Moon Valley: The Hidden Contract

Chapter 3; Breaking Point

Claire POV.

Before I could process his words, something heavy and hard slammed down onto my thigh. I bit back a cry, my muscles tensing under the weight—his boot pressing down hard enough to make pain shoot up my leg. He was using me to make his point. I kept myself completely limp and silent, forcing my breathing to stay slow and shallow, praying they would think I was still knocked out.

The cold voice spoke again, sharper this time, edged with a warning that felt like a blade.

“Leave now. Take your payment and go. If you insist on crossing further, you will regret it. Once you stand in his presence, there will be no going back alive.”

But the man standing on my leg only laughed, loud and reckless. He pressed his foot harder, making me want to scream, but I held it in.

“Threats don’t scare me! If he wants to play mysterious, fine—I don’t care anymore. I’d rather keep this pretty thing for myself, use her as my own little plaything, and sell her to someone else who’s less fussy. I’ll make more profit and have fun while I’m at it.”

Horror flooded through me, worse than any fear I’d felt before. My blood ran cold. ‘No. Never.’ I would not let him touch me. I would not let anyone reduce me to something to be used and discarded. I had come here to protect myself, to live with dignity—and if this was the only choice left, I knew my answer already.

‘I would rather die than let that happen.’

The pain in my body was already throbbing in every limb, but it was nothing compared to what came next. Without warning, a heavy boot slammed hard into my stomach—right below my ribs. The air whooshed out of my lungs in an instant, and no matter how hard I bit down on the gag, a low, guttural moan escaped me. My back arched involuntarily, and tears pricked behind the blindfold as sharp, burning pain spread through my entire torso.

A low, mocking sneer filled the air above me.

“There we go… that’s the sound I like hearing,” the man grunted, pressing his foot down just a little more. “Wait till you find out what else can make you scream even louder.”

My blood ran cold, but before he could do anything worse, that deep, cold voice cut through the tension—only this time, it was no longer flat or indifferent. There was a sharp, biting anger woven into every word, like ice cracking under pressure.

“I warned you. I told you what would happen if you didn’t listen.”

For a moment, there was total silence. All I could hear was my own ragged breathing, and then the faint sound of someone else panting slowly—controlled, steady, but carrying a weight that made the air feel heavier.

“Your greed and stupidity have just cost you everything.”

I took a shaky breath, forcing myself to focus only on the sounds around me. Footsteps—slow, deliberate, and heavy—crossed the floor. They stopped right beside me, close enough that I could feel the faint shift of air.

The arrogant abductor let out a harsh laugh, still sounding proud and overconfident even now. “Oh, so this is you, huh? The big buyer everyone’s so afraid of?”

My hands clenched into tight fists at my sides. So this is him. This is the man who paid to have me taken, the one who marked me without me even knowing. Confusion swirled inside me even stronger than my fear. I had never heard this voice before in my life—never crossed paths with anyone who sounded like this. If I had, I would remember it instantly; it was impossible to forget.

Then he spoke again, and his words hung in the air like a death sentence.

“The deal is off.”

“What?!” The other brother shouted, furious and disbelieving. “How dare you say that? We brought her exactly as we agreed! We kept our end of the bargain!”

The cold voice didn’t rise, but it grew deeper, heavier, pressing down on all of us like a physical force. “The terms were clear: she was to remain untouched, unharmed, in perfect condition. Look at her now—she looks as though she has already been dragged through hell.”

The first man tried to defend himself, his tone turning defensive. “She fought back! She was loud and troublesome—we had to use force to keep her under control! But I swear, we never laid a finger on her in the way you meant! She’s still pure, just as you wanted!”

The question that came back was short, sharp, and final. “Who hurt her?”

Without a trace of fear, the arrogant one stepped forward, voice booming. “I did! What of it? She needed to learn her place—”

His words were cut short by a sudden, sharp cry of shock. The other brother began to beg frantically, his voice trembling with panic. “Wait! Please! Let him go! He’s just young and stupid, he doesn’t know what he’s saying! We’ll forget about the money, we’ll forget everything—just let us walk out of here alive!”

I heard a sound then—sharp, crisp, and sickeningly clear: a loud, unmistakable snap.

It was followed immediately by a bloodcurdling scream, so full of agony and terror that my whole body went rigid, every hair standing on end.

My heart hammered wildly against my ribs, my mind reeling in panic. What just happened? What is going on? That sickening snap and the scream that followed echoed in my ears, freezing every thought but fear.

The remaining abductor was now openly sobbing, his voice breaking as he scrambled backward across the floor. “Mercy! Please, have mercy! I’m sorry! We didn’t know—we didn’t realize who we were dealing with! I’ll leave right now, I’ll never show my face on this island again, I swear!”

His pleas were cut short by silence—only the sound of his shaky breathing and my own ragged gasps remained. Then, something shifted.

I felt it first: fingers brushing lightly against my cheek.

It was so different from the rough, calloused hands of the men before. These were warm, firm, and moved with a gentleness that felt completely out of place in this nightmare. A strange, sharp tingle shot through my skin, racing down my neck and along my spine like a jolt of electricity. My pulse spiked—not just from fear, but from the confusing, unsettling reaction my body was having.

‘Hell!’ I screamed inside my head. ‘This is the man behind all of this! The one who arranged for me to be taken! He’s the reason I’m hurting and trapped here!’