Chapter 5

Allie POV:

The customized wheelchair August provided was a testament to his wealth, sleek and advanced, an ironic cage for my shattered legs. I was discharged, not to our home, but to a private yacht, a shimmering white behemoth cutting through the turquoise waters. August said it was Harper's idea, a "welcome home" party for me, a perverse celebration of my brokenness.

Harper stood on the deck, radiating smug satisfaction, draped in a shimmering gown, August's family jewels sparkling at her throat and wrists. She looked like a goddess, a triumphant queen. I, in my hospital gown and wheelchair, felt like a rag doll.

"The queen certainly knows how to dress for her coronation," I said, my voice dripping with venom. The words were quiet, but Harper's smile faltered.

August, who had been pushing my wheelchair, squeezed my shoulder. "Allie, don't. It's not a coronation. It's a party. Harper is trying to be nice." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Everything I've done, Allie, it's for the baby. You have to understand that."

"For the baby?" I scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. "Did you break my legs for the baby, August? Did you leave me to die in a fire for the baby?" The words were lost in the sudden burst of celebratory fireworks, exploding in vibrant colors against the darkening sky. A cruel irony, celebrating life while mine was being extinguished.

Harper, ever the picture of sweetness, glided towards me. She knelt by my wheelchair, her hand resting lightly on my arm. "Allie, darling, you must be tired. Why don't you go inside and change into something more comfortable? I laid out some lovely clothes for you in the master suite." Her eyes, however, held a chilling glint of triumph.

August nodded approvingly. "See, Allie? Harper thinks of everything. She's so thoughtful." He gave Harper a fond look.

With a shiver of dread, I allowed Harper to push my wheelchair towards the master suite. The door clicked shut behind me, and the mask of concern instantly dropped from her face. Her eyes, now cold and hard, stared at me with unbridled malice.

She leaned down, her face inches from mine, and stomped her heel hard on my injured leg. A sharp cry of pain tore from my throat. "Scream all you want, Allie," she purred, her eyes gleaming with sadistic pleasure. "No one can hear you over the fireworks."

"You really think you won, don't you?" I gasped, trying to push away the blinding pain.

She laughed, a harsh, grating sound. "Oh, I've won, darling. Do you know how easy it was to seduce August? You were so predictable. So... vanilla. And that high-risk pregnancy? A brilliant touch, don't you think? Keeps him wrapped around my finger."

I stared at her, my face wet from the sea spray, my heart a barren wasteland. There was no anger left, just a profound emptiness. "I don't care about August anymore," I said, my voice flat, devoid of emotion. "He means nothing to me. So your little games are wasted."

Her triumphant smile faltered, replaced by a flicker of confusion, then a renewed, more dangerous fury. "You think you're so smart, don't you? So noble. But you're just a pathetic little fool. Do you know who started the fire at your lake house, Allie? Do you know why you lost your precious baby?" Her voice dropped to a whisper, cold and venomous. "It was me. I set the fire. And I made sure you lost that inconvenient little mistake."

The words hit me like a physical blow, colder than the ocean, hotter than the flames. My breath hitched, a guttural sob tearing from my throat. My baby. Not lost in an accident, but brutally murdered. My hands flew to my mouth, stifling the scream that threatened to erupt. The grief was a fresh, raw wound, tearing through the numbness.

"August will destroy you," I whispered, my voice trembling with a hate so profound it tasted like blood. "When he finds out what you did, he will make you pay."

Harper threw her head back and laughed, a shrill, mocking sound. "He won't find out, you idiot. He's too obsessed with the idea of his heir. And besides, even if he did, it'd be too late for you." She clapped her hands, a slow, deliberate sound.

The door burst open, revealing a horde of men. They were ragged, unkempt, their eyes glinting with a predatory hunger. My blood ran cold.

Harper, with a practiced flourish, ripped open her gown, tore at her perfectly coiffed hair, and then, clutching her stomach, let out a piercing shriek. "August! Help me! She... she brought these men! They're trying to hurt me! They're trying to hurt our baby!" Her voice was a symphony of terror and innocence, a masterful performance.

August burst into the room, his face a mask of rage, his eyes blazing with a hate I had never seen directed at me. He looked from Harper, sobbing dramatically in the corner, to me, paralyzed in my wheelchair, surrounded by the rough-looking men.

He rushed to Harper's side, pulling her into his arms. "What did you do, Allie?" he snarled, his voice a guttural growl. "You truly are a monster. You can't stand the thought of me having a child, can you? You' re trying to harm them both."

"No, August! It's not what you think!" I cried, desperate to explain, to make him see the truth. But he wasn't listening. His eyes were fixed on Harper, who was now clutching him like a fragile flower.

He stalked towards me, his hand lashing out, seizing my arm. He yanked me from the wheelchair, my shattered legs screaming in protest as I collapsed to the floor, pain exploding through my body. "You'll spend the night here, Allie," he said, his voice cold and devoid of any humanity. "And you'll think about what you've done."

I scrambled back, dragging my broken legs, my eyes wide with terror. "No! August, please! Don't leave me here! They'll kill me! I know it!" A cold dread, a certainty of my impending doom, settled deep in my bones.

He gave a harsh, humorless laugh. "Don't be so dramatic, Allie. They're just harmless derelicts. A night in their company will teach you a lesson." He scooped Harper into his arms, his back to me, and walked out of the room without a backward glance. The door slammed shut, sealing my fate.

The smell of unwashed bodies filled the air. The men, their faces leering, began to close in. Their yellowed teeth flashed in the dim light. They grabbed my arms, hauling my broken body onto the bed.

"Look at this one," one of them sneered, his breath hot and foul on my face. "A pretty little rich girl."

They tore at my clothes, the fabric ripping with brutal force. My legs, useless and broken, offered no escape. I screamed, a guttural, primal sound of pure terror. "Help me! August! Please! Someone!" But my cries were swallowed by the booming fireworks outside, a celebration of joy while my world descended into hell. A rough hand slapped across my face, silencing my screams. Another gagged me.

They came at me, one after another, their monstrous forms blurring into a terrifying nightmare. The pain was unbearable, a searing agony that ripped through my body, far worse than any fire, any broken bone. I felt a warm gush between my legs, blood seeping onto the torn sheets. My vision blurred, tears streaming down my face.

I closed my eyes, retreating deep within myself, praying for oblivion. For death. Anything to escape this living hell.