Sophie’s POV
I watched from across the street as Serena finally left the Blackwood mansion. Perfect timing. The storm of controversy around Holly’s death was settling, but I hadn’t finished yet. Not by a long shot.
With trembling hands, I applied more concealer to the marks on my neck. The bruises from Kane’s "lesson" last night were still fresh, still burning. But I couldn’t show weakness now.
"You failed again," Kane growled, shoving against the wall of his penthouse. His fingers dug into my throat while his other hand tore at my silk blouse, buttons flying across the marble floor. "Every ti you promise results, you deliver nothing."
I begged, pleaded as he bound my wrists to the bedpost with his expensive tie. "Kane, please... I’m trying..."
"Not hard enough." His eyes went cold as ice as he took out the leather riding crop from his drawer. "Perhaps you need motivation to succeed where that pathetic girl Holly failed."
The first lash across my bare back made scream. By the fifth, I was sobbing uncontrollably, my mascara running down my cheeks. He didn’t stop until my skin was striped with angry red welts, so breaking open and bleeding onto the Egyptian cotton sheets.
"Look at you," he hissed, grabbing my face and forcing to look in the mirror across from the bed. "See what happens when you disappoint daddy?"
I whimpered as he tore away my lace panties, spreading my legs with brutal efficiency. His fingers roughly probed between my thighs, not caring if I was ready.
"Please," I gasped, "I’m still hurt from last ti—"
"Shut up," he snapped, slapping my ass hard enough to leave a handprint. "You think I care? Your comfort isn’t my concern."
He mounted from behind, forcing himself inside with brutal thrusts that made cry out in pain rather than pleasure. Each movent sent fire racing through my welted back as it rubbed against his chest.
"Rember," he whispered in my ear, his breath hot and reeking of expensive bourbon, "I own you. I made you. I can unmake you just as easily."
As he pounded into rcilessly, one hand wrapped in my hair pulling my head back at a painful angle, I realized how far I’d fallen. There had been a ti when I was Sophie Hart, the girl Ryan Blackwood couldn’t live without. Now I was just a tool, a weapon wielded by a monster.
"Say it," he demanded, his rhythm becoming more erratic. "Say who you belong to."
"You," I choked out, tears streaming down my face. "I belong to you, Kane."
He ca with a grunt, not caring about my pleasure or satisfaction, then pulled out roughly and slapped my ass again.
"Clean yourself up," he ordered, zipping his pants. "You’re disgusting."
But I had no choice. Kane held too much over - the truth about my faked death, the money I’d embezzled, the fake identities I’d used. If I failed him again, he wouldn’t just beat . He’d destroy completely.
When he’d finally finished using my body, rolling off with disgust rather than satisfaction, he delivered his ultimatum: "This is your last chance, Sophie. Break them apart or I’ll make sure you disappear for real this ti. And not in the way you planned before."
I changed into fresh clothes, wincing as the fabric brushed against my wounds. There was no ti to properly clean or bandage them. My body ached, but I had a job to do—a life to save. Mine.
Now, looking at the Blackwood mansion, I straightened my posture despite the searing pain from my back. My wounds hadn’t been treated - Kane had made it clear they were to remind of the consequences of failure. Every movent was agony, but that would work in my favor today.
Ryan’s car pulled into the driveway just as Serena’s was leaving. I watched his expression change through the windshield - confusion, then disappointnt. Perfect.
I waited until Serena’s car disappeared around the corner before making my move. My driver pulled up to the mansion gates, and I put on my most vulnerable expression.
"Ryan!" I called out, tears already flowing as I stumbled toward him. "Please help ..."
Ryan turned, his eyes widening in shock. "Sophie? What are you doing here?"
I collapsed dramatically at his feet, letting my coat fall open just enough to reveal the edge of a particularly nasty bruise on my collarbone.
"He’s going to kill ," I sobbed. "I didn’t know where else to go..."
Ryan’s face hardened as he took in my battered appearance. Despite everything, he was still a man who couldn’t ignore a woman in distress. "Who did this to you?"
"It’s urgent. My ex-husband... he’s found again."I whispered. "He’s been... hurting for months. When I tried to leave him, he threatened to..."
Ryan’s jaw tightened. He hesitated only briefly before helping to my feet. "Co inside. We’ll get you dical attention."
As he led into the mansion, I caught the butler’s disapproving look. But it didn’t matter. I was inside - exactly where Kane wanted to be.
"What happened to your back?" Ryan asked sharply as I winced while sitting down.
I lowered my eyes, the perfect picture of sha and fear. "He... he likes to use things. Whips, belts... anything that leaves marks no one else can see."
The disgust on Ryan’s face was genuine. So was the pity. "I’ll call my doctor."
"No!" I grabbed his arm. "No doctors. He has people everywhere. Please, Ryan... I just need sowhere safe for a few days."
Ryan ran a hand through his hair, clearly conflicted. "Sophie, I can’t just—"
"I know I have no right to ask," I whispered, letting my voice break. "After everything... but you’re the only one he wouldn’t dare approach. The only one powerful enough to protect ."
I could see him weighing his options, his sense of duty battling with his wariness of . Finally, he sighed. "I can arrange for soone to protect you, but you can’t stay here."
"Alright...,Thank you," I breathed, relief washing over my face. "You always were my hero."
His expression hardened. "Don’t mistake this for forgiveness, Sophie. I’m helping you because no woman deserves what was done to you. But that’s all this is."
I nodded ekly, playing the perfect victim. "I understand."
As Ryan made a quick call to arrange private security, I stood quietly by the window, wrapping my arms around myself as if trying to hold in the tremors. When he hung up, he turned to with a guarded expression.
"I’ve arranged for a private apartnt just a few blocks from here. It’s secure, and my n will be stationed nearby."
I forced a grateful smile. "That’s more than enough. Thank you, Ryan."
He nodded stiffly. "You’ll leave in an hour. My driver will take you there."
I bit the inside of my cheek to suppress the irritation. Not quite what I wanted—but close enough.
As I sat in the backseat of his car, watching the city blur past, I let my expression fall back into shadow. This wasn’t his house, but it was his protection. His attention. His guilt. That was all I needed to start.
Kane would be satisfied. Phase one was complete. I was back in Ryan’s orbit, with the perfect excuse to stay close. Now I just had to make myself indispensable—and Serena, expendable.
That night, in the minimalist apartnt Ryan had provided—cold, sleek, and impersonal—I stood by the window and stared at the skyline. My phone buzzed.
A ssage from Kane:
“In position?”
I replied:
“Yes. Not at his place, but under his protection. Will proceed.”
His response ca almost imdiately:
“Don’t get comfortable. You know what happens if this fails.”
I swallowed hard, the sting in my back a cruel echo of the threat behind his words. I turned off the phone and climbed into the bed, the sheets too clean, too sterile.
I lay awake for a long ti, listening to the silence, letting the pain and fear sharpen my focus.
Tomorrow, I would begin. Ryan thought he was saving —but he’d learn soon enough that I wasn’t the one who needed saving.
He was.
And this ti, I wouldn’t fail.
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