Chapter 2

The next day, Annis was at a hotel near the airport when two of Dominick' s men showed up at her door. They were polite but firm. Mr. Reyes requested her presence.

It wasn't a request.

They brought her back to the penthouse. It was quiet now, the remnants of the party cleared away. Dominick was waiting for her in the living room, his face a mask of cold fury. Chastity was nowhere to be seen.

"Chastity is at the hospital," Dominick said without preamble. "The stress from last night caused some complications. She' s bleeding."

Annis remained silent.

"She needs a blood transfusion," he continued, his eyes locking onto hers. "She has a rare blood type. The hospital' s supply is low." He paused, letting the words sink in. "It' s the same blood type as yours."

A cold dread washed over Annis. She knew what was coming.

"You will go to the hospital and you will give her your blood," he stated. It wasn' t a question. It was an order.

"Dominick, you know I can' t," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "My heart condition..."

She had a pre-existing arrhythmia, a condition that made any major medical procedure, including donating a large amount of blood, risky. He knew this. He had been with her at the specialist' s office.

He waved a dismissive hand. "The doctors are exaggerating. It' s a minor risk. Chastity and my son are at a major risk. You will do this."

"The doctors will never approve it," she said, clutching at that straw of hope.

"They don' t have to approve it. I' ve already made the arrangements. My doctors are waiting. You will sign the consent forms." He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a low, menacing growl. "You owe me this, Annis. After all I' ve given you for nine years."

Annis looked at his merciless face and felt something inside her finally snap. It wasn' t anger. It was a chilling sense of finality. If this was the price of her freedom, she would pay it.

"Fine," she said, her voice hollow. "I' ll do it. On one condition."

He raised an eyebrow, surprised she would dare to bargain.

"After this," she said, "you and I are done. You let me go. You never contact me again."

A cruel smile played on his lips. "You think you can survive without me? Fine. If it gets you to cooperate, you have a deal."

He thought she was bluffing. He thought she' d come crawling back.

At the hospital, a private wing had been prepared. The doctor looked nervous. "Mr. Reyes, her condition... a full transfusion is highly inadvisable. It could induce cardiac arrest."

"Do it," Dominick ordered, his voice like ice. "I' m assuming full responsibility. Just get it done."

The doctor looked at Annis with pity, but he was on Dominick' s payroll. He nodded grimly.

Annis lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling. They strapped her down. The needle went into her arm. She didn' t flinch. She just closed her eyes, a strange sense of peace settling over her. This was the end of her life with him.

"Don' t worry, Annis," Dominick' s voice came from beside her. He was trying to sound soothing, but it was just another performance. "You' re doing the right thing. I' ll make it up to you."

She didn' t open her eyes. She didn' t want to see his face. She felt the blood draining from her, a slow, weakening pull. Her heart began to flutter erratically. The monitor beside her started beeping faster.

"It' s just a little discomfort," Dominick said impatiently.

Then, from the next room, Chastity' s faint voice called out, "Dominick? I' m scared."

Dominick was on his feet in an instant. "I' m coming, baby."

He glanced back at Annis, his face now annoyed. "Can' t you speed this up?" he snapped at the doctor. "She' s barely complaining."

"Mr. Reyes, her vitals are unstable! Any faster could kill her!" the doctor protested.

It was Annis who spoke, her voice weak but clear. "Do it. Go faster."

She wanted it to be over. She wanted to be free.

Dominick looked at her, a flicker of something-anger? confusion?-in his eyes. But Chastity called his name again, and he was gone.

The world started to go grey. The beeping of the monitor became a distant hum. Annis let the darkness take her.

She woke up in a different hospital room. She was weak, so weak she could barely lift her head. A nurse was adjusting her IV drip.

Dominick came to see her a few days later. He brought a bouquet of expensive, scentless lilies.

"You' re looking better," he said, placing them on the bedside table.

Annis tried to sit up. He moved to help her, but she flinched away from his touch.

He frowned. "Still being difficult?"

"I need my phone," she said, her voice raspy.

"Why?"

"I want my phone, Dominick."

He pulled it from his pocket and tossed it onto the bed. "Don' t think that little deal we made means anything. You' re still my wife. You' ll come home when you' re discharged." He was already turning to leave. "Chastity needs me."

Annis watched him go. She felt nothing. No anger, no sadness. Just a vast, empty space where her love for him used to be.

As soon as the door closed, she picked up her phone. Her fingers trembled as she dialed the number.

"Haven?" she whispered when he answered.

"Annis! I' ve been so worried! I' ve been calling, you haven' t been answering. What happened? Are you okay?" His voice was a torrent of concern.

Tears welled in her eyes for the first time. "He found me, Haven. He did something... something terrible."

She told him everything. The transfusion. The threat.

There was a heavy silence on the other end of the line. Then Haven' s voice came back, tight with fury. "I' m booking a flight right now."