Chapter 3 Vanished

When Briella woke again, her limbs were heavy.

Chains clinked softly as she stirred.

She was bound to the bed.

Across the room, Diego sat on the couch, eyes closed. But the moment he heard the metal rattle, he opened them and looked straight at her.

Her voice was hoarse with fury.

"Do you even know how much I hate you, Diego Elsher? I loathe you. I truly, deeply hate you! What am I to you? A pet canary? A toy? You fuck me every night. You keep me in the dark like I'm nothing but your personal doll. What exactly do you think I am?!"

The unshakable Diego Elsher looked strained. His patience was cracking.

He stared at her with a cold, exhausted glint.

"I don't know what happened between your brother and the Sawyers," he said. "But whatever it is... I don't care. As long as you stay by my side."

Briella curled up against the headboard, clutching her chest. Her tears spilled freely now, eyes empty and lost.

Blood and tears blended into the sheets-a grotesque, heartbreaking sight.

"Heh... You're insane, Diego. Completely insane!"

He dropped to one knee and grabbed her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. His eyes were wild. Almost manic.

"Yes, I am insane. And you drove me to it. Hatred is better than silence. If pain is all you want-then pain it is." His voice dropped, threatening. "But next time... it won't just be chains."

Tears blurred her vision, falling silently into his palm.

As if burned, Diego pulled his hand back and turned away.

Briella watched him go.

And for the first time, she felt nothing.

No fear.

No sadness.

Just cold satisfaction.

Then the dam inside her finally burst.

She collapsed into sobs, her body shaking.

Her hands clenched around the golden chains. Blood seeped where the cuffs bit into her skin-but she didn't care.

Everyone said she wasn't good enough for him.

But she never doubted him.

Until now.

From this moment on, she swore she would never trust him again.

You've succeeded, Diego.

You've broken me.

You've made me regret everything.

How could I stay here any longer?

I'm leaving.

And I'll make every last one of you pay the price.

...

"Sir! She's gone!"

Diego shot to his feet, rage flashing in his eyes. "Gone?! That's impossible! The chains-she couldn't have broken them! What were all of you doing?!"

His assistant, Abel, stepped forward, flustered. "Sir, please calm down. I'll dispatch a search team immediately!"

"Find her! Bring her back! Lock down all highways, airports, train stations-everything!"

Diego leaned over the desk, hands trembling as he braced himself. Blood seeped through his freshly bandaged hand, veins bulging across his knuckles.

Nash bit his lip, eyes red-rimmed with worry, but didn't dare speak further. He turned and ran out to carry out the order.

Diego stood there, breathing heavily.

"Briella, where could you go? You can only exist by my side."

With a loud crash, everything on his desk was swept to the floor.

In Avenlith, the capital of Solandra and its beating political heart, panic rippled through the corridors of power. Government officials surged in and out of Rosemere Palace.

For the first time in decades, the ancient capital went into full lockdown. All outbound transportation was halted.

Three days later.

"Sir," Nash reported respectfully, "Every exit route out of Avenlith is blocked. We've searched the entire city. But..."

Diego stood silently at the window, bathed in moonlight, his shadow stretched long and cold across the floor.

He turned slightly, his face unreadable. His voice cut through the silence.

"I heard you. Forget the president-if he keeps whining, tell him he can step down. Keep searching. If we can't find her in Avenlith, then search the whole country. I don't believe a living person can just vanish."

Nash swallowed hard.

It wasn't Diego's rage that frightened him-it was his lifelessness. The man before him was hollow.

He nodded and quietly stepped out.

Outside the door, Abel and Butler Warren rushed over.

"How is it?"

"We have to find Madam soon," Nash said grimly. "I don't know what he'll become if this drags on."

Butler Warren looked like he'd aged ten years overnight. "It shouldn't have come to this... It was never supposed to be like this. How did it all go so wrong?"

He looked up at the moon.

If only he didn't put the file on Diego's desk...

Ten days later.

"Sir, there's still no sign of her."

One month later.

"Sir... we've found the body. It's Madam."

Three months later.

Avenlith returned to its former prosperity, as if the entire lockdown had never happened.

And Diego vanished too-like he had never existed in Avenlith at all.

The streets buzzed once more with cars and chatter. Life went on.

***