Five years. That’s how long I was gone. Sold into the armpit of rural nowhere, living a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. And now, just days after being rescued, my husband, Caleb Thorne, looks at me with an expression that is chillingly casual. "I arranged the kidnapping," he says, his voice as smooth as glass. "I was right there in the alley when they shoved you into the van." My entire body goes rigid. Before I can process the words, my older brother, Elias, the wealthiest real estate mogul in Chicago, chimes in. "I put up the cash for it." "The plan was only to leave you out there for three years as punishment," Elias continues, checking his expensive watch. "But Tristan was worried you hadn't learned your lesson yet. He thought you'd come back and start bullying Maya again." "He insisted you stay out there another two years." Tristan. The orphan my family took in when we were kids. My foster brother. While they made their plans, I spent every night of those five years being brutally pinned down by stranger after stranger. My belly grew big six times, only to be forced small again. I tried to die, but they wouldn't let me. I tried to escape, and they shattered both my legs. Now, I stand here on cheap, government-issued prosthetics. Through every agonizing second, the desire to see these three men again was the only thing that kept me breathing. And now I know they are the architects of my hell. The blood in my veins turns to ice. I shiver uncontrollably, my voice coming out as a raspy whisper. "Why? Why did you destroy me?" Elias and Tristan look away, shifting uncomfortably. Caleb is the only one who can look me in the eye. "You were a spoiled bitch, Elara. You used our love for you as a weapon to torture Maya. We just wanted you to grow up a little. To learn some humility." "Maya is pregnant with my child now," he adds, dropping the bombshell with zero emotion. "If you can't accept that, we can get a divorce." A coppery taste fills my mouth. Then, a ping echoes in my brain—a sound I haven't heard in years. [Host, do you wish to abandon your mission to redeem these three villains and detach from this world?] The System. It has been silent since the day I decided to stay here permanently, years ago. Hearing it now makes me feel disconnected from reality. I look at Caleb’s stone-cold face. I look over at Elias and Tristan, who are hovering over Maya on the sofa, discussing what pre-natal meals the chef should prepare for her. A sharp, stabbing pain rips through my chest. Five years ago, they told me they had been in a terrible car accident on the way to my birthday party. I was terrified. I loved them more than anything. I took a shortcut through a dark alley to get to the hospital faster. I never made it. I was snatched in the dark, and my living interment began. I thought I had finally been rescued by the men who loved me. Instead, they are telling me it was all an elaborate prank to avenge Maya. "Detach," I whisper inside my mind. [Confirmed. Initiating 8-hour countdown. Since this is an abrupt departure, the Host must ensure all three villains are present at the time of detachment.] I start laughing through my tears. A wild, broken sound. Caleb steps forward, reaching out to wipe a tear from my cheek. His touch is gentle, a terrifying echo of the man I thought he was. "You don't have to divorce me if you don't want to," he says softly. "It's just... Maya has been treated delicately these past few years. You can't lay a hand on her again. Ever." "Since the abuse you suffered rendered you infertile, Maya said she's willing to let you raise the baby as your own. To keep up appearances for the Thorne name." I had Caleb’s child once. I was seven months pregnant when Maya pushed me down a flight of stairs. We lost the baby. When I woke up in the hospital, I went insane. I tried to claw Maya's eyes out. Caleb stopped me. He slapped me across the face and locked me in our house. The moment I was physically recovered from the miscarriage, I was kidnapped and sold to the hills. My throat feels like it’s stuffed with cotton. Speaking hurts. "Because I slapped Maya one time... you punished me like this?" "Yes," Caleb replies, dead serious. "You were incompetent. You couldn't save your own child, yet you blamed Maya. You were acting hysterical, not fitting of a woman in your position." "As long as you behave yourself from now on, I promise I won't send you away again." My face wet with tears, I stare at Elias. "Since you lied to me for five years, why tell me the truth now?" Elias sighs, rubbing his temples. Tristan looks at me with terrifying self-righteousness. "You and Maya are sisters, Elara. We needed you to really digest this lesson so that moving forward, you’ll protect her just like we do." Protect her? The dam breaks. I grab an expensive vase from the side table and smash it onto the floor. I yank up the sleeves of the oversized sweatshirt they gave me, exposing the horrific, overlapping scars on my arms. "They tortured me day and night!" I scream, breaking down. "The men you paid... they did