“You’re just an orphan with no one. What right do you have to throw a tantrum in front of me? Remember this, Lainey, if I hadn’t pitied you, you wouldn’t even be alive right now.”
Jeremiah sneered, gripping my chin and forcing my face up toward his. His voice dropped into a chilling whisper.
I pressed my lips together and said nothing.
Yes, I had lost my parents. That car crash stole them both from me.
Naomi happened to pass by and managed to pull me out. But when she turned back for my parents, a sudden fuel leak triggered an explosion.
Still, I had an older brother. He left the country once he came of age and reached out to me every year.
But after our parents were gone, I barely kept in touch.
Jeremiah’s glare burned into me again. “If you try to run off one more time, I’ll make sure you beg for death.”
Then he turned away, finally picking up the phone that had been ringing nonstop.
The man who, just seconds ago, had threatened me with venom now answered with a voice as smooth and sweet as honey.
The door slammed shut with a sharp bang, cutting me off from Jeremiah entirely.
The rift between us had grown too wide, it could never be mended again.
I tightened my grip on the wheelchair’s armrests and took the elevator up to the second floor.
It was already late. The maids had long gone.
I rolled straight into Jeremiah’s study and made my way to the desk.
His computer screen lit up, waiting for a password.
Without a second thought, I typed in Margaret’s birthday.
Sure enough, the password was correct.
In the corner of the desktop, a subtle file icon caught my eye. When I opened it, a lock icon flashed, it was encrypted.
Luckily, my college years studying computer science weren’t for nothing. My fingers moved quickly, methodically, as I bypassed the layers of security.
Moments later, the file unlocked.
What appeared on the screen left me frozen, breathless. The shock hit me like a wave, and for a long time, I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
I opened the images, and one message leaped off the screen.
Jeremiah: [Look at her lying on the ground groaning and writhing, doesn’t she look just like a dead dog?! Hahaha…]
The next image followed.
Jeremiah: [Margaret, you promised me, if I manage to break her legs, you’ll wear a wedding dress and marry me.]
And below that, an endless stream of messages just like it.
Jeremiah had turned me into a bargaining chip for his twisted romance with Margaret.