Chapter 5
571words
Dad clenched his jaw, and with a surge of adrenaline, he charged at her while shouting, "Yvan, run!"
The bodyguards were quick though, stepping between them and slamming dad to the ground before he could even get close to her.
Susanna barely flinched, her expression cold as ice. "You really don't know when to quit, do you?" she sneered. "Take him to the window. Let's see how brave he is when he's hanging by a thread." She turned her gaze toward Yvan, her voice dripping with cruel amusement. "And you, kiddo, your dad just broke the rules. Guess who's gonna pay for that?"
Before I could react, she grabbed a dagger and, with terrifying precision, slashed it across Yvan's finger.
"Stop!" I screamed, fury boiling inside me. However, I was powerless. I was nothing more than a ghost in this nightmare. Yvan's scream cut through the air as his finger fell away, and the betrayal in his eyes was clear as he looked at Susanna—hope shattering into agony. Tears streamed down his face, his cries breaking my heart.
Dad, restrained and helpless, stared in horror. His voice cracked with desperation as he pleaded, "Susanna, please don't hurt him. Matthew's gone! He can't come!"
"I don't believe you," she hissed, her voice trembling with rage. "He humiliated me. Unless he shows up and begs, your family's gonna keep paying the price."
Her hatred was suffocating, filling the room like poison. "He ruined my dad. He ruined me," she spat, her eyes burning with years of resentment. "And now, I'm going to make sure you all suffer for it."
It hit me then—this was not just about me leaving her. This was years of pent-up hatred, aimed squarely at my family. She had come back after seven years for one thing—vengeance.
Seven years ago, her father was dying, his kidneys failing. She was just a college student, proud but poor. She struggled to save him. My family had money as we ran a company, and I offered to help. She had resisted at first, refusing to accept charity. However, as her father's condition worsened and a kidney became available, she had no choice.
I remembered how she had looked at me, eyes brimming with tears, showing just how desperate she was. "Matthew, I need to borrow some money. I promise I'll pay you back."
I pulled her into my arms, trying to ease her pain. "What are you talking about? When we're married, what's mine is yours. There's no need to pay me back."
We went back to my house that day, thinking we would ask my dad for the money, but when we arrived, the mood was heavy—Dad's face was grim, Mom had been crying, and only my little brother seemed unaware, lost in his paintings.
I asked what was going on, and that was when I learned the truth—our business was bankrupt. We were millions in debt, and we could not even pay our employees. Everything had fallen apart.
I could not ask for the money then, not in the middle of that disaster. Susanna and I left, each of us panicking as we tried to figure out a way to save her dad.
