared at me for a few seconds. Then his lips curved into a cold, frightening smile.

"Fine. If you hate me that much, I'll give you what you want."

He turned to his guards and ordered, "Take her to the fight club."

They dragged me all the way to the Shelby family's underground fight club.

The night's fights were in full swing, and gamblers around the ring were screaming.

Someone recognized me and whistled.

"Ms. Loren's back? Here to be a punching bag again?"

Derek ignored them.

He led me straight past the ring to the training cage at the very back.

A man was standing there.

A scar cut across his face. He looked absolutely vicious.

The heavy bag at his feet had been battered out of shape. Everyone at the club knew who he was.

It was Kane Mercer, the most ruthless fighter at the North Side underground fight club.

Word was he never held back in the ring. He'd once broken a traitor's ribs one by one.

Derek shoved me down at his feet.

"She's yours. If you kill her, dump her somewhere far away."

With that, he and his men turned and left.

The iron door clanged shut, leaving just Kane and me in the training room.

I couldn't hold on any longer. Blood surged into my throat, and I coughed up mouthful after mouthful onto the floor.

Kane swore.

"Hey, don't die on me in here."

I couldn't make out what he was saying. On instinct, I grabbed the leg of his pants.

"If I die... put me with Mia..."

Before I could finish, I coughed up more blood.

Kane looked grim.

"Shut up. Save your last words for later."

I stared at him, dazed, as he bent down and scooped me up like I was a kitten.

In the arms of the most brutal fighter around, I felt surprisingly warm and safe.

I thought of Derek again. If I could start over, I'd wish for just one thing: never to meet you.

My thoughts wandered, and I slowly sank into his arms.

"Hey, troublemaker, don't you dare fall asleep!"

I could hear him breathing hard, telling me to stay awake, but my eyes kept getting heavier.

I was so tired...

Just let me sleep...

Three months later, the family's highest-ranking members waited in the hallway outside the private medical suite at the Shelby estate.

The first thing Vincent did when he woke was grip Derek's wrist and ask, "Where's Sylvia? Didn't you two get married?"

His memories stopped just before Derek and I were due to get married.

Derek was quiet for a second, then scoffed. "That traitor doesn't deserve to stand in front of you. She betrayed the family. She deserves to die!"

Vincent let out a long, regretful sigh. "She's not a traitor! She risked her life to come warn me. If she hadn't, I'd be dead!"

When the family's senior members heard the truth from Vincent himself, they all looked stunned.

They knew exactly how much I'd suffered during Vincent's years in a coma.

One of the elders looked at Derek, who was frozen in place, and asked carefully, "Derek, is she... still alive?"

Everyone turned to look at the young Don.

His eyes were bloodshot. He stood rooted to the spot in shock, muttering to himself, "That's impossible... You must be wrong. It can't be..."