Pain twisted her face into a grimace. Ste''s entire body convulsed, sweat beading on her forehead and dripping down like rain, sttering onto the cold floor.
For a moment, her consciousness flickered. She felt as if she were teetering on the edge of life, certain she was about to die.
Sellers saw things spiraling out of control and quickly intervened.
"Leonard, that''s enough. Don''t push this any further-you''ll kill her."
Leonard''s lips curled into a cruel smile. He finally lifted his foot, giving Ste a brief respite.
"Ste, I''m not finished with you yet. Don''t give up so quickly. If you die now, I''ll just have to let your dear friends suffer in your ce."
Sellers'' expression darkened. "Leonard, that''s enough. She''s still a woman... If you really want to ruin her hands, just have someone do it-why torment her like this?"
Leonardzily drew a knife from his coat. "If she doesn''t learn to fear, if she doesn''t remember this pain, she''ll never understand who she should never cross.
If we don''t break her spirit now, she''ll onlye at us harder next time."
Sellers thought Leonard was out of his mind. Regret gnawed at him he never should have gotten mixed up with this man.
“But—” Sellers started, but Leonard, seeing that Ste had caught her breath, raised his foot again and pressed it down on her hand.
His polished ck shoe ground against her knuckles, slow and deliberate. Just watching was enough to make Sellers wince. But Leonard wouldn''t even let Ste
scream.
Her pupils lost their focus and went ssy. For a moment, Ste wondered if people truly glimpsed their whole lives on the brink of death.
She saw her mother. She saw Antoney Watson, the boy who''d learned piano with her. Abby, her childhood ssmate. Lauretta Chapman, with whom she''d once performed in the school orchestra...
She saw Haynes. She saw the brief, precious moment when Keen O''Brien was born...
Her mind drifted further. She remembered Aurora''s birthday, the way the Williams family looked at Aurora with such affection.
Aurora, dazzling as a princess. And Ste-always the outsider, the Cindere who never quite belonged.
Suddenly, she felt exhausted-so tired, she could barely hold on.
In that haze between waking and oblivion, she heard Abby''s voice, thick with tears.
"Star! Star! Don''t sleep! Please, don''t fall asleep!"
Bet
From the day she''d met Abby, she''d hardly ever seen her cry. Abby was a ray of sunshine, always warm, always bright. With Abby nearby, Ste had never felt alone,
Neo-Vespera Hospital, private ward.
Haynes, who had been unconscious for days, suddenly snapped his eyes open.
Benson, the nurse at his side, gasped, hope flickering across his face.
"Mr. O''Brien-you''re awake!"
The first thing Haynes managed to say was, "Where''s Star?"
Benson hesitated, his eyes darting away.
"Ms... Ms. Cameron... she''s gone missing."
By now, Sellers deeply regretted ever getting involved with Leonard.
Watching Ste lying half-dead on
bet
his floor and Leonard still grinding
into her hand, Sellers
over
couldn''t take any more.
He tried to intervene again and again, but Leonard ignored himpletely. Sellers was ready walk out the door and never book back.
Suddenly, his phone rang.
He nced at the caller ID and his eyebrows shot up.
There was a reason Sellers had climbed to the top of the Burton family-his memory was razor sharp.
He strode over to Leonard, lowering his voice. "Leonard, something''s not right.”
Leonard stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Sellers. "What''s wrong?"
Sellers leaned in. "The head of the Gardner family is calling me."