When I opened my eyes, nothing made sense.
Everything around me was spinning, fuzzy like a dream on the edge of waking. My head pounded—no, exploded—with every heartbeat. I tried to move, but my arms were stiff, and my back was aching from something hard and cold.
That's when I realized I couldn't move.
Not because I was weak—because I was tied.
Tied to a chair.
Panic shot through me like lightning, making me jerk against the restraints. The ropes burned against my wrists as I pulled, testing their hold. I couldn't feel my fingers. My ankles were tied too—tight enough to cut off circulation.
My breath caught in my throat as I looked around, heart racing.
The room was dim, lit only by a weak bulb hanging from a crooked ceiling fan. The walls were bare, stained, and cracked like they hadn't seen sunlight in years. It smelled of dust, sweat, and something metallic. The floor was concrete—no windows. Just one door.
Then I heard it—
Voices. Hushed, but urgent.
From the other side of the door.
"I'm telling you," came Jason's voice. "Let's just go with the plan."
The words sliced through me.
The plan?
I couldn't breathe. My mind started racing, trying to piece everything together.
Then it hit me.
The party. Claire. Her laugh. Her warmth.
Then the hallway. The blood. The stairs.
Claire's body falling—limp. The awful crack. Her head. The scream.
I squeezed my eyes shut as the memory hit like a freight train.
Claire.
My stomach twisted. Please let her be okay. Please, please.
And Dominic.
My heart ached. He had been smiling that night. Calm. Handsome. Just… at peace, for once. It was his birthday. He'd finally allowed himself a moment of joy.
And I ruined it.
Tears burned my eyes, hot and silent. What would he think? What if Claire didn't make it? What if he blamed me? What if he didn't even know I was gone?
I was still reeling when the door creaked open.
Jason stepped inside, his eyes sweeping over me slowly—calm, cold, calculating. Like he was inspecting a painting. Or a target.
"Well," he said casually, "look who's awake."
I glared at him through blurry eyes, fighting back the nausea rising in my throat.
He moved closer. "If you'd just stopped resisting, that woman would've been fine."
That was the first piece of trash that came out of his mouth.
I spat at him, the blood and spit mixing as it hit his cheek. "Go wash your mouth. It stinks."
His eyes flared—and then he slapped me.
The sound echoed through the room. My face whipped to the side. My skin burned, the pain hot and immediate. I tasted iron. Blood trickled from my lip.
I didn't scream. I wouldn't give him that satisfaction.
He crouched in front of me, gripping my chin tightly. "You caused this, Amira. All of it. If you'd just stayed in your place—none of this would've happened."
I tried to pull away. "Let me go, you freak!"
He leaned closer, his breath hot and foul. "You used to be mine. I'm not letting that stiff in a suit steal what I built."
"You didn't build anything," I hissed. "You destroyed everything."
He laughed, low and mocking, before releasing my chin and walking away. "Let's see how long that mouth of yours lasts."
He stepped outside, slamming the door behind him. The bulb above me flickered and dimmed.
Darkness again. I was alone.
I didn't know what to do. How do you act when you're kidnapped?
My heart was still racing, but my body felt like it was shutting down. The ropes had dug into my skin. My legs were numb. My head was pounding. My lip was bleeding.
And all I could think about was Dominic.
Would he even look for me?
No, I told myself bitterly. He'd be too busy at the hospital. Claire… she needs him more.
And with that, I let the darkness swallow me whole.
I came to with a shudder that rattled through my bones.
Ice. That was my first thought.
My entire body felt like it had been plunged into the Arctic. I gasped, coughing as icy water soaked through my clothes, dripping from my hair and eyelashes. My teeth clattered together uncontrollably as I blinked rapidly, trying to make out who—
Lila.
She stood in front of me, still in her seductive red dress, now stained and wrinkled like the night had worn her out. She held an empty, grimy metal bucket in one hand, her painted lips curled into a sneer.
"Oh, good," she said mockingly. "You're still alive."
I shivered violently, unable to hide the fear clawing up my spine. My clothes clung to me, heavy and wet, making it harder to breathe. "What the hell—"
"Get up," she snapped.
I coughed again, blinking through the cold. "Are you dense? Don't you see that I'm tied up?"
Her eyes narrowed like a knife's edge. "Don't get cocky with me, bitch. I hold your life in my hands now."
She stepped forward and crouched beside me. That's when I saw it — the blade. A silver knife glinted in her hand, catching the dim light from above. Her eyes gleamed with something darker than hatred.
"You've always thought you were better than me, huh?" she hissed. "The golden girl. Dominic's favorite. Everyone's little victim."
"Lila—" I tried, my voice hoarse.
"Shut up." The word was venom.
