BOOK III.
Chaos has taken over Ashton and Ria's reality.
Vincent has come out on top once again. Daniel is dead. Jared and Vivian are in captivity, back to the place where all of her nightmares lurk.
Their plan has failed miserably, leading them on...
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TERRORS TREMBLE THROUGH VIVIAN as she paces from the door to the bed. They've been isolated in this room for exactly thirty-minutes and there hasn't been a peep from the outside.
The longer she remains behind these walls, the higher her anxiety rises. Flashes of blood-red and inky black pierce the barriers of her fragile skull. Memories. Ruthless and unrelenting.
Endless nights were spent here as she grew up without her parents. Nights where Vincent would cling to the shadows and creep into this very room in the dead of night. He'd scream at her, blaming her for their parent's murder before beating her into unconsciousness.
The next morning, he'd care for her wounds with a sickening gentleness. The most fragile of smiles would grace his lips as he gloated about how she belonged to him for the rest of her pathetic life.
She thought she was free of that vicious cycle when Camilla sheltered her after Nikolai's murder.
Now she's returned to hell.
Vivian claws at her scalp and stares at the floor. If she glares hard enough, drops of her spilled blood staining the carpet becomes vivid. "I-I can't be here. He's going to kill me. I can't be back here."
This mansion is her personal hell. Even when she found Ashton, it was pure torture coming home to this place. Even after Camilla came around and fought off Vincent's men, living here was like living beneath the devil's heels.
She lost so much in this place. Her parents. Her entire life. The remains of her sanity. Her child.
These walls are engraved with a curse.
"C-Camilla said she would help us." She laughs and cries and paces until her legs burn. "Ashton and Ria will-will save us. It's okay. We'll be fine. We'll be fine."
"Vivian..." Jared's voice is barely above a whisper.
She whirls to him as he leans heavily against the bed. Curly locks are a mess atop his head and his glasses are slightly askew. The fresh bandage around his throat makes her chest ache and insides writhe in guilt.
She rushes to his side and grabs his face to pull him close. "I'm so sorry, Jared. I knew I was too dangerous to be around and-and I ended up hurting you. Bad things happen to everyone I care about."
Maybe I'm the curse.
"It's fine." He holds her hands around his face and moves to cup them in front of them. "This is not your fault. I just want to make sure you're okay. You shouldn't be back here with all of those awful memories."
Vivian flinches and pulls her hands from his.
He knows now. He knows everything.
She's tried to forget about how Vincent relayed every single detail of her life to Jared, gloating about the horrors she's gone through. Now there is nothing about her that can remain hidden. The monster inside her is exposed and vulnerable to his innocent eyes.
