Disappointment was plastered all over Colton’s face.
“Goodness, Kenzie! I really thought you’d finally learned how to act like a rational adult! Guess I overestimated you.
“Kinsey has cancer, and you’re still attacking her. Jesus Christ. She’s your sister. Do you seriously hate her that much?”
Kenzie’s face was drained of color. Then a thin, bitter smile pulled at her lips.
“Wow,” she said with a scoff. “Colton, you really are this stupid.”
“From when we were kids until right now, I’ve been the one getting hurt over and over!”
“That bitch doesn’t have cancer!” she snapped. “She’s fucking lying to your face! And you’re eating it up like always!”
“And that car accident back then. Do you even know what really—”
“That’s enough!” he cut her off sharply. “What now? Another made-up story to smear Kinsey?”
“I should’ve seen this coming,” he said coldly. “You really are a cruel person. I don’t care what it takes. You’re apologizing to Kinsey today.”
Kenzie met his gaze without flinching.
“No. I didn’t do anything wrong,” she said slowly. “You did. You can’t tell right from wrong.”
Tucked in his arms, Kinsey spoke up, her voice gentle and careful.
“Colton, please,” she murmured. “Let it go. My sister’s never liked me. She thinks I stole everything from her. You’re married. I shouldn’t have come. From now on, don’t worry about me. I’ll just disappear.”
She started to stand, but Colton immediately stopped her.
“No,” he said. “You’re staying.”
Then he turned back to Kenzie.
“I gave you a chance. Since you refuse to admit your mistake, you’re not going anywhere. Think it over.”
He left with Kinsey, ordering the bodyguards to lock Kenzie in the basement.
Kenzie had once told him how terrified she was of the dark. She had trusted all her vulnerabilities with him.
But now, he was using them against her.
When someone knows you inside out, they know exactly where to cut.
In the basement, time collapsed. No food. No water. No light. She had no idea how many days passed.
She lay there staring into the darkness, anger slowly rotting into exhaustion, then into something worse.
Regret. She regretted everything.
If she were given another chance, she wouldn’t just leave Colton. She would never have married him.
When dehydration finally dragged her under, the basement door creaked open.
Light poured in like fire; it stabbed straight into her eyes. Through the blur, she saw silhouettes of Colton and her brothers standing above her like judges.
“You’re only getting out this time because someone paid the price for you,” he said. “Don’t let it happen again.”
Her head rang.
‘Paid the price?’
She didn’t have the strength to ask what that meant. Darkness closed in again.
When she woke up, her phone was ringing nonstop. White walls. The sharp smell of disinfectant. A hospital room.
She fumbled for the phone and answered, barely conscious.
“Hello, is this Kenzie?” a woman asked professionally. “We’re calling from the funeral home. Ma’am, your mother, Miss Beth, passed away two days ago. We need to confirm cremation arrangements.”
Her fingers went numb. The phone nearly slipped in her grip.
“W-What?” she whispered. “T-That’s impossible. My mom was fine.”
The woman explained, “She suffered a cerebral infarction caused by severe blood loss after donating blood. We’ve been trying to contact you.”
Kenzie’s mind went completely blank.
Beth wasn’t just her foster mother; she was her only mother.
Kenzie dropped the phone, tore the IV from her arm, and ran barefoot out of the room.
She needed answers.
The moment she staggered into the hallway, she slammed straight into Colton.
Kinsey was still cradled in his arms.
That was when something inside Kenzie finally broke.
“What did you do to my mother?!” Her voice ripped through the corridor. “Colton! What the fuck did you do to her?!”
