Chapter 4

Liam turned and walked out of the room without a backward glance, leaving Chloe standing there with a triumphant smirk on her face. A moment later, two large, imposing orderlies entered. They moved with a detached, professional air that was more frightening than open hostility.

"Mr. Miller said the patient is refusing treatment," one of them said, his voice flat.

"She needs to be restrained," Chloe instructed, her voice now firm and authoritative.

Panic surged through Ava. She tried to sit up, to fight, but her body was weak and wracked with pain. They grabbed her arms, their grips like iron. One of them held her down while the other fastened thick straps around her wrists and ankles, securing her to the bed. The rough material scraped against her skin.

She looked at Chloe, pleading. "Please, don't do this."

Chloe just smiled. "This is for your own good, Ava."

She brought the wet cloth again, but this time there was no pretense of care. She scrubbed at Ava's skin, hard and rough, the friction a raw, burning agony on her sore body. The pain was a constant, tearing reminder of her helplessness.

As the physical torment continued, Ava' s mind drifted. She remembered a time, years ago, when she' d had the flu. Liam had stayed home from work for three days. He had held a cool cloth to her forehead, brought her soup, and read to her until she fell asleep. He had held her hand and told her, "I'll always take care of you, Ava. Always."

Where was that man? Had he ever really existed? Or was it all a performance, a long con played by a master manipulator? The memory, once a source of comfort, was now a source of bitter, searing pain. The kindness felt like a lie, the care a cruel joke. He was capable of tenderness, which only made his current cruelty more monstrous. It wasn't that he didn't know how to be kind; he was choosing not to be.

The orderlies left, but the restraints stayed. Chloe continued her "care," her touch a constant source of pain and humiliation. She adjusted Ava's catheter with a vicious tug that made her cry out. She "accidentally" spilled cold water on the bedsheets, leaving Ava to shiver in the dampness. Every action was a small, calculated torture designed to break her spirit.

Finally, Ava's body couldn't take any more. The pain, the humiliation, the sheer exhaustion overwhelmed her. The white room faded to gray, and then to black. She fainted.

She woke to a bone-deep chill. The room was dark, save for the faint glow of the machines. The restraints were gone. Chloe was asleep in a chair in the corner, her breathing soft and even. For a moment, Ava was disoriented, but then the memory of the day crashed back down on her.

A fire ignited in the pit of her stomach, a cold, hard flame of pure hatred. They thought they could break her. They thought she was just a fragile, emotional woman they could discard. They were wrong.

With trembling, painful effort, she reached for her purse on the bedside table. Her fingers fumbled with the clasp before finally finding her phone. Her hands shook so badly she could barely type in the passcode. She opened her email. There was a reply.

From: Ethan Hayes

Subject: Re: Miller Tech

Ms. Williams, your proposition is indeed very interesting. I am in the middle of a hostile takeover of a rival firm, and a controlling share in Miller Tech would be a significant, if unexpected, advantage. I'm free to meet whenever you are. Let me know the details. EH.

Reading the words, Ava felt a surge of strength. This was real. This was a path forward. She wasn't helpless. She had a weapon, and she was going to use it.

She thought back to her life with Liam, the five years of supposed happiness. She thought of Ethan Hayes, the man Liam despised, the man he saw as his greatest rival. The irony was bitter, but also empowering. The world Liam had built, the success he was so proud of, was about to become the instrument of his own destruction.

Ava accepted it then, a truth that settled deep in her bones. The Liam she loved was gone, if he had ever truly existed. The man who remained was her enemy. There was no going back, no reconciliation. There was only the future. And her future, she vowed, would be built on the ashes of his empire. The sun had set on her old life, but a new, colder one was just beginning to dawn.