My face was bloodless. I wanted to explain, but there was nowhere to begin.
Marcella held up the peace pendant and arched a brow. "Kneel. Kowtow to me."
"Keep going until I'm satisfied. Maybe then I'll give it back. Otherwise…"
As she spoke, her fingers loosened.
I lunged forward to stop her. "No! Don't let go! I'll kneel!"
My mother had earned that pendant on her knees, one bow at a time, the whole way. I couldn't lose a single thing of hers.
Slowly, I sank down.
Marcella pressed again. "And the kowtow."
My hands curled into fists at my sides. Swallowing the humiliation, I lowered my head to the floor.
She clicked her tongue, displeased. "Looks like you don't know how. Fine. Let me teach you."
Before I could lift my head, she yanked it up by force, then slammed it back down.
A heavy thud.
My whole skull spun. A hollow ringing filled both ears.
Marcella wasn't finished. She kept her grip on the bandages around my head, hauling me up, driving me back down.
A dozen times over, until pain wracked my body in shaking spasms.
In the end, too weak to hold on, I passed out.
When I came to, the charred remains of the peace pendant lay beside me.
Exhausted, numb, I gathered the pieces one by one.
My phone lit up. A message from James.
【I'm taking Marcie to a birthday party today. Get yourself up to the second floor and stay there. Don't come down and cause trouble.】
I pressed the screen dark and turned to check myself out of the hospital.
When I reached the Rowe residence, I went in through the back door. After collecting my things from Mrs. Rowe, I left without a backward glance.
Halfway there, someone knocked me out.
When I woke again, I was hanging over a cliff, with an equally unconscious Marcella beside me.
Before I could make sense of it, James arrived, travel-worn and breathless.
The kidnapper before me was raw with hate, glaring at James. "James Rowe, you got my son killed. Today I'm going to make you lose the one you love too."
"Come on, two choices. Pick one. Hahaha!"
Everything in me went to ash. I knew he wouldn't choose me.
The next second, James said, every word firm: "I choose Constance. Let her go. Whatever you want, I'll give it to you, just don't hurt her."
Something flickered in my chest.
But the kidnapper burst into wild laughter and let Marcella go. "So a wild flower really can't beat the one at home. You play around out there, but it's still Mrs. Rowe you carry in your heart. How touching."
Then he turned to me, his face twisting. "So. It's your turn to die."
He cut the rope without hesitation. In the instant I fell—
I saw James sprint forward, pulling Marcella into his arms, his big hand clamped tight over her eyes.
His own eyes, fixed on me, were full of something complicated, and indifferent.
Behind that covering hand, Marcella deliberately gave me a smile, mouthing the words without sound: I won. Die, you bitch.
In that moment, the last shred of feeling left in me dissolved into nothing, and I smiled, at peace.
Dying this way didn't seem so bad after all.
"James, what about Constance, she…"
Before Marcella could finish, James cut in. "Don't worry. There's a rescue team down below. I arranged it all in advance. She'll get a few scrapes at most."
"Come on, let me take you to the hospital first. Once she's back, I'll give her some compensation."
Before James left with Marcella, he had the police take the kidnapper away to be charged.
After three long hours, James finally got the call from the rescue team.
"Find her and take her to the hospital. No need to report to me."
The voice on the other end was frantic. "Mr. Rowe, we couldn't find Miss Vance. We couldn't even find a body…"
