CHAPTERONE
ISLA
A steady rumble of thunder was punctuated by blinding cracks of lightning and an onslaught of rain, each brilliant flash cutting through the darkness and echoing a terrifyingly sharp clap that made my heart skip a beat. The ocean swelled with energy, rolling mounds of pitch-black fury that surged forward with untamed force, each one crashing against the sturdy hull of the boat with a resonating slap, rocking it every which way.
The sea sprayed its cold, salty mist into the air—mingling with the rain—leaving every surface glistening with droplets, soaking everything it touched—including me.
Ropes cut into my flesh, a sharp counterpoint to the numbing cold as I lay on the stern of the boat, bound and helpless. My legs were bound together, my arms secured behind my back, my freedom stolen away by the two people I’d once trusted most in the world.
Sam—the man I’d once loved—loomed over me, his eyes cold and merciless beneath the glimmering rain. Beside him stood Rose—my ex-best friend—her face a mask of twisted satisfaction. Their figures were silhouetted against the storm, looming over me with sadistic glee.
“What’s the matter, Isla?” Sam called out over the howl of the wind. “Didn’t expect you would end up like this?”
“Shut up, Sam,” I spat back, my teeth chattering from the cold. The rainwater mixed with my tears, but I refused to let him see me falter, to grant them some sick pleasure from my pain.
Rose laughed, a harsh sound that cut through the surrounding tempest. “She’s always been a dumb one, hasn’t she?”
My heart pounded in my chest, terror mingling with rage and betrayal. I knew my odds of survival were minimal, especially given my current vulnerable state, but I refused to give up and let them get away with this.
“What is it that you really want, Sam?” I growled, angry at myself for trusting them once again, and at them for bringing me to the middle of nowhere for some reason unknown to me.
The roar of the storm echoed around us as he considered his answer.
“I want you out of my life.” Sam’s voice was brutally firm, cutting clear through the storm. “Forever.”
A harsh, humorless laugh bubbled from my throat.
“Out of your life?” I shot back, the storm’s chaos reflected in the turmoil in my voice. “I’ve been out of your life, Sam. You’re the one who sailed into the middle of the Atlantic after tricking me to meet you both and knocking me out. If you wanted me out of your life, then you would’ve never contacted me again.
“I was already out of both of your lives. I moved, blocked you everywhere, and even changed my number. You’re the ones who somehow discovered how to contact me and reached out to meet up and apologize—”
“Isla, you’re always the fool. Too kind for your own good. Too trusting. Did you really think we were going to apologize to you?” Rose’s voice carried a bitter chill that surpassed the relentless ocean winds.
Fury bubbled within me. “I didn’t think it was a flaw to hope the good I once saw in you both had returned. But clearly, I was mistaken.” My voice was raw, echoing the tumult of emotions inside me.
Sam’s laugh echoed into the tempestuous night—a harsh, ugly sound that mirrored the ugliness of his soul. “Good in us? You’ve always been good for one thing, and it was never about you. It was your family’s company and grandfather’s money that I wanted, but you had to go and ruin that. Did you really believe that I wanted to be with you?”
A frigid wave of realization crashed over me. “What do you mean?” I stammered, my voice barely audible over the roar of the storm. “Why kidnap me? Why bring me out here?”
He knelt as a burst of lightning highlighted his menacing grin, a glint of malice in the darkness. “Because,darling, if I couldn’t get your family’s money through marriage and your timely demise, then kidnapping and holding you hostage was the next best thing.”
Tears blurred my vision as I turned toward Rose. “You…You were in on this? Was our friendship ever real to you?”
Her laughter was an icy dagger to my heart. “Oh, Isla. Did you honestly believe I was going to save you?” she taunted. “I’m everything you’re not, and I do it so much better.”
I watched in numb disbelief as she flashed a large, diamond-encrusted ring on her finger, a garish spectacle I hadn’t noticed before. The gem glinted spitefully, reflecting the sparse deck light as it cast a cruel luminescence over her victorious grin.
“Oops,” she said, feigning innocence, her voice oozing with glee. “Didn’t you hear? We got married. I can give him everything you couldn’t…and more.”
Before I could utter a word, Sam’s hand shot out, ensnaring Rose’s waist, pulling her close. Their lips met with a ferocity that mirrored the surrounding storm, a grotesque display of their twisted unity.
A wrenching sensation tore through me, as if the daggers they’d plunged into my back twisted and dug deeper. I was powerless, forced to watch their spectacle, each kiss an echo of betrayal reverberating through me.
The shrill ring of a smartphone interrupted their obscene display. They broke apart, Sam smirking at me as he answered the call, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Sam’s laughter rang out over the line as he answered, his voice saturated with mockery. “Finally decided to give in to my demands, huh?”
“Demands? What demands?” I yelled, my voice raw, echoing my confusion and fear.