this! And my legs..." "Enough!" Caleb barks, cutting me off. The disgust in his eyes is palpable. "Even the special effects makeup for those fake scars looks real. I see you haven't learned a damn thing." Elias and Tristan look at me with profound disappointment. Caleb grabs my wrist roughly, drags me to the end of the hall, and shoves me into a walk-in storage closet. "If you haven't learned how to submit by the time Maya gets back from her appointment, I’ll personally drive you back to that village myself." He slams the door, locking it from the outside. His threat triggers a full panic attack. The trauma is deep in my bones. I can practically feel the chains clanking around my prosthetic ankles again. I pound on the door, my voice raw and broken. "I’ll sign the divorce papers! Please, don't send me back there! I'll do anything, just don't send me back!" I don't know how long I scream. My hands, still tender with old, unhealed wounds, are bleeding onto the wood before the door finally opens. Elias stands there. Seeing my dishevelled hair and swollen, red eyes, his initial look of concern instantly shifts to annoyance. "You just got back and all you do is throw tantrums. Can't you just be quiet for five minutes?" He shoves me out of the way. I weigh less than ninety pounds now. I collapse onto the hardwood floor instantly. Elias freezes for a fraction of a second, then sneers. "Acting pathetic again? You think that’s going to make me let you out of the house?" Despite everything, my heart still flinches at his cruelty. My big brother never used to speak to me with such malice. I'm a transmigrator. I’ve been in this world since I was an infant. Our mother died in childbirth, and Elias practically raised me single-handedly. He used to treat me like I was made of glass. He wanted to give me the world on a silver platter. When the System first told me my mission was to redeem three potential villains to save this world, I tackled it head-on. I forced myself onto Caleb until he fell for me. I brought Tristan, a starving runaway, into our home. Elias never criticized me for it. In fact, he told Caleb and Tristan that I was a princess who deserved to be spoiled. Everyone in this city knew that you could offend Vance, Thorne, or Burke, but you absolutely never offended Elara Vance. In my original world, I was an unloved orphan. I had never known what it felt like to be cherished. So, when the mission was accomplished and I was certain they wouldn't turn evil, I chose to stay in this world. I chose them. Until Elias brought dad’s secret illegitimate daughter, Maya, home. He held me while I cried about the affair, swearing to me, "Elara, dad is gone. Maya is technically our sister; we can't just leave her on the street." "I promise you, I’m only giving her a roof and some food. I won't love her like I love you." I didn't like it, but I didn't fight him. I didn't realize Maya wouldn't be satisfied with just a roof. I was the obstacle in her way. One day, as Elias was walking down the stairs, she poured boiling hot soup on herself and fell to her knees, sobbing at his feet. "Elias, help me! Elara tried to ruin my face!" When Caleb had a high fever and was delirious, I stayed by his side all night. The moment he opened his eyes, Maya pushed me out of the way and flopped onto his chest, crying. "Oh, Grant, you’re finally awake! I’ve been right here all night, I was so scared." I used my own money to help Tristan’s startup survive a financial crisis. Maya made sure she was there when he found the funds. She slapped herself across the face, bruising her own cheek, and whispered to him while sniffling: "Tristan, don't worry. I won't tell Elara that I was the one who put up the money. Let her have the credit. I just want you to be okay." Lie after lie, credit stolen time after time. They became increasingly disappointed in me. And the way they looked at Maya became increasingly tender. Even on the day Caleb married me, his face was a mask of resentment. I couldn't handle the shift. I screamed, I cried, I begged Caleb, only to receive a cold retort. "Elara, if you can't handle it, we can get a divorce." By then, I had just found out I was two months pregnant. I didn't want my baby to grow up without a father, so I swallowed my pride. I submitted. Until I lost the baby. All that pent-up rage exploded. I slapped her once. And for that one slap, I got five years of living hell. The countdown hologram flashes in my vision, pulling me back to the present. 6 hours left. I sway as I stand up, meeting Elias’s mocking gaze. My voice is devoid of all emotion. "I’m not acting. Since none of you like me anymore..." "Then give me the divorce papers and a legal severing of our sibling relationship." Before I leave this world, I want no strings attached. No connection to them. There’s no point in fighting anymore. It’s meaningless. Just as the words leave my mouth, a heavy sound slams against the front door. Caleb is standing there, his face dark, with Maya clinging to his arm, her eyes red from crying.
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