She walked behind me, the knife scraping against the back of the chair as she moved. Then a sudden pull—and the rope fell away from my wrists.
My arms slumped down, sore and limp.
"Get up," she said again.
I hesitated.
Her grip tightened on the knife.
Reluctantly, I pushed myself up, wobbling on unsteady legs. My knees buckled slightly, but I caught myself. My head still spun, my hair soaked and clinging to my face.
Lila shoved the knife into her clutch and opened the door.
We stepped into a narrow hallway, where Jason was waiting with a smug smile. His dress shirt sleeves were rolled up, and he leaned against the open back of a sleek black van like he had all the time in the world.
"Look who decided to join us," he said.
I wanted to scream. Fight. Run. But there was nowhere to go.
Lila shoved me from behind. "In."
I climbed in slowly. The back of the van was empty—no windows, no seats. Just a metal floor.
As soon as I was inside, Jason slammed the doors shut, locking me in.
Darkness again.
The van started moving.
Every bump in the road jostled me. My body ached in ways I didn't even know were possible. My lip throbbed from Jason's slap. My arms stung from the ropes. I could still feel the cold bucket of water in my bones.
Where were they taking me?
My chest tightened. The fear returned. I didn't want to die. Not like this. Not before I told Dominic everything. Not before I found out if Claire was still alive.
The van came to a stop.
Seconds later, the doors opened, and blinding light flooded in. I winced and shielded my eyes.
They dragged me out.
The brightness made me dizzy. I blinked rapidly as my vision adjusted. We were on an old highway—completely deserted. Wind howled around us, carrying the sharp scent of salt.
Behind the guardrail: the ocean.
Endless, blue, and terrifying.
Jason yanked my arms behind my back again, tying them tightly with a rough cord. I stumbled forward as Lila pushed me toward the edge of the bridge.
"Walk," she said.
"What are you doing?" I asked, struggling. "No—no, you can't—"
"Jump," Jason said casually.
I froze. "What?"
"You heard me. Jump."
My eyes widened. "You're crazy. I'm not jumping."
"Then we'll help you," Lila said, smiling like it was a game.
Panic flooded me.
"I can't jump," I pleaded. "You jump!"
Jason rolled his eyes. "That's not how this works. If we let you go, you'll talk. You'll tell Dominic everything. You'll blab about the old hag. We can't have any witnesses."
"You're insane," I said, voice trembling. "You'll be punished for this. No matter what you do, someone will find out."
Jason stepped closer, his breath hot with anger. "No one's going to find out… if you're dead."
Lila smirked beside him. "You know, I really did love you once. But you were impossible to handle. So ungrateful. So stupid."
I stared at her, shaking. "That was you, Lila. You were the one who backstabbed me. You lied. You betrayed me."
Jason laughed. "None of that matters now, does it?"
His voice was calm. Cold. Empty.
I took a step back, heart thudding. "Don't—please—"
Lila's smile widened.
And then she shoved me.
he world turned sideways.
Wind roared in my ears.
Then—silence.
My body crashed into the water with a force that knocked the air out of me. Cold swallowed me whole. I sank like dead weight, limbs flailing, bubbles rising around me in a frenzy. The salt stung my eyes, burned my throat. My arms were still bound, useless.
I couldn't breathe.
Couldn't move.
Couldn't scream.
This is it, I thought. After everything I tried to change… after everything I fought to fix, I'm still going to die. No matter what I do, in every life—this is always my end.
My lungs screamed for air. My head throbbed. The world dimmed at the edges. The cold wrapped itself around me like a blanket, dragging me deeper.
And suddenly… I stopped fighting.
I let the numbness take me. Let the water lift the weight of my pain, my guilt, my fear. I floated deeper into the dark, letting go. What was the point of struggling anymore?
I thought of Dominic.
His smile.
The way he looked at me when he thought I wasn't watching.
The way his voice softened when he said my name.
Would he even know what happened? Would he think I abandoned him? Or worse — that I was part of it?
Tears mixed with the saltwater. My body relaxed.
I felt nothing.
Then—
Arms.
Strong, warm, real.
They wrapped around me like lightning breaking through the dark. I was being pulled upward, fast and desperate. My head burst through the surface and I gasped, choking, spitting out mouthfuls of seawater.
Coughs wracked my body.
The cold still clung to me, but I was alive.
Alive.
I clung to the arms that held me, trembling, my vision blurry and fading.
"Amira," a voice breathed. "Please—stay with me."
That voice…
That voice.
Even through the ringing in my ears and the choking sobs, I knew it.
"Please, I can't lose you again, Amira. Not again. Stay with me—please," the voice broke, heavy with anguish.
My lashes fluttered. I wanted to speak. I wanted to say his name.
But darkness crept in again.
And I slipped under.