Chapter 12
1375 Words
The sky was very dark now, but the entire mansion was covered in light though. I had lost count of how many times I passed out, but each time I did, the guards would beat me awake again. I knew I had wanted Cassian to come back and find me broken, but right now, all I wanted was to go inside. The cold seeping into my bones was chilling me to the core. The fountain water had gone icy, far too cold. I didn’t even know what time it was anymore. My knees had gone completely numb. I had no feeling left in my legs. I had cried and begged Hanna to let me in, but she never came. I was dying out here.
I looked weakly at the guards holding their sticks, standing guard like statues. I felt so frail I couldn’t even open my mouth anymore. Then, a horn blared at the gate. The massive iron gates opened automatically, and the sleek Black Maybach glided into the garage. I weakly turned my head just in time to see Victor stepping out and opening the rear door for Cassian.
Cassian stepped out, his tall frame cutting an imposing figure even in the dim lights. He was heading straight toward the main house when I gathered every last ounce of strength I had left and screamed his name.
“Mr. Hale! Please… save me!”
My voice cracked and broke, barely louder than a rasp, but it carried across the courtyard.
He stopped mid-stride. His head turned slowly toward the fountain. For a brief second, his gaze darkened, a shadow passing over his sharp features. Then, without a word, he changed direction and walked over, his polished shoes clicking against the stone path. My heart leapt with fragile hope.
Instead of helping me, he stopped a few feet away and asked the nearest guard in a dangerously calm voice, “What happened here?”
The guard shifted uncomfortably, gripping his stick tighter. “She… she was being punished by the Madame, sir.”
Cassian’s eyes narrowed slightly. His voice remained even, almost polite. “Punished for what?”
The guard opened his mouth, then closed it again. No words came out. The silence stretched, thick and suffocating.
Cassian stared at the man for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, without another word, he turned and walked toward the main house, leaving me there in the freezing water.
My last hope shattered completely. Tears I didn’t even know I still had left slid down my cheeks. I was at the verge of passing out again when I thought I saw Cassian suddenly running back toward me. But everything went black before I could be sure.
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Cassian’s long strides had carried him halfway to the main entrance when something inside him snapped. The image of Hazel’s small, shivering form kneeling in that fountain—lips blue, face pale as death—burned behind his eyes. His jaw tightened until it ached. Cold anger, the kind that didn’t explode but froze everything around it, settled deep in his chest.
He stopped abruptly, turned on his heel, and broke into a run.
“Hazel!” he called, his voice sharp with urgency.
He reached the fountain in seconds, water splashing violently as he waded in without hesitation. She was completely limp, her body ice-cold and soaked to the bone. Cassian scooped her up into his arms, her head lolling against his chest.
“Victor!” he barked, voice low and lethal. “Call Dr. Reinhardt immediately. Tell him it’s an emergency.”
Victor nodded once and pulled out his phone, already moving.
Cassian glared at the two guards who had been standing watch. The look in his eyes was pure ice—promising pain far worse than anything they had inflicted tonight. Neither man dared meet his gaze.
He carried Hazel’s frozen body toward the guest house, his steps quick but careful. Even unconscious, she was shivering violently, her soaked uniform clinging to her like a second, deadly skin. Once inside, he called over a trusted female maid.
“Change her out of these wet clothes. Quickly and gently. Use the warmest blankets we have.”
He stepped out of the room to give the maid privacy, pacing the hallway like a caged predator. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. The cold anger inside him grew sharper with every passing second. Hanna had gone too far this time. Far too far.
Soon, Dr. Reinhardt arrived with several medical personnel and equipment transported in a private ambulance. The gear was rushed into the guest room the moment the maid stepped out. Cassian stood by the door, arms crossed, watching everything with that same chilling calm.
Hanna burst into the guest house a few minutes later, her face flushed with anger.
“What is the meaning of this, Cassian?” she demanded, voice shrill. “Why would you call the family doctor over for a minor issue with the help? She’s just a maid!”
Cassian said nothing. His fists clenched again, knuckles turning white. He turned his head slowly and looked at her. The look in his eyes was so cold that Hanna actually took a step back. He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to. The silence itself was more terrifying than any shout.
After what felt like an eternity, Dr. Reinhardt finally emerged from the room, wiping his hands.
“She was submerged in that cold water for a very long time,” the doctor said gravely. “She has a severe cold, bordering on hypothermia. Her knees are badly affected—the numbness may take weeks, even months, to fully heal. There’s also the risk of long-term trauma. This kind of ordeal… it may affect her mentally. She could be traumatized for life.”
Cassian’s jaw tightened further. He gave a single, curt nod. “Thank you, Doctor. Come back tomorrow morning to check on her again.”
Dr. Reinhardt bowed slightly and left with most of his team, leaving behind a young nurse to monitor Hazel through the night.
The moment the doctor was gone, Hanna opened her mouth again, ready to complain. Cassian cut her off before she could speak.
“Get out.”
Hanna blinked, stunned. “What did you just—”
“I said get out,” Cassian repeated, his voice dropping to a dangerously low register. The cold anger radiating from him was too much now, like frost spreading across the room. “Immediately.”
Hanna stood frozen in place, her mouth opening and closing. Then Cassian raised his voice—just once, sharp and commanding.
“Get out!”
She flinched as if struck. Tears welled in her eyes as she turned and fled from the guest house, her heels clicking frantically against the floor until the sound disappeared into the night.
Cassian cursed under his breath, a rare slip of control. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to rein in the fury boiling beneath his calm exterior. This was his fault. He hadn’t kept his wife in check. He had allowed this innocent girl to suffer because of his own negligence and Hanna’s unchecked cruelty.
He walked into the bedroom and stopped at the sight of Hazel.
She looked so small and fragile lying there. Her face was deathly pale, her lips still tinged with blue despite the warm blankets. An oxygen mask covered her nose and mouth, the soft hiss of the machine the only sound in the room. The young nurse sat quietly in the corner, monitoring the equipment.
Cassian pulled up a chair beside the bed and sat down, his broad shoulders hunched slightly. He stared at her for a long time, the cold anger in his chest slowly mixing with something heavier—regret.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, though he knew she couldn’t hear him. His voice was rough, laced with that same icy restraint. “This should never have happened. Not to you.”
He reached out, hesitating for a moment, before gently brushing a damp strand of hair away from her forehead. His touch was surprisingly gentle for a man radiating such controlled fury.
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