Chapter 4

After my tenth miscarriage in five years, I believed my body was broken. My husband, Barron, was my perfect, doting savior who had rebuilt my life after destroying my family's company. Then, I overheard him on the phone. He confessed to poisoning my tea every night, methodically murdering our ten children to repay a debt to his mistress. A life for each year she'd spent in prison for him. My entire world wasn't just a lie-it was a gilded cage built by my family's destroyer. He thought he left me to die in a fire. He was wrong. Now, with a new face, I'm back to burn his empire to the ground.

I learned my three-year relationship was a lie from a conversation I was never supposed to hear. My boyfriend, Hardin, the man I'd saved from a car wreck that ended my career, hadn't lost his memory. It was all a long con to steal my life's work-a revolutionary game engine-for his mistress, my old college rival. The man who promised to protect me stood by as she publicly humiliated me, burned my arm with a cigarette, and had me tasered in an alley. He dragged me into an icy shower when I fought back. When I tried to leave, he had me held down while doctors drew my blood and stole my kidney for his mistress's aunt. He called the injury that destroyed my career "unfortunate." He thought he had broken me, turning me into a prisoner in his mansion, a source of spare parts. But he forgot who I was. With the help of my old mentor, I reclaimed my secret identity as the legendary developer "PixelVixen." And I sent the two words that would bring their empire crashing down: "I'm back."

My billionaire husband fell under the spell of a New Age guru who let my mother die, calling her cancer a "karmic debt." His devotion to her became my personal hell. He locked me in a room full of snakes, carved flesh from my arm as a ritual sacrifice, and finally, had my dog killed and forced me to eat the remains. The man who once swore to protect me became my tormentor. But he made a fatal mistake. He didn't realize our divorce had just been finalized. So I walked out of that house, went straight to the airport, and started a livestream to burn his entire empire to the ground.

For three years, I believed my fiancé, Daryl, was my savior. He rescued me after a brutal attack-secretly orchestrated by my own sister, Kenisha-shattered my hands and my dreams of being a concert pianist. He gave me a perfect, protected life. Then I discovered the truth on his laptop. I wasn't his beloved; I was "Asset: FB-01." A walking collection of prime organs, being groomed until my sister needed a new heart. My heart. The man I loved became a monster. He forced me to take five pregnancy tests, snarling that he'd "get that thing out" of me himself if I compromised his investment. He locked me in the trunk of his car and later abandoned me on a collapsing rope bridge. To finally break me, he drowned the stray kitten I'd rescued in the washing machine. "You hurt my Kenisha," he roared. "Now you'll know what it feels like to lose something you care about." My entire life with him had been a lie. I was just livestock being fattened for slaughter, and my hands-the ones he once called magic-were just a "non-essential component." After he drained my blood for the sister who wanted me dead, I went home and buried my cat. Then I packed a single bag, booked a flight to London, and vanished. They had created a monster. Now, they were about to meet her.

Six months into our marriage, my husband Adam declared our garage off-limits. He called it his "creative space," but it was my house, bought with my inheritance, and his sudden coldness felt like a violation. Soon, the secrecy became a prison. He began handcuffing me to our bed at night, chaining me up like an animal so he could sneak down to his precious garage while I slept. When I confronted him, he tracked my phone, punched me in the face, and threatened to take half my house in a divorce. He was a monster wearing my husband's face, and I was trapped with him. One night, after picking the lock, I crept downstairs and heard voices. It was Adam and his fugitive brother-a man who had killed an entire family in a hit-and-run. I heard his brother threaten to "handle" me. The next morning, I smiled and made my husband his favorite breakfast. But as I served him his pancakes, I added a special ingredient-a powerful laxative, enough to send him straight to the emergency room. He thought he had me cornered. He had no idea I was about to burn his entire world to the ground.

When the flood engulfed our home, both my brother and husband chose to save Cathryn Andrews. She was the daughter of our family who had been lost for many years and was recently rediscovered. My right leg was fractured under her intentional, brutal collision. As I was rescued, I saw Cathryn sobbing in my husband's embrace. "Harlee Reed kept pressing me down, trying to drown me in the flood." Upon hearing this, both my husband and brother stared darkly at me lying on the stretcher. "Harlee, you've stolen Cathryn's life for so many years, and now you even want to harm her!" My brother, Kaiden Foster, sneered at me, while my husband, Jared Reed, tenderly shielded Cathryn in his arms. The two exchanged words, then picked up nearby stones and approached me. "It seems we've spoiled you too much over the years, Harlee. Perhaps this will make you think twice." Their menacing faces were unfamiliar to me. I struggled desperately but was pinned down. Seeing them raise the stones high, ready to smash my leg, I closed my eyes. I had to leave!