Chapter 2

2

I met Gideon Garrison seven years ago.

I had just graduated and was volunteering at a local shelter.

One night, during a massive thunderstorm, it happened.

Gideon had been ambushed and collapsed at the shelter's entrance, covered in blood.

Anyone else would have called the cops or just walked away.

He looked dangerous and smelled of violence.

But I dragged him inside anyway.

The wound in his side was deep and jagged.

I used my basic first aid training to stop the bleeding and stayed by his side all night.

When he woke up, his eyes were like a wolf's―sharp and deadly.

He asked me, "Why did you save me?"

I told him, "Every life is worth saving."

He stared at me for a long time before he finally smiled.

That was the first time I saw him smile. It was bloody and raw, yet strangely innocent.

After that, he started chasing me.

Gideon, the king of the city's underground, was known for his brutality.

But the way he pursued me was almost clumsy.

He would park his expensive cars outside the shelter and wait for me all day.

He tried to learn how to cook, nearly burning down his kitchen just to bring me charred food.

I told him, "I hate violence. I just want a peaceful life."

So, he began to change.

He disbanded his crews and founded the Garrison Group to go legitimate.

It took him three years to turn from a mob boss into a polished businessman.

People whispered that the wolf had been turned into a lapdog by Lyra Linden.

On our wedding day, he knelt before me with tears in his eyes.

"Lyra, you are my life. I swear I will never betray you."

I believed every word.

But now, it all felt like a sick joke.

The man who said I was his life was asking me to die for another woman!

……

City Square.

Gideon's bodyguards dragged me out of the car.

My knees hit the cold, hard pavement with a sickening thud.

It hurt like hell.

Gideon and Susannah sat in the back of a Rolls-Royce nearby. They lowered the window to watch.

Susannah was filming the whole thing on her phone.

"Start kneeling, Lyra!" Susannah's friends and family surrounded me, shouting.

They pushed me and kicked at my shins.

"Gideon!" I screamed his name. "I am still your wife!"

Gideon didn't move an inch.

Susannah giggled and leaned into his chest. "Gideon, look at her. Doesn't she look just like a stray dog?"

Gideon finally moved.

He stepped out of the car and walked toward me.

He crouched down so we were eye-to-eye.

"Lyra, don't forget what I said. The more sincere you are, the safer Lucas is."

"If you try any tricks…" He leaned into my ear. "I heard the fire safety at your mother's nursing home isn't up to code."

My pupils shrunk in terror.

My mother!

She had severe Alzheimer's. She was my only remaining weakness.

"Gideon, if you touch her, I'll kill you!"

He laughed and stood up, looking down at me.

"Then do as you're told."

"Start. Three steps, one bow. Make sure everyone hears you."

I closed my eyes as tears of humiliation fell.

I had nowhere to run.

I bit my lip and dragged myself forward.

"I, Lyra Linden, apologize to the Sterling family for my brother's actions."

I slammed my forehead against the ground.

The sound was dull and heavy.

"I am sorry."

Three steps. Another bow.

"Louder! I can't hear you!" Susannah screamed from the car.

I used every bit of strength in my lungs to howl.

"I, Lyra Linden, am guilty! I am sorry!"

My forehead cracked open. Blood began to blur my vision.

I don't know how long I kept going.

I eventually collapsed in the middle of the square, my strength gone.

Before I blacked out, I saw Gideon walking toward me.

He reached into my pocket and took the signed confession.

Then he turned around, put his arm around Susannah, and got back in the car.

They drove away without looking back.