Chapter 4

Ethan found her there hours later, slumped over the piano, the keys stained crimson.

He looked at her bloodied fingers, then at her pale face.

"Still trying to get attention, Abby?" he asked, his voice devoid of sympathy. "Pathetic."

He gestured to a nearby housemaid who had followed him in.

"Clean this up. Ms. Moreau shouldn' t have to see such unpleasantness in the morning."

The maid looked at Abby with pity, then quickly began to wipe the blood from the piano keys.

Abby, her body aching, her spirit crushed, was forced to watch.

Then, Ethan' s gaze fell on her again.

"And you. Go clean yourself up. You' re a mess."

He left without another word.

Abby slowly, painfully, made her way back to her own cold wing of the mansion.

She washed her hands, the water stinging her raw fingertips.

Each drop of blood felt like a testament to her failure.

Later, as she lay in bed, trying to find some rest, Isabelle appeared in her doorway.

She was wearing a silk robe, her hair artfully tousled.

"Can' t sleep, Abby?" she purred, walking into the room.

She picked up a small, framed photo from Abby' s nightstand – a picture of Abby and Ellie as children.

"Such a shame, what' s happening to your family," Isabelle said, her voice dripping with false sympathy.

"Why are you doing this, Isabelle?" Abby asked, her voice hoarse. "Why did you really leave all those years ago? Ethan was devastated."

Isabelle laughed, a low, triumphant sound.

"Oh, Abby. You' re so naive."

She sat on the edge of Abby' s bed, her perfume cloying.

"I didn' t just leave. I disappeared. I made sure Ethan thought your family, specifically your grandfather, had driven me away, paid me off, threatened me. I knew he' d never forgive that. I knew he' d hate whoever took my place."

Her eyes glittered with malice.

"And it worked, didn' t it? He married you, the dutiful Vance daughter, to save face, to secure some deal. And he' s despised you every moment since."

Abby stared at her, speechless. The calculation, the sheer cruelty, was breathtaking.

"You always had everything, Abby," Isabelle continued, her voice hardening. "The name, the money, the connections. I came from nothing. Ethan was my ticket. And you, you were just an obstacle. A convenient target for his rage."

She stood up, smoothing her robe.

"He' s mine, Abby. He always was. And you? You' re just a temporary inconvenience. A dying one, from what I hear."

She smiled, a chilling, final smile, and then she was gone.

Abby lay there, the room spinning, Isabelle' s venom echoing in her ears.

She was trapped in a nightmare orchestrated by a master manipulator.

A few days later, Dr. Chen came for a house call.

Maria, Abby' s loyal assistant, had called him, worried about Abby' s worsening cough and fatigue.

"You' re not taking your medication regularly, are you?" Dr. Chen said, his brow furrowed as he checked her vitals. "Abby, this isn' t a game."

"What' s the point, David?" Abby whispered. "My family... they' re suffering because of me. Because of this marriage. My grandfather' s legacy is being dismantled. Ellie... she' s in an abusive marriage, and Ethan is destroying her husband' s career, making him even more volatile."

Her voice broke. "I tried to get Ethan to stop. I offered... I offered to be Isabelle' s servant."

Dr. Chen looked at her with a mixture of pity and frustration.

"And he refused?"

"He... he made me play the piano for them. For hours. While they danced."

Tears welled in her eyes. "I just want it to be over, David. I regret this marriage more than anything. If I had just refused... if I had run away... maybe my grandfather wouldn' t be so stressed, maybe Ellie would be safer."

A sob escaped her. "I wish I' d never married him!"

Suddenly, the bedroom door burst open.

Ethan stood there, his face a mask of thunder.

He had heard everything.

He strode towards the bed, his eyes blazing with a terrifying fury.

He grabbed Abby' s arm, his fingers digging into her flesh, and dragged her upright.

"So, you regret marrying me?" he snarled. "You wish you' d never laid eyes on me?"