One dim yellow lamp. That was all the room had left.
I braced myself against the wall, the small of my back pulsing with pain.
Cold sweat broke out down my spine.
Downstairs, Sally's voice drifted up.
“Don't let him out tonight.”
“The moment he signs the contract is the moment we let him go.”
Sebastian gave a soft little laugh.
It was a quiet sound, but it drove into my ears like a needle.
“So if Ulysses hears us down here, you think it'll wreck him even more?”
“Or maybe……”
His voice dropped lower, but he let the last syllable climb on purpose.
“Maybe it'd make things more exciting?”
My fingertips dug hard into my palm.
Sally stayed quiet for a moment.
When she spoke again, her voice came out a little hoarse.
“Sebastian, stop it.”
“You really shouldn't have provoked him today.”
Sebastian let out a wounded little huff.
“Then punish me. Like last time……”
A faint rustle of fabric carried up from downstairs.
For a second, Sally's breathing seemed to falter.
I closed my eyes.
My palm clenched around the signal beacon hidden inside my sleeve.
My sister, Glenda Gilbert, had given it to me a long time ago.
She'd said：
“Ulysses, that woman is far too ambitious.”
“You love her. I can't stop that.”
“But remember this. When you've got nowhere left to turn, press this.”
“I'll be there within ten minutes. Guaranteed.”
Back then I'd laughed at her for blowing things out of proportion.
Turns out my sister had always seen clearer than I did.
Sally thought she had me trapped.
Too bad she didn't know.
People who grow up in this world.
They never leave themselves only one way out.
With the last of my strength, I pressed the beacon.
The instant the red light flared, Sebastian's laughter was still going downstairs.
Sally lowered her voice, coaxing him.
“Ulysses can't hold out much longer.”
“Once he comes to his senses, he'll come crawling back to beg me.”
“He broke with the Gilberts for me. Without me, he's nothing.”
Sebastian asked in a coy little voice：
“And the Gilberts?”
“If his sister finds out, won't she come after you?”
Sally was silent for a beat.
Then she scoffed.
“Glenda Gilbert can be as formidable as she likes. She still can't meddle in a marriage.”
“I'm his wife.”
“As long as he still cares about me, the Gilberts will never actually touch me.”
I leaned against the side of the bed, the pain leaving my temples slick with cold sweat.
When I heard that, I suddenly laughed.
Sally, you still don't understand the Gilberts.
Years ago, I broke with my family for you.
But Glenda never once gave up on me.
In the distance, a thunderous roar broke the night.
Row after row of black SUVs screeched to a halt at the villa gates.
Bodyguards in black suits poured out of the cars and sealed off the entire courtyard in seconds.
The villa's front door was kicked open from outside.
