Chapter 21
On the third day of my island imprisonment, Nathaniel came.
The moment I saw the sapphire bracelet in his hand, everything became clear.
I closed my eyes, refusing to look at him again.
That same day, I was brought home-not to the Sinclair estate, but to my own house.
A team of specialists already waited there-the same doctors who had once treated Isabella’s minor wrist fracture.
Nathaniel stayed by my side. “Your hands have an 80% chance of functional recovery,” he said.
I remained silent.
He personally fed me water and meals.
I still refused to eat or drink.
Then he began dismantling everyone I hated.
Day One
“The Sinclair family is bankrupt.”
Day Two
“I sent Isabella to an asylum. Don’t worry-I’ll make sure she lives in endless regret, wishing she’d never been born…”
Day Three
“Richard divorced Victoria. Victoria will get what she deserves. As for Richard, I’ll keep him kneeling at your mother’s grave
until you forgive him.”
He seemed to be doing so much for me-yet I felt nothing.
To him, destroying the Sinclairs was effortless. Just as effortless as crippling me had been for Isabella’s sake.
I survived on IV drips alone.
The cold fluids seeped into my veins, leaching all warmth from my body.
Every viable injection site on my arms was already bruised and infected. Each drop of liquid sent sharp needles of pain through my ravaged veins.
When even the most skilled nurses couldn’t find a place to insert the needle, his eyes finally reddened. “Emily… what will it take for you to eat?”
For the first time, I turned to look at him properly. His hollowed eyes and gaunt face made him appear a decade older.
“Let me go,” I said.
Chapter 21
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His pained expression hardened as he stood. “Never. If you leave… you’ll never see me again.”
I smiled-at least he had some self-awareness.
Closing my eyes, I withdrew back into silence.
I don’t know how long he stood there.
One month later, Alexander slipped into my villa.
“Nathaniel’s lost his mind. Emily-come with me.”
He’d grown thinner too.
My answer was immediate, “Yes.”
Alexander smuggled me out. Outside, an accomplice waited-
Benjamin.
He looked at me, words trembling on his lips, but in the end, said nothing.
As the car accelerated, I drank in the outside world through the windows.
I took a deep breath.
Freedom smelled sublime.
But it didn’t last.
The car was intercepted at the highway checkpoint.
I watched Nathaniel step out of the lead vehicle.
The curtain of night swallowed my fleeting freedom-and with it, the last of my light.
