Chapter 4

After leaving the law firm, I grabbed a cab and headed straight to the airport.

But the taxi driver pulled over on a deserted road.

"Wrong turn," I felt something wasn't right and grabbed for the door handle. "The airport's the other way."

Before I could open it, something pressed against my face from behind. A cloth, soaked in something chemical.

I thrashed and clawed at the hand holding it, but my vision blurred fast. The world tilted sideways.

Everything went black.

I woke up with my wrists and ankles screaming in pain.

I forced my eyes open. Concrete floor, dim light, the smell of mold and something rotting. A abandoned warehouse.

I tried to sit up but realized the rope around my wrists was connected to a metal pipe behind me.

"You're awake."

I turned my head.

Daisy sat about ten feet away, tied up just like me. Her perfect hair was a mess now, mascara streaked down her cheeks.

Why was she here too?

A door slammed open across the warehouse. Three men walked in, all wearing black masks. One of them carried a camera on a tripod. Another held a phone.

The third one, clearly the leader, crouched down in front of us.

"You... you're making a mistake." Daisy's voice was panicked. "I'm Gideon Moretti's woman. If you hurt me, he'll destroy you. He'll—"

"That's exactly why you're here," the man said, laughing. "We're counting on it."

I forced myself to stay calm. "How much do you want?"

He turned to me. "Money? You think this is about money?"

"Then what?"

"Pain." He stood up. "Gideon Moretti destroyed my family. Burned our businesses to the ground. Killed my brother. Now it's his turn to feel what it's like to lose something."

Daisy started sobbing. "Please... please, I don't know anything about that. I wasn't even there. Just let me go, I'll—"

"Shut up!" His voice cut through her pleading. "You'll know soon enough what's happening."

He nodded at the guy with the phone.

The video call connected and Gideon's face filled the screen.

I could see the panic in his eyes, his jaw was tight.

"Isabella? Daisy?" His voice cracked. "Where are you? Are you hurt?"

The leader stepped in front of the camera. "Listen carefully, Moretti. You get one choice. Just one."

"What do you want? I'll give you anything—"

"You can save one of them." The man's voice was flat. "Your wife Isabella. Or your first love, Daisy. One lives. The other one gets locked in a cage and burned alive. You have thirty seconds to decide."

The warehouse went silent except for Daisy's sobbing.

I stared at the camera. At Gideon's face on that screen.

This is the moment I find out what I really am to him.

"You can't—" Gideon's voice broke. "This isn't fair. You can't make me—"

"Twenty seconds."

"Gideon!" Daisy screamed. "Gideon, please! Save me! I don't want to die! Please!"

She was hysterical now, thrashing against her ropes, her whole body shaking with sobs.

I didn't say anything. I just kept my eyes on the screen. On him.

"Ten seconds."

Gideon closed his eyes. Took a deep breath.

When he opened them again, his voice came out barely above a whisper.

"Let Daisy go."

I felt my lips curve into a bitter smile. Of course. Of course he chose her.

"Smart choice," the leader said. He cut the connection.

Two of the men grabbed Daisy and started untying her ropes. She was still crying, but somehow, it felt like she was smiling.

Then she was gone.

The leader walked over to me. "Nothing personal, Mrs. Moretti."

"I know," I said quietly.

They dragged me deeper into the warehouse. In the corner sat a large metal cage.

They shoved me inside and locked the door with a heavy chain.

Then they started pouring gasoline.

One of them pulled out a lighter.

"Any last words?" the leader asked.

I thought about it and shook my head. About Gideon. About the baby I lost. About five years of blood and sacrifice and love that apparently meant nothing in the end.

The lighter flicked open.

Fire caught instantly. It raced along the gasoline trail, surrounding the cage in seconds. The heat hit me like a wall.

I could hear them running. The warehouse door slamming shut.

Then it was just me and the flames.

I sank to the floor of the cage, my hands covering my mouth and nose, trying to filter the smoke. But there was too much. It burned my lungs with every breath.

My vision started to blur.

I thought of my father and regretted not listening to him. If he found out I died, it would destroy him.

My eyes closed. The world faded.

Gideon's POV

Gideon's hands were shaking as he helped Daisy into the car.

She collapsed against the seat, still trembling. His men surrounded the vehicle, weapons drawn.

"You're safe now," he told her. "You're okay."

But his mind was already somewhere else. On Isabella.

He grabbed his phone and called his right-hand man. "Did you get the location? Are you on your way to get Isabella?"

The pause on the other end made his blood run cold.

"Sir, I—"

"WHAT?!"

"Sir..." There was a long silence. "Mrs. Moretti... she died in the fire. By the time we got there, the entire warehouse had collapsed."