Congratulations, You Finally Broke Her

Chapter 5

When she came to again, icy water had already risen to her chest.

Cindy's eyes flew open. She found herself tied inside a massive water vat. Her hands were bound tight behind her back, coarse hemp rope digging brutally into her flesh. Water kept pouring in from a pipe overhead, the level rising before her eyes.

"You're awake."

A man squatted at the edge of the vat, twirling a gun between his fingers. His eyes were cloudy and crazed. Cindy's teeth chattered violently. The frigid water seared her healing wounds with excruciating pain. She recognized the face immediately.

Frank Zell—Jenna's ex-boyfriend.

"You know where your man is right now? Out on a mission with that b***h Jenna! Quite the picture-perfect pair, aren't they?"

The cold water crept over her collarbone, and Cindy shuddered uncontrollably.

Frank suddenly flew into a rage, slamming his blade hard against the ground.

"That two-faced w***e! When she was with me, she lived off my dime and played the innocent little saint! Then she met Jasper. Came right back and dumped me. Said I wasn't good enough for her. Said Jasper was a 'real man'!"

"So you're taking it out on me?" Cindy asked, forced to tilt her head back just to breathe.

"I've been stalking her for three months! I've seen every trick she pulls on Jasper! Faking falls to throw herself into his arms, texting him in the middle of the night saying she's scared, getting drunk on purpose at dinners just so he has to take her home!

"Damn it! Jasper's too blind to see it, but I've seen every single move!"

He leaned closer to the vat, pressing the gun barrel firmly against Cindy's forehead.

"If I can't have Jenna, then I'll destroy Jasper's woman! Let him taste what I've tasted!"

At that moment, the metal warehouse door was blown open.

"Let her go."

Jasper rushed in first, followed closely by Jenna and several officers. Jenna's face went pale, visibly trembling the second she laid eyes on Frank.

"Frank, have you lost your mind!"

Frank stared at Jenna with obsessive adoration. "Baby, you came. I got Jasper's wife for you. Aren't you happy?"

"What the hell are you talking about!"

Frank grabbed Cindy by the head and shoved it harshly underwater. "When you were in bed with me, you said Jasper married a useless trophy wife and you wished she'd drop dead! I'm just helping you out!"

Cindy thrashed desperately beneath the surface, suffocating. Water flooded her nostrils, and her lungs felt like they were about to burst.

A gunshot cracked through the air. The bullet struck Frank's wrist, and he screamed in agony, releasing his grip.

Cindy jolted upward, coughing violently, her vision spinning and darkening.

Jasper advanced, gun raised. "Frank, Jenna is nothing more than a coworker. Calm down. We can negotiate whatever terms you want."

His expression was completely indifferent, as if every single one of Frank's furious accusations meant nothing to him.

"Kill Jenna, and I'll let your wife live!"

Jenna's head snapped toward Jasper, her eyes wide with terror.

Jasper frowned slightly. "She was your lover."

Frank broke into hysterical, maniacal laughter. "She only has eyes for you now! You keep saying she's just a coworker? Fine! Prove it. Kill this 'coworker' of yours, and save your wife."

Cindy lay half-conscious in the water, staring up at Jasper through blurry, tear-filled eyes. Jenna clung tightly to his arm, her face ashen, tears welling up.

"Jasper..."

Jasper gently pried her hand off his arm. He raised his gun.

A faint, fragile spark of hope flickered in her chest—a heart that should have stopped beating for him long ago.

'Jasper... are you finally going to choose me? Even if it's just an act, even if it's a bluff—just this once.'

The next second.

The bullet tore straight through the water vat!

The violent impact hurled Cindy's body backward. Blood bloomed instantly, spreading through the clear water. Cindy stared numbly at her bleeding arm, then lifted her gaze back to Jasper.

"Jenna is an innocent coworker. I will never harm her for anyone's sake.

"Give it up, Frank. No one threatens me."

Cracks spiderwebbed across the vat, and water began gushing out. Blood and water mixed, pouring through the fissures. The water level dropped little by little, but Cindy was losing blood far faster than she could stay afloat.

Frank froze for two full seconds, then erupted into wild, unrestrained laughter.

"Unbelievable, Jasper! You'd sacrifice your own wife just for a coworker! Then she can die with me!"

He raised his gun and fired two more shots straight at Cindy trapped in the vat.