Chapter 3

3

Cassia watched my degradation with a satisfied smile.

She turned to the boutique staff. "Didn't you hear my husband? He doesn't know her. Throw this trash out!"

The staff, eager to please the wealthy Millers, swarmed over me.

They dragged me across the floor like a sack of unwanted goods.

The manager even threw a bin of trash over me to impress Cassia.

"Make sure she's banned," the manager told the security guards. "No dogs or Elowens allowed."

He then turned to Cassia with a fawning smile.

"Only a lady of your elegance and taste can truly appreciate our brand. People like her are just stains on the floor."

Cassia nodded, looking pleased with herself.

Caleb watched me being dragged away, a fleeting look of guilt passing over him before he returned to doting on Cassia.

They dumped me on the sidewalk outside the boutique.

As the heavy doors closed, I knew every ounce of love I had for Caleb was dead.

I struggled to get up, but my body was covered in bruises and my face was slick with blood.

Before I could find my footing, a shadow fell over me.

Cassia grabbed my hair again, forcing me to look at her.

"Look at you, Elowen. You look like a stray dog. You thought you had a family, but you're just alone."

"What are you talking about?" I croaked.

She leaned in close, her hand tightening around my throat.

"You idiot. I was never lost. My parents bought you from a trafficker because a psychic told them you had lucky stars."

"They needed your aura to make the family rich. And when they were done with you, they sold you to Caleb for fifty million to save his failing business!"

She stood up and pointed toward a massive digital billboard across the street.

I looked up and froze.

Intimate, private photos of me were scrolling across the screen for the whole world to see.

The audio playing from the speakers was filled with disgusting, degrading slurs.

Passersby stopped to stare, some even laughing and taking videos.

My phone, which was lying cracked on the ground, began to explode with notifications and calls from strangers.

My face went pale. I tried to reach for the phone to call for help.

Cassia snatched it first and smashed it into the pavement.

Glass shards cut into my skin, but she wasn't done.

She shoved me down and ground her high heel into my cheek.

"Elowen, no one is coming to save you. In this world, death is your only escape."

"If I were you, I'd just end it all!"

I struggled to look up through the blood and tears.

I saw the Millers and Caleb standing by the window, watching this with excitement.

They looked like they were enjoying a show.

Cassia pulled out her own phone and played a video right in front of my eyes.

"See this? This is the daughter you lost. She didn't die of a breathing complication."

"Caleb sacrificed her for a ritual to keep his luck going. He fed her body to the stray dogs!"

The world went silent. My blood turned to ice.

In the video, I saw a tiny, crying infant on a stone altar.

As her cries grew weaker, a pack of dogs swarmed the area.

The grief was so overwhelming I couldn't even breathe.

Cassia continued to kick me, her voice like a demon's hiss.

"Your parents don't want you. Your husband framed you. Your daughter is gone. Why are you still alive?"

"Go die. Maybe you can explain to your daughter why you weren't there to save her!"

My consciousness started to fade as the insults blurred together.

I tried to scream, but no sound came out.

Cassia's eyes lit up with a sick joy, thinking I was finally giving up.

Suddenly, the roar of dozens of high-performance engines filled the air.

A fleet of black SUVs and luxury sports cars screeched to a halt, surrounding us.

Cassia looked up, her expression shifting to confusion and then fear.

Before the doors even opened, a booming, furious voice echoed through the street.

"Touch her one more time, and I'll feed you to the wolves myself!"

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