The Blood Debt, My Pain and His Promise

Chapter 3 A Chilling Warning

When Michael's whispered caution hit her ears, a cold shiver surged through Riley's body.

This was her mother, the woman who had nurtured her all her life. Seeing her mother in such turmoil while her own husband advised her to remain silent sent Riley into a tailspin.

Chloe's uncle, Hunter Cook, was infamous for his conquests, leaving a trail of shattered lives in his wake. Riley couldn't wrap her mind around the idea that Jack would abandon her mother to Hunter's vile whims.

As Michael stepped away to answer a call, Riley seized the moment to spot Mary.

She locked eyes on Mary, who was being practically hauled upstairs by Hunter, a disturbing mix of persuasion and force at play.

Urgency flooded through her, and she set off after them.

"Where do you think you're going, Ms. Sullivan?" Chloe intercepted her, a smile stretched across her lips while contempt danced in her eyes. "I mentioned it offhand to Michael, and here you are. Do you have any sense of shame?"

Riley had no patience for Chloe's games. She had endured such taunts time and again over the years.

"Get out of my way!"

She shook Chloe off and rushed up the stairs, the sound of Mary's anguished cries coming from behind a closed door.

Bursting through, she found Mary disheveled, pinned beneath Hunter, her empty gaze brimming with tears.

"Let me go. Please, leave me alone."

The raw pain in Mary's voice spurred Riley into action. She grabbed a vase by the doorway and brought it crashing down on Hunter's head, forcing him away from Mary.

"You scoundrel! How could you strike me?" Hunter shouted, holding his head as he felt warm blood trickling through his fingers. His eyes glinted with icy anger. "Do you honestly think I couldn't wipe you all out with just a snap?"

Chloe, having arrived at the scene, flashed a malevolent smile. "Ms. Sullivan, meet my uncle. Now, if I spill the beans to Michael, how do you suppose he would react? But swap places with your mom for a night with my uncle, and maybe I'll turn a blind eye."

"Ri, don't even think about it!" Mary gasped, her voice trembling with fear. Her eyes were wide with desperation. "You mustn't agree to this!"

Hunter lashed out, sending Mary crashing to the ground. He launched a relentless assault, shouting, "You pathetic wretch! Jack tossed you my way. Even if I beat you to death, he would remain silent!"

Blood spurted from Mary's lips as she collapsed, unconscious.

"Mom!" Riley cried, seizing a sharp piece of porcelain from nearby and pointing it at him.

Hunter's smirk grew more twisted as he sized her up. "Even if you drag your mom away today, your dad will just send her back tomorrow. Besides, your mom's a bit past her prime, barely making a sound or a move in bed. But you, you're exactly the youthful delight I crave!"

Riley clenched the shard so hard that it cut into her palm, blood gushing out.

She glanced back at Mary, whose frail form lay battered and bruised. Mary had always been her shield against Jack's drunken rages. Riley couldn't bear the thought of Mary suffering anymore.

With a slow, deliberate motion, Riley let the broken porcelain slip from her fingers, the pieces crashing to the floor with a sharp, unmistakable sound. "Let my mom go. I'll do whatever you want," she offered, her voice firm despite the fear.

Hunter's eyes gleamed with malice as he traced a finger along her cheek, then, without warning, struck her hard across the face!

Seizing her hand, he shoved it down, forcing it onto the jagged shards scattered on the floor.

Her cry of agony pierced the air as blood flowed from her wounds.

Hunter's excitement only seemed to mount with her pained cries.

Grasping a fistful of her hair, he tore at her clothing, his gaze hungrily devouring her ivory skin.

"Oh, Michael's woman, you're quite the treat!" he taunted.

But before Riley's despair could take hold, the door burst open with an explosive bang.