I dragged myself up from the pool of blood, running on nothing but instinct, and wrote on the iron plate one trembling character at a time in my own blood: "Brother… kill them all…"

Ivy's eyes were full of contempt, but her voice came out in a wounded, tearful quiver.

"Mrs. Farley, I know you've always been overbearing, but all I'm asking for is an apology so I can give my family some closure. Is that really too much?"

"Besides, your brother was mutilated beyond recognition a long time ago. You're the last Fox standing. What's the point of keeping this up? If you won't apologize, even if I wanted to let you out, my family would never agree…"

The moment she finished, the crowd of Winfield relatives outside started piling on.

"Miss Fox, stop dreaming. Everyone knows your entire family was wiped out three years ago. If Mr. Farley hadn't been protecting you, you'd have died a hundred times over. You think you can threaten us? What a joke."

"Mr. Farley, look at her. She's faking it. She nearly got Ivy killed this time. If you don't teach her a real lesson, who knows how she'll bully people next."

"That's right, Mr. Farley. After what she's done, you can't just let her off easy."

Bernard pressed his fingers against his brow in irritation. When he spoke again, a thread of weary patience laced his voice.

"Sharon, your brother is long dead. You're not some Fox family heiress anymore. Without my protection all these years, you wouldn't have survived a single day. I'm your only lifeline now. Just say you're sorry, and I'll let you out right away. Alright?"

The heat inside the box still hadn't faded, but the movement in my belly had stopped completely.

The little life that had been with me for eight months. In the end, I couldn't save him.

Tears blurred my vision. The pain was beyond anything I could bear.

I had no strength left to answer. I just lowered my head and, with absolute finality, wrote two words on the ground in blood: "Never."

Bernard's expression shifted.

"Sharon, think carefully. No one in this world can save you but me!"

The instant the words left his mouth, a gunshot cracked through the air and a bullet grazed his scalp.

A piercing ring tore through the room, and a squad of mercenaries armed with assault rifles stormed in.

A cold, sharp voice came from behind him.

"Who says no one can save her?"