Even the nurses outside the door were whispering.
“I heard Mr. Vanbrugh bought out the whole hospital just to treat Ms. Jolie.”
“That’s not even the half of it! This morning, a nurse doing rounds saw the two of them… doing ‘that’ in the ward. They really looked so in love!”
“Yeah, poor Kimberly…. She gave him everything, but she still can’t compete with one word from Ms. Jolie.”
The wound on Kimberly’s face throbbed faintly, but it couldn’t compare to the ache in her chest.
Fighting back the pain, she forced herself to finish the discharge paperwork alone.
When she passed by Khloe’s ward, Kimberly couldn’t help but glance inside.
Through the glass, she saw Wilford sitting by Khloe’s bedside, gently blowing on a bowl of hot soup before spoon-feeding it to her. His voice was soft and coaxing.
But Khloe pouted and complained, her tone full of mock anger. “Wilford, are you sure you never had any feelings for Kimberly at all?”
Wilford gave a helpless, indulgent smile. “Of course. The one I love has always been you,” he reassured her.
“From the start, I only ever used Kimberly. Now that the company’s back on its feet, she’s of no use to me anymore,” he explained casually.
When Kimberly heard that, a sharp sting burned behind her eyes. As she glared at him secretly, her whole body trembled with fury.
She didn’t even remember how she made it out of the hospital—only that she walked through the pouring rain for what felt like hours.
When she finally reached the villa, she quietly packed her things and left for a hotel.
Back when Wilford had sought revenge against the Kidmans, he’d forced her parents to flee overseas. Their old family home was gone, too, forever.
But she had stayed—for the child in her belly and for the last shred of love she still had for Wilford.
Who could’ve known that the baby would be gone, and that love would vanish with it?
Exhausted in body and soul, Kimberly eventually collapsed.
When she came to, she found herself trapped inside a massive glass water cube.
The rising water level made it hard to breathe, the threat of death closing in fast.
She stood on tiptoe, gasping for air, staring in disbelief at Wilford outside the glass.
He sat lazily on the couch, flicking a lighter open and shut. The flame reflected in his cold, unreadable eyes as he watched her struggle.
In his gaze, she even saw a flicker of murderous intent.
“Wilford! What the hell are you doing?!” she shouted.
The lighter closed with a sharp click. Wilford stood, walking toward her, his tone dripping with malice.
“Khloe lost control last night,” he replied. “The nurse told me it was because you went to provoke her again.”
Just those words alone sealed Kimberly’s fate.
She let out a bitter laugh, choking back the water that splashed into her mouth. “Wilford! Don’t you dare slander me! I never went near Khloe! If you don’t believe me, check the security footage!”
She lifted her head above the water, struggling for breath, her face turning blue from lack of oxygen.
But he ignored her pain. His voice rose in anger. “Still denying it? At a time like this, you’re accusing Khloe and the nurse of lying? Wow, Kimberly, you really are a wicked woman!”
Then, he turned toward his men and ordered, “Pour it in.”
A sense of dread crawled up Kimberly’s spine.
She watched in horror as the bodyguard dumped a bucket of writhing snakes into the water.
In an instant, countless serpents slithered toward her, biting into her skin. Waves of sharp, burning pain spread through her body.
Eyes wide with terror, Kimberly slammed herself against the glass again and again.
“Wilford! This is illegal imprisonment! Attempted murder! I swear I’ll call the cops and have you arrested!”
Even with that threat, Wilford didn’t flinch even in the slightest. Instead, he laughed, mocking her.
“Call the cops? Kimberly, have you forgotten who I am?” He sneered. “I’m the CEO of Vanbrugh Ventures—the head of the family! With me here, who would dare take your case?”
His tone hardened. “Just take your punishment. Every ounce of pain Khloe suffered, you’ll pay back a thousandfold.”
And with that, he turned and left without another glance.
Water surged from all directions, closing in like countless hands from hell, gripping Kimberly’s throat and dragging her into darkness.
Her mind flashed back to that day three years ago. When she’d made a grave mistake, Wilford had taken the blame for her without any hesitation.
He’d endured a hundred lashes of the family’s whip, his back torn open, yet he’d still smiled at her through the blood.
“Don’t be afraid. Even if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you,” he said gently.
But now, Khloe said one flawed lie, and that same man from years ago wanted Kimberly dead!
Her body went limp, prohibiting her from even struggling. A giant net fished her out of the tank like a helpless animal, stripped of all dignity.
She coughed violently, water flooding her lungs as tears streamed down her face like broken pearls.
The bodyguard beside her spoke in a chilling monotone. “Ma’am, Sir Wilford said you’re to stay in the confinement room and reflect. Once you admit your mistake, you can come out.”
The words hit her like a bomb.
The confinement room? The one Wilford used for his enemies—sealed off from light for years now and filled with corpses?!
A cold shiver ran through her body. She stumbled back, shaking her head. “No! Where’s Wilford? I want to see him!”
But the guard gave her no chance to resist. He shoved her inside.
And as she fell, she landed on something hard—something that cracked beneath her weight.
The brittle sound of bones breaking made her scalp prickle with horror.
For three days and nights, Kimberly lived in that nightmare, terrified and starving.
When her body finally gave out from dehydration, she fainted. Only then did the guards drag her to the hospital.
