Chapter 3

3

Silas drove me out to the middle of nowhere and ditched me on the side of the road.

Suddenly, a beat-up van screeched to a halt next to me.

Two rough-looking men jumped out, smelling of cheap beer and cigarettes.

My heart skipped a beat. "What do you want? My husband is just up the road!"

One of them laughed.

"Husband? Your husband is the one who sent us."

"Mr. Montgomery said you needed to be disciplined. He doesn't want you embarrassing the family name anymore!"

Silas!

I froze in shock.

The men didn't give me time to process the betrayal. They lunged for me.

A sudden jolt of survival instinct surged through me, replacing my despair with adrenaline.

I grabbed a jagged piece of rebar lying in the dirt.

With every ounce of strength I had left, I slammed it into the first man's thigh.

He screamed, collapsing instantly as he clutched his leg.

The sheer violence of my counter-attack terrified the second man. They both scrambled back into their van and sped off.

Once they were gone, my legs gave out.

My phone started vibrating. It was Cillian Sterling, my old friend from the streets.

The moment I answered, the dam broke. I couldn't stop the tears.

"Is your offer to take me away still on the table?" I sobbed.

"I'm ready to go."

Cillian's voice was deep and steady. "What happened?"

I told him everything―every single detail of the last few months.

There was a deadly silence on the other end, followed by the sound of heavy breathing.

"I'm coming to get you," he said after a few seconds. "I promise, anyone who touched you will pay in blood."

I leaned my head back and whispered, "Okay."

I, Paige Quinn, had never wronged anyone in my life.

Yet, because of Silas and Scarlett, I was rotting in my own skin.

I gritted my teeth.

I walked all the way back to the villa. When I entered, I saw Scarlett wearing my silk pajamas, lounging in Silas's arms.

She gave me a sweet, fake smile. "Paige, you're finally home."

I didn't hide my disgust. I rolled my eyes at both of them.

Silas's face went pale with anger. He marched over and grabbed my arm.

"Paige, haven't you embarrassed yourself enough for one day?"

He squeezed my bruised arm, and I couldn't help but cry out in pain.

Silas's expression shifted. He pulled my hand up to look at it.

When he saw the raw, bloodied skin on my palm from the rebar, a flash of genuine concern crossed his eyes.

Scarlett was watching him closely. Seeing his reaction, she quickly tugged at his sleeve.

"Silas, she probably just did that to herself for attention. How else would she get hurt?"

Silas looked like he had just woken up from a dream. The concern vanished, replaced by loathing.

"Paige, are you doing this on purpose?"

I didn't bother defending myself.

A single word from Scarlett was all it took for him to blame me for my own injuries.

Even though I knew what kind of man he was, it still felt like a knife to the chest.

I turned to leave, but Silas called out to me.

"Don't you want to know where your brother is buried?"

I stopped dead in my tracks.