Chapter 5
1204 Words
He saw it all again clearly in his mind: that dark, windowless room. His arms and legs strapped tight to cold iron bars, a black cloth blindfolded over his eyes.
And above everything else, that woman's taunting laughter ringing sharp and cruel in his ears, cutting through him like a whip.
"Draven… no one is coming for you. Such a handsome face. It truly is a pity it will soon be ruined."
He would never forget that voice. And he would never forget the searing, burning pain of the blade slicing into his skin again and again and again.
Draven's face turned deathly pale. His hands began to tremble uncontrollably at his sides.
The cardboard box he held slipped from his grasp and hit the floor with a loud, hollow crash.
Every head in the room turned and stared straight at him.
His father's expression darkened to thunderous fury. "Draven! What are you doing skulking there and spying on everyone?!"
Draven kept his eyes locked on that woman's face. His voice came out rough and broken. "That is her. She is the one who kidn*pped me."
"Absolute nonsense!" his mother cried out, sounding both shocked and deeply pained. "A young woman like her? How could she possibly do such a thing? This is a friend of Zoren's! Have you lost your mind entirely?"
Standing close by, Zoren's face flickered with a faint flash of guilt, gone almost as quickly as it appeared.
He stepped forward wearing that same gentle, concerned smile. "Draven… you have been working too hard, haven't you? You are seeing things. Why don't you go back to your room and rest for a while?"
Draven shoved Zoren aside. His hands shaking so badly he could barely hold his phone, he tried to dial emergency services, only to have his wrist seized in an iron grip.
Cressida stood right there, her eyes cold and hard, her voice low and sharp with warning. "Enough, Draven. Do you have no shame at all? Are you really going to put on one of your pathetic little performances right here in front of everyone? Stop this now while you still have some dignity left!"
Every word spoken that day cut into him like a blade, piercing straight through his heart.
The pain was so great he could barely breathe. He looked from face to face, at his parents, at Zoren, at Cressida, and realized he had no words left at all.
How could he have forgotten? No one here would ever believe him. Because none of them had ever truly cared whether he lived or whether he died.
Draven bent down, picked up his box in a daze, and fled from the house as though running for his life.
He made it back to Mooncliff Estate, but he still felt as though he had never left that freezing cellar. Every inch of his skin felt ice‑cold.
The memories of what had been done to him played over and over behind his eyes, spinning into a chaotic, agonizing mess.
If that woman was a friend of Zoren's… then was Zoren also involved in his k********g and murder?
Draven forced himself to breathe steadily, his hands still trembling as he unlocked his phone and typed her name into the search bar: Alessia Cross.
The results appeared instantly: Heiress of the Cross Group. One of the most powerful women in the city. Influential in both business and every shadowed corner of society. Wealthy, feared, and admired.
Draven stared at her photograph on the screen. His grip tightened until his knuckles turned white.
A cold, mocking laugh sounded from the doorway behind him. "Draven… you claim you were kidn*pped just to get attention? That is quite a clever trick; I will give you that."
He turned around and found Cressida standing there, watching him with nothing but scorn in her eyes.
"So," she went on, her voice sharp and biting, "only moments ago you were begging to end our marriage, and now you have already set your eyes on your next distraction? Are you truly so desperate that you must compete with Zoren for absolutely everything?"
He had not expected her to come here tonight. He had assumed she would have stayed at the family house with Zoren.
His silence was taken as admission. Cressida narrowed her eyes, and a cold, cruel smile touched her lips.
"Draven… you are the one who tied this marriage around both our necks. I told you plainly, not until the day you die. Until then, you will remain bound to me exactly as I am bound to you. For the rest of our lives, neither of us will ever be free."
With those words, she pulled off her coat and walked straight toward the bathroom.
Draven watched her go. He felt nothing now, no anger, no pain, only a hollow, lifeless numbness.
"Cressida," he whispered, so softly his voice was barely audible, drifting away like dead leaves in the wind. "You are right. I am trapped. Because… I truly am already dead."
*****
The next morning found Draven sitting at the police station, his hands clasped tightly together in his lap.
He told them everything he could remember about the k********g, every detail, every injury, every word spoken. He said nothing about returning from the dead.
What was the point? He stood before them looking perfectly alive. No one would ever believe such a thing.
He could only hope the police would uncover enough evidence to arrest those responsible and bring his murderers to justice.
Once they did… the truth would finally come out for everyone to see.
Then footsteps sounded loud and hurried from the entrance. Draven's parents stood there, followed closely by Cressida.
His father marched straight up to him, face burning with rage, and raised his hand to strike him hard across the face.
"Draven! All your foolish little games we have endured. But now you dare drag this family's name to a police station? The Cross Group is one of our most valuable partners! Do you intend to ruin every single one of us with your lies?!"
His father raised his hand to strike him a second time. Draven stood perfectly still and accepted it until Cressida stepped suddenly between them, shielding him.
"Mr. Corwyn… he is my husband. Whatever this is, I will handle it."
She spoke his name so gently, "Draven."
For a moment he almost forgot where he was. For one heartbeat, he saw her again as that bright, kind young woman who had once stepped in and saved him when no one else would.
But that warmth vanished instantly as Cressida turned to face the officers.
Her voice rang out cold and clear, echoing through the station. "Officers… I am his wife. I am here to tell you that this entire story about being kidn*pped is completely false. He made it all up. Please withdraw this report immediately."
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