The Wife He Hated Until He Lost Her

Chapter 7 A Trap With No Escape

She had barely closed her eyes when the sound of footsteps jerked her awake. The moment her eyes snapped open, she saw a middle-aged man stumbling toward her, stinking of booze.

He looked her up and down with a sleazy grin. "Hey, gorgeous, all alone out here? Want some company?"

Audrey frowned. "Back off!"

The guy acted like he hadn't heard a thing. He lunged at her, hands groping wildly over her body.

Audrey tried to shove him away, but her body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. She couldn't move.

As he ripped at her clothes, she squeezed her eyes shut in despair. 'Is there really no way out this time?'

Right then, a sharp cry cut through the air, and the hands that were tearing at her vanished.

She opened her eyes, confused, and saw Maura standing there holding a bloody baseball bat.

Audrey stared at her, completely stunned.

Maura shrugged like it was no big deal. "I used to hate your guts, but Cutler's decided he's done with you, so I don't need to hate you anymore. Now get out of here and stay away from him for good."

Before Audrey could say a word, Maura shoved her out of the alley and straight into the ambulance that had just pulled up.

The second she was inside, her head started spinning, and everything went black.

When she woke up again, she was lying in a hospital bed. The whole nightmare from the night before came flooding back.

She remembered Maura had pulled her out of that creep's hands.

Even though Maura had looked so innocent at the time, something still felt… wrong.

Suddenly, a furious roar exploded outside the door. "Audrey, get the hell out of here!"

Before she could react, the door flew open, and Cutler stormed in, face twisted with rage.

"It was me who made you drink! If you're pissed, come at me! Why the hell did you go after Maura?"

Audrey blinked, totally lost. "What are you talking about?"

"Still playing dumb? Last night, Maura was worried about you going home alone, so she went looking for you. And what did you do? You paid some drunk to try to r**e her. She fought him off to protect herself and ended up slicing her face open. She needs skin grafts just to look normal again." Cutler was practically spitting the words through clenched teeth. He grabbed her wrist hard. "You did this to her, so you're giving her your skin."

Without waiting for an answer, he dragged her straight to the operating room.

Audrey tried to fight, but she had no strength left. They strapped her down to the table.

She turned her head and saw Maura in the next bed. A deep gash ran across Maura's face, so bad you could see bone. It looked horrifying. But Maura was smiling, and the look in her eyes screamed, You're not getting away.

The second Audrey realized she'd been set up again, fury exploded inside her. "Maura, I already left Cutler like you wanted! Why are you still coming after me?"

Maura gave a cold laugh. "Leaving doesn't mean s**t. Cutler still thinks about you, still misses you. Better to make him hate you so much that even if you dropped dead, he wouldn't lose a second of sleep. Only then will I finally let you go."

Audrey's face went white with rage, but there was nothing she could do. She could only lie there helplessly as the doctor brought the scalpel down on her face.

The moment the blade cut in, blood sprayed everywhere like a broken hose. The doctor rushed to stop the bleeding, but it wouldn't stop. No matter what they did, the blood just kept pouring out.

Audrey was terrified. She knew her cancer made wounds heal more slowly, but she never imagined it would be this bad. She could feel her blood draining away, her mind starting to fog.

Then Maura's smug voice floated over. "Audrey, wondering why such a tiny cut is bleeding this much? Since you're about to die anyway, I might as well tell you. Those days you were in the hospital, every meal Cutler had sent to you—I spiked them. The drug destroys your blood's ability to clot. The second you get hurt, the blood just keeps flowing forever. It won't stop until you're completely drained. So just die quietly, Audrey. I'll take good care of Cutler for you."

Shock slammed into Audrey—her eyes flew wide. She never imagined Maura would go this far to kill her.

She glared at Maura with pure hatred. A thousand curses rose to her lips, but she didn't even have the strength to open her mouth.

She was so angry. She had already walked away. Why wasn't that enough? Why did Maura have to steal even her last few hours?

Soon her chest stopped rising and falling. The heart monitor slowed… then flattened into one long, steady line. A shrill alarm filled the room.

The lead surgeon stopped trying to save her. He glanced at the clock on the wall, sighed, and told the others, "Note the time of death. Inform the family—the patient has passed."