A beat. Then his answer came—low, controlled, like a predator’s whisper.
“Because I need you to make a sacrifice, Elena.”
He paused, his eyes cold. “I need you to give your heart to Violet... so she may live.”
My chest dropped.
“Surely, this is some sort of prank!”
“I do not look like someone who pranks, do I?” he said, voice clipped. “You’ve already taken everything from her—and indirectly from me. Why not atone for your father’s sins by sacrificing your heart for an innocent life?”
I let out a sharp, humorless breath. “You’ve gone fully insane. Maybe check with the doctor—no one with a heart or a functioning brain talks like this.”
“I apologize if it sounded like a request,” he said, voice like steel.
“It’s not. It’s a command. Your heart, given in atonement to Violet... would finally earn my forgiveness.”
“You would kill me so your mistress can live?”
“You are already bound to die in my hands. It’s only a matter of time.”
“But at least your death would come with my forgiveness. You’ll get a proper burial—not left for the eagles and wolves to feed on, like I did with my father.”
My fear spiked.
Then he pressed the accelerator, nudging the idle car forward.
The Hilux rolled smoothly onto the road, the engine purring beneath us, alive and restrained.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
Did he really mean it?
No... no, it couldn’t be—but he sounded serious, didn’t he?
My world collapsed inward.
My chest seized so sharply it felt like something inside me had caved.
Air refused to come.
My lungs stalled.
Thoughts fractured, raw and panicked, until all I could hear was the violent rush of blood in my ears.
No—
That couldn’t be right.
It couldn’t—
He kept talking.
Unbothered.
As though he were reading from a report instead of handing me a death sentence.
“From the moment I saw you in that dressing room on my wedding day,” he said, voice flat, dangerous, “I wanted to end your life. I chose against it. Instead... I wanted you to suffer first, slowly, before the final act.”
