Chapter 1A Prison of the Heart, A Captive of Pity

The moment my father died, his illegitimate daughter, Amber, flew in from overseas to steal my family home.

As the sole daughter from his marriage, with his will firmly in my favor, it should have been an open-and-shut case. It wasn’t.

Because my fiancé, Zach Song—a man who practically owned the city of Northwood—chose her side.

He shielded the wheelchair-bound Amber behind him, his voice laced with impatience as he tried to reason with me.

“The money I’m offering you could buy a dozen estates like this. Have you no compassion, Jenna? Why are you fighting a disabled woman over a house?”

I stared at him, the betrayal a bitter pill I couldn't swallow. “Fighting her for it? Zach, that house was the only thing my mother left me!”

In the end, he still helped Amber win the lawsuit.

He looked at my tear-ravaged face, a flicker of guilt in his eyes. “Jenna, I’ll make it up to you.”

But I knew, right then, there was no “us” left to make up to.

* * *

“I’ll add another five million to the compensation. Just give the estate to Amber.”

“She was in a car accident overseas, Jenna. She’ll be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Just think of it as taking pity on a cripple.”

Zach’s casual words felt like daggers, driving me to the brink of madness.

“Not in a million years! That house was my mother’s legacy!” My voice cracked. “Her mother was nothing but a maid in our house! She crawled into my father’s bed while my own mother was pregnant with me. Then she had the gall to flaunt her baby bump in my mother’s face, taunting her until the stress sent my mom into premature labor. The hemorrhage was too much. She died right after I was born.”

“You want me to pity her? Who’s going to pity my mother and me?”

My hysterical accusations were met with a sigh.

Zach took off his gold-rimmed glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose. He looked at me, his patience worn thin. “Jenna, stop making a scene. I’ll add another twenty million. That’s enough to buy you a whole portfolio of properties like that one. Are you satisfied now?”

He slid a contract across the table. “Here. Sign the transfer agreement.”

I looked at the man before me in utter disbelief, hot tears spilling down my cheeks. “Zach, I’m your fiancée! Not only are you refusing to help me, but you’re helping the very person who destroyed my family?”

“Is this the love you promised when you proposed to me?”

He had the grace to look ashamed.

After a long silence, his tone softened. “I just feel sorry for her, that’s all.”

“Jenna, if you just sign this quietly, I, Zach Song, promise that from this day forward, I will protect you and only you.”

The contract was pushed in front of me again.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I snatched it, ripped it to shreds, and threw the pieces in his face.

“Forget it. I’m never signing.”

“We have a court date tomorrow. If you still plan on siding with her, then I’ll see you there.”

I grabbed my bag and turned to leave.

Zach’s voice, now a cold warning, stopped me in my tracks. “Jenna, don’t force my hand.”

My steps faltered for a second, then I walked on, more determined than ever.

Suddenly, a scuffling sound from behind me, followed by a familiar, terrified yelp.

“Arf-arf!”

My heart plummeted. I spun around, my eyes wide with horror. “Are you insane?”

“You’re using Buddy to threaten me?”

Buddy. The dog we had raised together for five years. He was like our child.

But now, he was shackled in heavy chains, two burly security guards pinning his frail body to the floor. A vet stood beside them, holding a syringe with a glittering needle. All it would take was one word from Zach.

The lethal dose would flood Buddy’s system.

Zach sighed, a mask of regret on his face. “Jenna, you’re the one who forced me to do this.”

“I had them prepare another copy of the agreement. Sign it.”

“You have three minutes. Whether Buddy lives or dies is up to you.”

The sight of Buddy, held hostage, shattered my composure.

I lunged at Zach, clawing at his sleeves, my voice a choked sob. “Zach, that’s Buddy! The puppy we adopted together! How could you do this to him? He’s ten years old, he’s so old and fragile, he can’t take this! You’ll kill him!”

My tears didn't stir an ounce of pity.

He glanced at his watch. “You have two minutes to decide. The estate, or the dog?”

Buddy’s old body was already failing him. He struggled violently for a moment, his tongue lolling out as he panted, his barks turning into sharp, desperate yelps. But the guards just pressed him down harder, silencing him until only weak whimpers escaped.

He couldn't speak, he could only plead with his eyes for me to save him.

His tail, once a happy metronome, was now limp on the ground. His eyes, barely open, were fixed on me, and I could see the tears welling in them.

Every second I looked at him, I felt my heart being torn to shreds.

But the estate… it was the only piece of my mother I had left. How could I hand it over to the daughter of the woman who caused her death? How could my mother ever rest in peace?

“One minute left, Jenna.”

Thump.

My knees gave out. All pride, all dignity, evaporated as I fell to the floor before him.

“Zach, I’m begging you. Please, let Buddy go!” I pleaded. “Why do you have to drag him into this? Don’t you remember when he had Parvo as a puppy? He was so close to dying, and you were crying right there with me. I know you love him. How can you be so cruel to him now?”

“Please, give him back to me. Can’t you see he’s barely hanging on? Please!”

Zach didn’t answer. He just stared at his watch, his voice a cold, detached countdown.

“Ten seconds.”

“Five.”

“Doctor, you can inject…”

The syringe was raised high. On the floor, Buddy was limp, almost lifeless.

In that instant, I finally understood the true depth of Zach’s cruelty.

I collapsed completely, my body giving out as I screamed, the sound raw and broken.

“I’ll sign!”