Chapter 8
Savannah staggered forward, heart thundering in her ears, but the damage was already done–every second of that nightmare was on
full display.
And no one was looking away.
She lunged toward the screen, trying to shut the video off–but the bodyguards moved in fast, blocking her path like they’d been waiting for it.
Her ears rang with laughter and low whispers. The kind that crawled beneath
your skin
your
blood run cold.
“Wait a sec, doesn’t she look familiar?”
“Yeah… kinda like that Doyle woman.‘
>>
“You mean the lawyer? No her. Isn’t her sister the one who claimed she was assaulted?”
“Claimed? Look at her in that video. She looks like she’s having the time of her life. Trash runs in the family, I guess.
”
Just as the video reached its final frame, Delilah finally raised her hand and waved for it to stop, feigning surprise like the whole thing hadn’t been meticulously planned.
She turned toward Savannah with a light cough, her face calm–like she hadn’t just broadcast someone’s worst nightmare for a room full of strangers.
“Don’t take it personally,” she said sweetly. “The case is practically closed anyway.”
“And besides… your sister clearly wasn’t the victim you made her out to be. If my client isn’t upset, I don’t see why you should be.” Savannah’s vision went red. Something in her snapped.
She stormed forward and slapped Delilah across the face–hard.
The crack of skin on skin silenced the room.
Delilah stumbled, crashing straight into Julian’s arms.
He caught her instinctively, but his eyes were locked on Savannah–dark, sharp, lethal.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” he growled.
Savannah’s whole body trembled, her hand still shaking from the impact.
“Oh, now you speak?” she shot back, voice shaking with fury. “Where were you a minute ago, when they were broadcasting my dead sister’s body to a goddamn ballroom?”
“Funny how your ears work just fine when it’s Delilah crying.”
Her voice broke, but she kept going, bitterness bleeding through her every word.
“You think I forgot our deal, Julian?”
For a moment, something flickered in his eyes. Regret? Guilt? It didn’t last.
He straightened his shoulders, slipping back into that cold, calculated role he wore so well.
“No one here will say a word,” he said, tone clipped. “I’ll make sure of it. But if you want to play this game dirty…”
He let the sentence hang before adding, “Next time, the one on that screen might be your mother.”
Savannah tasted blood. She swallowed it down.
Every breath hurt. Every second standing there made her want to scream.
Chapter 8
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But she forced herself to look him dead in the eye.
“I hope you remember this night for the rest of your life,” she whispered.
Then she turned and walked out, each step heavier than the last.
Julian stared after her, jaw tight. For a split second, something in him twisted.
But then Delilah whimpered, still trembling in his arms.
And just like that, whatever softness he might’ve felt–vanished.
Savannah had barely stepped out of the ballroom before everything went black.
A hood yanked down over her head. Strong hands grabbed her, dragged her into a side alley.
She kicked, shouted, tried to fight back-“This is illegal! I’m a lawyer!“–but none of it mattered.
They didn’t flinch. Didn’t even hesitate.
In seconds, she was tied up, shoved against the wall, phone cameras pointed at her like she was some kind of show.
Then came the first slap.
Hard. Jarring.
Her head snapped to the side.
Before she could react, another hit followed.
Then another.
Then another.
it was a blur of pain, her world reduced to ringing ears and stinging cheeks.
ノン
Somewhere in the haze, she heard a voice, distant and cold. “Make sure you get all ninety–nine. Don’t stop till you’re done.”
She lost count after the thirtieth.
By the time the last hit landed, her face was numb, her chest barely rising.
One of them sent the video off.
A few seconds later, Julian’s voice came through–flat, emotionless, final. “Got it.”
And that was that.
They left her there–crumpled on the pavement, wrists raw, cheeks swollen, vision blurred with tears.
She didn’t know what hurt more–her body or her heart.
Maybe both had been shattered beyond repair.
Chapter 8
