**Michael’s POV** The message sent to Daniel gave me a twisted satisfaction, but it also filled me with dread. I had underestimated him. His tenacity, his ability to uncover the truth, was threatening everything I had worked so hard to maintain. My grip on Emma, on my plans, was slipping. I need to act fast. I pace the floor of my office at the hospital, my mind racing. The sterile smell of disinfectant is nauseating, reminding me of the stolen anesthetics that now threaten to expose me. Daniel’s investigation was closing in on me, and I couldn’t afford any mistakes. The hospital, my shared home with Jessica, and the mansion where Emma is imprisoned—all of it was at risk. First, I need to secure the mansion. Emma’s presence there is a ticking time bomb. She’s the key to everything, and if Daniel finds her, it’s over. I grab my phone and call the guard stationed at the mansion. “Double the security,” I bark into the phone. “No one comes or goes without my explicit permission.
Emma’s POV It's been a week since Michael's last visit. My fever has finally gone down, but I’m left in a desolate state. I can count my bones from being so famished, but as long as I'm not thirsty, I don't care. Hunger is a strange comfort, a reminder that I'm still alive. I kind of like the feeling, like back when I was 20 and suffered from depression after that humiliating experience with the Irish guy. I refused to eat for months, lost my ability to menstruate, and ended up looking anorexic. Back then, the feeling was a way to express my suffering, a silent scream to those around me that I wasn't okay. Only Daniel understood me then. This time, though, the satisfaction is different. Now, hunger makes me feel alive, like I’m not ready to give up. Lily is waiting for me. Daniel is looking for me. My parents would be devastated if their only child were taken away from them. I have to fight. I open the diary from its hidden spot. Recently, Scarlet has become more than just a name i
Daniel’s POVThe message on my phone from the unknown number still haunts me. “Daniel, if you want to see Emma alive, stop what you’re doing.” Michael knows. He’s onto us, and now Emma’s life hangs in the balance.I take a deep breath, trying to steady my shaking hands as I call David. "We have a problem," I say as soon as he answers. "What's going on?" David asks, his voice tense."Michael knows about our investigation. He just threatened Emma’s life if we don’t back off."David is silent for a moment. "We need a new plan. Immediately. We can’t let him intimidate us. Emma's safety is our top priority.""Agreed," I respond, my mind already racing through possibilities. "We need to be smarter, more careful. I think Michael is moving Emma around to avoid detection. We have to anticipate his moves.""Let's start by mapping out all possible locations Michael could use," David suggests. "We’ll need to get creative. He won’t use obvious places."We spend the next hour strategizing, compili
Emma’s POVI wake up to the scent of something familiar, something comforting. As my eyes flutter open, I see a tray on the bedside table filled with dried beans, rice, and oven-baked chicken wings—my favorite dishes. The sight takes me back to a time when things were different, when Michael and I were in the best days of our relationship. I remember the day I told him, half-jokingly, that if I were stranded on a deserted island, I could live a normal life with just dried beans and rice without feeling desolation. I look at the food now, mocking the absurdity of it all. My hypothetical predicament has become my reality, orchestrated by the man I once trusted. I feel a bitter laugh bubbling up inside me, but it dies in my throat.I’m famished, so I devour the food in a matter of minutes, eight at most. The gnawing ache in my stomach eases, replaced by the warmth of being full, but it’s a hollow satisfaction. I could eat four times this amount and still feel unsatisfied.I push the tra
Emma’s POV**Diary Entry:***I don't want to write this. I don't want to remember it, but I have to. He did it again. Michael raped me. But this time, it was worse... so much worse. He called me names, mocked my legs, said I was worthless because I can't walk right. I never thought he could be so cruel. I never imagined he would stoop this low. I will never forgive him for this.*---The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I stare at the diary, my hands shaking, unable to comprehend the depth of Michael’s cruelty. I knew he was dangerous, that he wasn’t someone to trust, but this... this is beyond anything I could have imagined.How could he do this to her? How could he look at someone as fragile and vulnerable as Scarlet and decide to break her even further? It’s sickening, revolting, and it makes me question everything I thought I knew about him.I try to make sense of it, but I can’t. The Michael I knew—the one who once showed me kindness, who seemed to care about me—how could th
Emma’s POV**Diary Entry – Zurich:***Zurich is breathtaking, with the lake shimmering under the sun. As I stand by the water, I hear a familiar voice—David. My heart warms at the sound, even though I know he’s forbidden to me. David, with his kindness and the way he makes me feel special, is someone I can’t truly have. I’m not worthy of him, and I fear what Michael might do if he finds out about our connection. When David confesses his feelings, I’m torn. I tell him I’m not good enough, that I can’t give him what he deserves. But when he asks for just one date, I can’t say no. I want to feel cherished and loved, even if just for a day. The time we spend together is magical—he shows me what true love can be. As we stargaze and share a deep kiss, I know that in another lifetime, we might have been together. I treasure this day and the way he made me feel alive and loved. It’s a memory I’ll hold close.*---Scarlet’s final entry about David is poignant. Her struggle between love and sel
Michael’s POVI step into the mansion, phone pressed to my ear, barking orders at Stanley about Jessica’s condition. He tells me she’s still unconscious, hospitalized with no signs of waking. I hang up with a nod of satisfaction, my mind already racing with the next steps.Pushing open the door to Emma’s room, I’m momentarily taken aback by her improved appearance. She’s pale, yes, underfed, but there’s a spark in her that wasn’t there before. It irritates me. Her resilience. Her defiance. She’s supposed to be broken, not quietly defiant.The empty tray catches my eye next. She ate everything? That’s new. Before, she’d barely touch the food unless it was to avoid punishment. I recall her stories of past anorexia, her struggles with control and expression. It seems she’s finding new ways to assert hers. No matter, I think, I’ll just find new ways to break that spirit.“Enjoying the menu, Emma?” I ask, my voice dripping with mock concern as I close the door behind me.She flinches sligh
Emma’s POVAfter Michael leaves, I remain motionless, gazing at the ceiling with a numb detachment that feels like a precursor to oblivion. Twelve years ago, I endured abuse, but it was cloaked in remorse—an apology that did little to cleanse the stain of self-loathing but offered a semblance of closure. I had believed I deserved punishment for my inability to shield myself. If not for Daniel, my penance of starvation and exhaustive exercise might have persisted until it consumed me completely.Now, the sense of defeat is absolute, and the need for self-punishment has evaporated into a profound resignation. Is there a way out of this torment? I wonder. An image of Daniel bathing Lily floats into my mind, a reminder of enduring innocence and love. A wistful smile crosses my lips; Lily is in capable hands. Daniel could forge a new family in my absence. He's never been one to endure solitude, and he would prioritize our daughter above all. Perhaps it's my destiny to fade from their narra