Chapter 3His First Love Faked Her Death, So I Faked Mine And Ran Away

I let out a weak, barely audible groan.

The newly hired butler took off his glasses. A pair of deep, incredibly bright eyes looked down at me.

"I am so sorry. You have suffered so much."

Last week, the old butler couldn't handle the sheer cruelty of my torture anymore and quit.

The man who replaced him seemed like just an ordinary, efficient worker.

Julian had absolutely no idea that this man was my only remaining lifeline.

He was one of the impoverished students I had sponsored years ago.

He was the one who had secretly swapped my memory altering drugs. He was the reason I was finally awake.

"We are leaving tomorrow night. I promise you, I will make them pay."

Shannon's eyes were practically boiling with hatred. The sheer intensity of his emotion stunned me for a second.

An instant later, his face returned to total calm.

"I brought medicine. Let me apply it for you."

I had zero strength left in my body. I had to let him carefully treat my wounds.

Halfway through, the sound of loud, aggressive moaning echoed from the ceiling.

I almost forgot. Every single night, Julian and Chloe aggressively slept together in the master bedroom directly above me.

When I had no memories, I used to pray they would hit me harder. I even handed Julian the knife to punish me.

But Julian always hesitated.

"What the hell is wrong with you! She explicitly said she wants to be punished! Did not you stab yourself for me?"

Julian's eyes darted away nervously.

"Stella has a blood clotting disorder. I cannot..."

"Are you still pitying her?!"

Chloe stamped her foot in a massive rage, turning to storm out. Julian dropped the knife and chased after her.

After that, they changed their strategy to mentally break me.

They reduced the physical torture and started aggressively making out in front of me at every possible opportunity.

"It is honestly pathetic. They actually think this hurts my feelings."

I said with a mocking laugh.

"Memories or not, I would never want trash like him back!"

"I know. Get some sleep."

Shannon replied in a deep, soothing voice, gently covering my bloodshot eyes with his hand.

Right before I drifted off, I felt a soft, gentle kiss brush against my hair.

But in the middle of the night, a horrifying nightmare seized me. The sounds of desperate, agonizing screams echoed in my mind.

I woke up gasping for air, drenched in a cold sweat.

I pushed open the heavy basement door and crept silently upstairs.

"Stella's parents are still fighting back? Then torture them too."

"Just do not kill them. I do not care if you break their legs or cripple them."

Julian's laptop was open. On the screen was a live feed of my parents screaming in agony.

"You have no soul! We gave you everything to build the Carter Empire, and this is how you repay us?!"

"Where is my daughter? Did you kill her?! Answer me!"

Julian didn't answer. He just gave a cold, sinister laugh.

The next second, the sickening crackle of a stun gun echoed from the speakers.

My parents let out the exact same agonizing screams I had heard in my nightmare.

"Hit them harder."

"...Heart condition? Shove pills down their throats and keep hitting them. I own the best private hospitals in the city. They won't die."

"That is what they get for trying to kidnap Chloe. If they keep resisting, they will die before they ever see Stella again!"

Listening to my parents' desperate sobs, the blood in my veins turned to liquid fire and rushed straight to my head.

Without thinking, I kicked the door open, grabbed a massive porcelain vase, and smashed it directly down onto his skull.

"Die! Go to hell!"

I screamed like a complete maniac, smashing the heavy base into his head over and over again, until a maid snuck up behind me and swung a metal baseball bat directly into my spine.

I collapsed to the floor, vomiting blood, gasping heavily through a crushed throat.

"Drink this, and by tomorrow, you won't remember any of this."

Julian's forehead was pouring blood, but his voice was smooth and hypnotic like a demon's.

He forced a bitter, burning chemical down my throat.

I bit my lip so hard I almost tore it off, desperately trying to stay awake, but the darkness dragged me under.