Chapter 4

Back at the penthouse, Dominick fussed over Chastity, getting her a glass of water and a pillow for her back. He glanced at Annis, a flicker of annoyance in his eyes.

"You' ve been on that phone all day," he grumbled.

"I' m catching up on work emails," Annis lied smoothly. She was finalizing her travel plans with Haven. Everything was booked.

Dominick' s brow furrowed. He didn' t like that she had a life, a world, that didn' t revolve around him. He marched over and snatched the phone from her hand.

"What' s the password?" he demanded.

A small, bitter smile touched Annis' s lips. "It' s your birthday, Dominick."

He looked momentarily pleased, then his face tightened as he typed in the numbers. The phone didn' t unlock. He tried again. Nothing.

"It' s not working," he snapped.

"Oh," Annis said, her voice light. "I must have changed it. I can' t seem to remember to what."

The password was Haven' s birthday.

He glared at her, his jaw tight with frustration, but Chastity called his name, and he tossed the phone back at Annis, his attention immediately diverted.

He took Chastity to the kitchen to discuss dinner plans with the chef. "Make sure there' s no seafood. Chastity is allergic," he ordered. Then he saw Annis' s retreating back as she headed to the guest room. He stopped, then added quietly to the chef, "And make that ginger soup she likes. The one for... for when she' s not feeling well."

Annis heard him. It was a small, confusing gesture of care in a sea of cruelty. But it was too little, too late.

In the guest room, she found her suitcases. She opened one. Her clothes, the simple, elegant dresses and blouses she had carefully chosen, were destroyed. Slashed to ribbons. A bottle of red wine had been poured over everything, staining it all a deep, ugly crimson.

Only one thing was untouched, tucked away in a side pocket. Her passport.

A wave of relief so strong it made her dizzy washed over her. That was all that mattered.

As she turned to leave, Chastity was standing in the doorway, blocking her path.

"Looking for these?" Chastity smirked, holding up a pair of scissors. "A pity. But they were all so drab. Dominick prefers a more... vibrant style."

Annis said nothing. She just tried to walk past.

Chastity stepped in her way again. "You know, you have no one to blame but yourself. You' re from nothing. You should have been grateful he even looked at you. Did you know your grandmother was dying?"

The words hit Annis like a physical blow.

"You begged him to go see her one last time," Chastity continued, her voice dripping with venom. "But he couldn' t. He was busy."

She smiled, a cruel, triumphant curving of her lips. "He was on a date with me."

All the pain, the humiliation, the grief of the past nine years-it all came rushing to the surface. The calm, icy control Annis had maintained for so long finally shattered.

A raw, guttural scream tore from her throat. She lunged forward and slapped Chastity' s phone out of her hand. She grabbed her, her fingers finding Chastity' s throat.

"You," Annis snarled, her voice unrecognizable. "You did this."

In her other hand, Chastity had been holding a small bottle. It slipped from her grasp and crashed to the floor. The smell of nail polish remover, acetone, filled the air, sharp and chemical.

The bottle rolled under a nearby curtain, next to a decorative candle Chastity had lit earlier for "ambiance."

The flame caught.

With a whoosh, the curtain went up in a sheet of fire.

Chastity screamed, a real scream this time, one of terror. The shock of the flames made Annis release her. The smoke was already thick, choking. Annis, still weak from the transfusion, felt her lungs burn. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor, coughing, the world swimming in black spots.

She heard Dominick' s frantic shout from down the hall. "Chastity! Annis!"

He burst into the room, his face a mask of horror. He saw Chastity, screaming and huddled against the far wall. He saw Annis, lying on the floor, struggling to breathe.

He didn' t hesitate.

He ran straight to Chastity, scooping her into his arms. "I' ve got you, baby. You' re safe." He carried her out of the burning room, leaving Annis on the floor.

Through the haze of smoke, Annis saw him go. She saw him choose. And in that moment, she was truly free.

With the last of her strength, she crawled away from the flames, toward the back exit. She stumbled out into the cool night air, gasping for breath.

She didn't look back. She ran.

She made it to the airport, a ghost reeking of smoke. In a quiet corner of the international terminal, she mailed a package. Then she walked to her gate.

As the plane to London began to taxi down the runway, her new phone buzzed. A message from Dominick.

"Where are you? Come back right now, Annis. Don' t make me come find you."

She powered the phone off and dropped it into her bag. The plane lifted into the air, and she watched the city lights shrink below, becoming just another constellation in the dark.