Chapter 9
751words
An abandoned warehouse at the docks.
The air reeked of rust and brine.
Brad hung suspended in midair, blood-covered, his once-arrogant face swollen beyond recognition.
Dominic lounged in a leather chair nearby, idly flicking a lighter.
I pushed open the heavy iron door and stepped inside.
Hearing footsteps, Brad struggled to focus his swollen eyes.
Seeing me, he thrashed desperately, as if I were his salvation.
"Scarlett! Baby! Help me! Please!"
"I was forced into everything! The gambling wasn't my fault! Please tell Knight to let me go!"
"We've been married for five years!"
Married?
I approached him, studying this man who writhed like a worm.
How strange.
I used to be terrified of him.
Afraid of his fists, his rage, the power he held over Lily's life.
But now, looking at him, I felt nothing.
Only disgust.
I raised my hand and pressed a button on the wall.
THUD!
He crashed to the concrete floor, face-first.
"Ungh!"
Fresh blood from his nose smeared across his face.
But he didn't dare curse at me now.
"Brad," I said softly, my voice eerily calm, "Lily's surgery was successful."
Brad froze, then nodded frantically, his voice thick and nasal: "That's great... wonderful! Since your sister's okay now, maybe you could—"
"But I still want to kill you."
I cut him off.
I raised my foot and drove the sharp stiletto heel of my shoe into his broken hand!
"AAAHHH!"
His agonized scream echoed through the warehouse.
"That's for breaking my ribs."
I twisted my heel deeper, my face expressionless.
"That's for cutting off Lily's oxygen."
"And this..."
I crouched down, staring into his pain-contorted face with ice-cold eyes.
"That's for killing the Scarlett who once believed in love."
Brad writhed in agony, his face a mess of snot and tears.
"Scarlett... you can't kill me... murder is... illegal..."
"Kill you?"
Dominic approached, removing his jacket and draping it over my shoulders as if to shield me from the contaminated air.
He slipped his arm around my waist and fixed Brad with a glacial stare.
"Killing you would be too merciful. Your creditors are already lined up outside."
"Ten million in loan shark debt. What do you think they'll do to you, Brad? Harvest your organs? Or use you as foundation for a new pier?"
Brad's pupils dilated in pure terror—the kind of primal fear Hollywood tries to capture but rarely achieves.
"No... please... Dominic! Scarlett! Please... I'm begging you..."
Dominic flicked his wrist dismissively.
Several hulking figures with scarred faces and metal pipes emerged from the shadows.
The city's most notorious debt collectors.
"He's all yours."
Dominic covered my ears with his hands and guided me away, our backs to what was about to happen.
"NOOO!"
The sounds of breaking bones and desperate screams echoed behind us.
But I didn't look back.
Stepping out of the warehouse, the sunlight was so bright it made me dizzy.
"Will he die?" I asked.
"Who cares?"
Dominic squeezed my hand, our fingers intertwined.
"In this city, gambling addicts disappear every day.
"Like rats in the gutter—no one notices when they're gone."
Yes.
The nightmare was finally over.
The demon who had dragged me into hell had finally returned to his own.
And I stood in the sunlight.
...
One month later: The Century Wedding.
The city's grandest cathedral was awash in red roses.
The massive doors swung open.
At the end of the red carpet stood Dominic.
The moment he saw me, this ruthless, commanding man's eyes instantly welled with tears.
I walked toward him.
He didn't wait for the priest's cue—in front of the city's assembled media, he dropped to one knee.
"Scarlett."
He took my hand, his voice thick with emotion.
"Five years ago, I lost you."
"From this moment forward, I'll spend the rest of my life piecing together, bit by bit, everything that was broken in you."
"Please, marry me."
Through my tears, I smiled—a genuine smile from the depths of my heart.
"Yes."
Dominic rose, lifted my veil with trembling hands, and leaned down to kiss me.
Gentle.
Passionate.
Lost and found again.
I remembered that night in the car—the kiss I'd turned away from in my brokenness.
But this time.
I closed my eyes, wrapped my arms around him, and deepened the kiss.
This time, there was no hesitation.
I had found my light again.
The five-year nightmare was over.
We had missed each other's best years.
But thankfully, we hadn't missed the rest of our lives.
