Amybeth’s POV
The pitch-black room made it impossible for me to feel time passing.
I had no idea how many days I’d been locked up. All I knew was that every time I woke up crying, I would pass out again, and that cycle repeated ten whole times.
Just when I thought I was going to die in there, the bedroom door clicked open. I instinctively shut my eyes.
“What a disgusting mess. Bolton said he cut your power, not your water. How could you not keep yourself clean? Go wash up in the bathroom right now. Don’t come out until you’re presentable!”
A voice dripping with revulsion filled the room.
I lifted my head and saw my mother.
She stood in the doorway looking regal and elegant, but the way she stared at me was like I was trash.
She only cared about whether I met her standards—never about the fact that I had claustrophobia.
I looked at her numbly. I knew that if I didn’t obey, she’d just send people in to pin me down and force me to comply.
That had happened more times than I could count.
After I finally cleaned myself up and came out, she narrowed her eyes, gave me one quick, displeased once-over, then coldly ordered the bodyguards to drag me to the living room.
The villa’s living room was huge, yet my gaze landed immediately on the body lying in the center—a dead dog. It was Shannon’s poodle.
Next to the dog’s corpse, someone was kneeling. I frowned, surprised to see it was one of the servants who’d always been kind to me.
Mom swept a cold look over the servant. “Tell me. Who told you to do it?”
Off to the side, Shannon was crying as if her heart were breaking, while Bolton held her gently, comforting her.
The servant glanced at me, terror flickering with a trace of guilt in her eyes. Under my mother’s threatening stare, she finally raised a shaking finger—pointing at me.
“M-Ma’am Amybeth told me to do it… She said the dog destroyed something important to her and had to pay with its life. Please, I’m begging you, spare me. I was only following her orders! I didn’t mean it.”
She rambled in panic, practically ready to bang her head against the floor at their feet.
The moment Shannon heard that, she let out a sharp sob. She sniffled pitifully and said, “Amybeth, if you were upset with me, you could’ve just come at me. Why did you take it out on my dog? I know the little one did something wrong, and I already apologized to you. If you really needed a life in return, you could’ve taken mine. Why did you have to hurt him?”
Her tears flowed even harder.
Bolton’s and my mother’s eyes immediately hardened as they stared at me.
After Bolton finished soothing Shannon, he finally turned toward me with a cold expression.
“Amybeth! I thought locking you in the room would make you calm down and reflect. I didn’t expect you to actually hire someone to hurt a dog!”
Disappointment clouded his eyes. “I’m your husband. I can’t watch you keep making mistakes. Take responsibility for what you’ve done. Apologize. Apologize to Shannon’s dog and make up for what you did.”
My mother glared at me with the same disgust.
“I knew from the beginning you were no good. You always targeted your sister, and now you won’t even spare her dog! I agree with Bolton—if you don’t get properly punished, who knows what you’ll do next!”
Their words and their stares cut into me so sharply it felt like I couldn’t breathe.
I tugged at the corner of my mouth. “Let me get this straight—while I was locked in a room with no phone, terrified because of my claustrophobia… I supposedly instructed someone to kill Shannon’s dog?
“I’ll say this once: I didn’t do it. And I’m not apologizing to a dog!
“As far as I’m concerned, the dog wasn’t at fault. Someone else was.
“Bolton, if you don’t believe me, check the surveillance footage!”
I didn’t even look at my mother. Even if she knew the truth, she would still blind herself and take Shannon’s side.
My mother always had.
I stopped hoping for anything from her a long time ago.
My words seemed to shake Bolton for a moment. He frowned, as if weighing whether I was telling the truth.
Sensing that, Shannon quickly tugged on his sleeve, her voice dripping with false concern. “Forget it… if Amybeth doesn’t want to apologize, then let her be. My poodle was with me for years, but my sister is still more important. I know I can’t compare to her. If she wants to hurt my dog, I can’t stop her. If she wants to hurt me, I guess I deserve it.”
The moment she said that, Mom snapped toward me. “Look at what you’ve driven your sister to say! First her dog, then who knows what’s next? If Bolton doesn’t want to punish you, then I will do it as your mother!”
Her face twisted with rage. “Today, you’ll apologize whether you want to or not!”
Bolton frowned at me. “Mom’s already said her piece. Just do it. It’ll calm her and Shannon down.”
“I will never admit to something I didn’t do.” I let out a cold laugh and turned to leave without hesitation.
