Chapter 2

Nicole was in so much pain that she felt she might die, yet her eyes held nothing but confusion. She struggled to force out the words. "I... I didn't do anything."

Cedric stared down at her coldly for a long moment before he threw her to the ground. "You're still lying? Where did you hide her?"

Nicole lay sprawled on the cold floor. "I didn't! It wasn't me!"

The whip cracked. The first lash tore across Nicole's back.

The deranged ghost rushed over and tried to shield her with her nearly transparent body. "Don't be afraid. If I hold on to you, it won't hurt. Just endure the 99 lashes, and it'll be over. Be good, Nicole. Tell him where that woman is."

Nicole burst into tears.

The ghost was right. Her skin split and tore, and the pain was worse than anything she had ever known.

But what was she supposed to tell him? She had no idea where Harriet was.

Before long, 99 lashes struck her, each accompanied by a violent crack.

By the time it was over, Nicole lay in a pool of her own blood, barely able to breathe. "Cedric, I don't know... I didn't do it."

"Not you? Who else in all of Portanova would dare touch her? Since you insist on lying, don't blame me for what comes next."

The next moment, the mansion's front door burst open. The butler from the old Southwell estate rushed in. "Miss, something terrible has happened! Your father suffered a heart attack. He's in the ICU, but the doctors are refusing to operate..."

Nicole's unfocused eyes instantly sharpened.

But when the old butler saw her clearly, her body covered in blood and torn flesh, he dropped to his knees and wept. "Miss, what happened to you? What is going on?

"Mr. Grisborne, how could you lay a hand on our Ms. Southwell? No one has ever even spoken harshly to her, let alone struck her..."

Cedric said nothing. He merely walked toward Nicole and stood over her. "For every hour Hattie is late coming home, your father will have to wait another hour for treatment. The moment you give me an address, I'll let the doctors into the operating room."

Nicole dug her nails into the marble floor so hard that three of them tore away.

"Cedric..." She forced his name through clenched teeth. "I really didn't do it. I don't know where she is."

Cedric acted as though he hadn't heard her. He raised his wrist and checked the time. "You still haven't decided? Five minutes have passed. At your father's age, if his heart stops for more than ten minutes, even if we save him, he'll be nothing more than a shell of his former self."

Nicole struggled to pull herself up and knelt before him. "Cedric, when you had no money, my father gave you money. When you had no connections, he gave you his. He helped you every step of the way until you made it onto the Forbes list. I'm begging you..."

Cold tears streamed endlessly down her face. "Spare my father. I really didn't do anything."

Cedric's brow furrowed, his eyes ablaze with fury.

Before he could speak, his phone rang.

A bright, playful voice came from the other end. "Ced, my phone died. I'm sorry I worried you..."

Nicole's strength gave out, and she collapsed back onto the floor.

A long silence followed.

Right in front of her, Cedric made a call. "Tell the doctors they can go ahead with the operation."

He offered no further explanation. He simply turned and walked away without a backward glance.

Nicole felt the last of her strength drain away, and she lost consciousness.

…

When Nicole woke again, two days had passed.

The moment she opened her eyes, she pulled the IV line from her arm, her face devoid of expression.

Her back burned as though it were on fire. She braced herself against the wall and staggered toward the ICU.

Through the cold glass, she and the ghost gazed at her father, who had once held her as though she were the most precious thing in the world. Now his face was ashen, and tubes protruded from nearly every part of his body.

"That Harriet. What is she to Cedric?"

The ghost's voice was hoarse, as though she had swallowed shards of glass. "He agreed to marry into the Southwell family as a live-in son-in-law for the 600,000 dollars he needed to buy her a new heart."

Nicole let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "How... How did you die?"

"Fire. A terrible fire." The ghost's voice rose into a shrill cry of anguish. "She broke my legs. She tortured me day and night. It hurt so much... Save me. I can't take it anymore!

"Don't take off my clothes! Don't touch me! Stay away..."

Nicole trembled uncontrollably as her strength deserted her. She collapsed into a chair and squeezed her eyes shut as silent tears rolled down her cheeks.

'Enough…' She surrendered.

…

Nicole sat outside the ICU for an entire day and night.

The next morning, she summoned the old butler, Peter Swan, and instructed, "Peter, pledge every share of the Southwell Group on the black market for cash. Don't let Cedric find out. Don't worry about the interest. Get as much money as you can.

"Quietly liquidate everything under my name. Sell anything that can be converted into cash.

"There's a signed divorce agreement back at the old estate. Everything must be done within seven days.

"In seven days, we're leaving Portanova. For good."