"You can disregard everything else, but you can''t disregard the person you love most,” Thaddeus said, a strange emotion stirring in his own chest.


    "What if Elsie..."


    "She won''t be." Thaddeus''s tone was absolute. "Knowing Chad''s methods, he won''t harm Elsie for now. She''s useful to him, and he''ll exploit that to its limit-to control you, to control Evadne, and to make me hesitate."


    "Thaddeus, I have to save my wife... Tell me, what should I do?!" Elvis grabbed the man''s arm, his eyes wet and red.


    Thaddeus''s breathing deepened. “Even if Chad has to be killed, it won''t be by your hands. I''ll do it."


    "Are you kidding me? If we''re taking that bastard down, we do it together!" Elvis''s handsome face was resolute. "Once a ssmate, always a ssmate. We fight side by side!"


    "Chad is my brother. This is Abernathy family business, and it should be me who ends it. Besides, I''m not just doing this for you. I have my own reasons." Thaddeus paused, his voice softening. "I came to meet you tonight for another purpose. I hope you''ll go back and not me your sister. She''s been ming herself for the past two days, unable to forgive herself. She cares deeply for Elsie, too."


    "Tch... what kind of person do you take me for? That''s Evadne, my own sister who I''d die for. How could I ever me her?" The thought of Evadne''s crying voice made a lump form in Elvis''s throat, and he fought back tears. "You talk about me, but what about my sister if you''re no longer clean? If I can''t do it, neither can you!"


    The man nced at him coolly. "What does that have to do with anything?"


    "Dammit, are you really this clueless or are you just pretending? Evadne still loves you like crazy. It doesn''t matter if you''ve lost your mind, are paralyzed, or can''t get it up-you owe my sister an exnation!"


    "Your sister is an exceptional woman." Thaddeus''s deep eyes held a flicker of restraint as he gazed out the window into the empty night. "In every respect, I fall short. She deserves better."


    *


    Darkness. Dampness. Suffocation. Despair.


    In her unconscious state, Elsie was trapped in a recurring nightmare, reliving the torturous days she spent by Avery''s side.


    In her dream, she was in the filthy, sinful basement of The Velvet Haven, curled naked in a corner, her


    Hored in wounds. The door


    body


    opened and she saw Elvis''s strong lean figure walking toward her.


    "Elvis..." Elsie lifted her tear-streaked face.


    But she couldn''t see his face clearly.


    "Do you regret it? Do you regret taking Avery''s hand all those years ago just to survive?" he asked, his voice devoid of emotion as he looked down at her.


    Elsie sobbed uncontrobly.


    She did regret it. She regretted it with every fiber of her being. If she could live her life over, she would rather have frozen to death on the streets than ept Avery''s so-called salvation.


    "Ms. Alexia, do you think she''s dead?" a voice asked.


    "Dead? In here, even death is a luxury. It''s not that easy."


    Suddenly, Elsie''s bloodshot eyes flew open. Her entire body convulsed violently, her expression a mask of pure terror. Every nerve screamed in agony.


    "She''s awake!"


    Alexia impassively removed the taser from Elsie''s body, a sinister smile ying on her lips.


    From the electric shock, Elsie''s pale lips twitched, her eyes were zed over, and her body continued to jerk on the medical bed. Even so, she clung to her fractured


    consciousness and scanned her surroundings.


    Four gray walls. Dark, cold, and spartan. It looked like a hospital, but also like a prison.


    "059. From now on, that''s your


    name." Dressed in a whiteb coat, Alexia stood by the window with two nurses. She leaned in close to Elsie''s bloodless face, her smile chilling to the bone. "Wee to my domain. Wee to hell on earth."