Chapter 3

My last sliver of hope turned toward Cooper. He had to see. He had to understand.

"Cooper, look at him," I begged, my voice trembling. "She tortured him. He's our dog. Our... our baby."

Cooper' s gentle voice cut through my frantic words like a shard of glass. "Alaina, calm down. It was for your own good."

I stared at him, uncomprehending. "For my good?"

"Kenya needs the practice," he said, as if it were the most reasonable thing in the world. "Besides, he's just a dog. His life isn't as important as a person's."

I gaped at him, the words hitting me with the force of a physical blow. Just a dog.

"You used to call him our son," I whispered, the memory a fresh wound. "You said he was family."

My voice rose, sharp and shrill with disbelief and pain. "He was family!"

Kenya snorted from behind Cooper. "Pathetic. Getting this worked up over a stupid animal."

Cooper stepped forward, his hand reaching for Sunshine's lifeless body. "Let's just get this out of here. It's making a mess."

"Don't touch him!" I screamed, shielding Sunshine with my own body.

"Alaina, be reasonable," he said, his patience clearly wearing thin. "It's just a dog. I'll buy you a new one. A better one."

I stared at him, truly seeing him for the first time. The charming facade had completely dissolved, revealing the cold, empty void beneath. He felt nothing. Not for Sunshine, and not for me.

The fight went out of me, replaced by a chilling emptiness. I sat on the floor, cradling Sunshine's body, and I didn't move for the rest of the night. My tears eventually ran dry, leaving my eyes swollen and raw.

Just before dawn, I wrapped Sunshine in his favorite blanket. I took all the cash I had, every last dollar, and found a 24-hour pet cremation service. I brought his ashes to the cemetery and buried them next to the graves of my parents.

I sat there on the cold ground for hours, the pain in my leg a dull throb compared to the gaping hole in my heart. Sunshine had been innocent. He didn't deserve to die in such a horrific way.

My phone rang, startling me. It was Professor Albright. He sounded worried. "Alaina, are you okay? There's something you need to see. Can you come to my office?"

A sense of dread washed over me as I walked across campus. Students stared and whispered, their eyes darting away when I looked at them. Something was wrong.

In his office, Professor Albright turned his laptop toward me. He didn't say a word.

On the screen was a video. It was me. In my bedroom. The video was grainy, shot from a hidden camera, and the content was private, intimate. Something Cooper had convinced me to do, promising it was just for him.

My face went white. I felt sick, exposed, violated all over again. I slammed the laptop shut.

"Where did this come from?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

Professor Albright' s eyes were full of compassion. "It's all over the campus forums, Alaina. Someone leaked it last night."

I knew, with a certainty that chilled me to the bone, who was responsible. "It was never supposed to leave his phone."

"We need to go to the police," he said firmly. "This is a crime. They've identified you in the video, and there are awful rumors spreading. Some people are even suggesting you're involved in... selling this kind of content."

The world swam before my eyes. My reputation, my future, all of it was being destroyed.

"I need to find him," I said, my voice numb. I refused the professor's offer to accompany me to the police station. I had to face Cooper alone.

I reported the incident, then went back to the apartment. Cooper and Kenya were gone. Their phones went straight to voicemail. A part of me, the stupid, hopeful part, worried something had happened to them.

I was pacing the living room, my mind racing, when the front door swung open. It wasn't Cooper. It was two large, menacing men I had never seen before.

"We've been waiting for you, Alaina," one of them said with a smirk.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" I demanded, backing away.

They exchanged a look. "You gave us the key, remember?" the other one chuckled.

My blood ran cold. It was another lie, another trap. "I don't know you."

"Doesn't matter," one of them said, advancing on me. "Our employer is very unhappy with you."

I fumbled for my phone, my fingers shaking as I dialed 911.

"Bitch!" the man cursed, lunging for me. They saw the phone and bolted, slamming the door behind them. I stood there, trembling, my body covered in a cold sweat.

The door opened again. This time, it was Cooper.

"Alaina!" He looked frantic.

For a split second, relief washed over me. The old instinct to run to him, to seek his protection, was still there.

"Cooper, where have you been?" I asked, a sob catching in my throat. I wanted to ask about the video, about the men, about everything.

But before I could, Kenya appeared behind him. Her face was a mask of fury. She stepped forward and slapped me hard across the face.

The force of it sent me stumbling back.

"You stupid bitch!" she shrieked. "You called the cops on my friends? You're coming with me to the station right now to clear their names!"