Chapter 4

Ellie Vance POV

The gala finally wound down, but the phantom sensation of that kiss hung in the air, cloying and poisonous like toxic smoke.

Izzy was beaming, practically radiating triumph as she hung off Marcus's arm. She shot me glances full of pity and gloating, thinking she had won a grand prize.

She didn't realize she was clutching a grenade with the pin already pulled.

I slipped away before the final toast. The air in the ballroom had become too thin, too heavy to breathe.

I drove straight to Thorne Manor.

Not to stay. To finish.

I had a few boxes left in my private studio-my real sketches. The blueprints for the safe house. The detailed renderings of the life I wanted to build in Italy.

I needed them before I disappeared for good.

The manor was entombed in silence. The staff were either still at the gala or asleep in their quarters.

I slipped into the library corridor, moving like a ghost toward the east wing where my studio lay.

Voices.

I froze mid-step.

The heavy mahogany door to Marcus's private study was ajar, a sliver of golden light spilling onto the floor.

"...you can't be serious, boss." It was Tom. He sounded agitated, his usual calm veneer cracking. "You kissed her on stage. In front of the Vances. That isn't just a scandal; it's a declaration of war. You humiliated Ellie publicly."

"Ellie?" Marcus's voice floated out. He laughed-a cold, ugly sound that scraped against my nerves. "Ellie isn't going anywhere, Tom. She's entirely dependent on me. She's been obsessed with me since she was twelve years old."

"She looked pretty done tonight, Marcus."

"It's a game," Marcus said dismissively. I heard the distinct clink of crystal against glass. He was drinking. "She's playing hard to get. She wants me to chase her. She wants to feel important again."

I pressed my back against the cold wall, my breath hitching.

A game? My agony, my shredded heart-it was just strategy to him?

"So, the public humiliation...?" Tom pressed.

"A lesson," Marcus replied smoothly. "I need to break that little rebellious streak she's developed lately. I humiliate her, she hits rock bottom, and she realizes she has nowhere else to go. Then, I swoop in. I forgive her. I take her back. She'll be so grateful, she'll never question me again."

My stomach turned over violently.

It wasn't just neglect. It was a blueprint. A calculated architectural plan for breaking a human spirit.

"And Izzy?" Tom asked.

"Izzy is fun. She's useful. She keeps the bed warm while Ellie plays the martyr," Marcus drawled. "But Ellie is the wife. She's the furniture. You don't throw away good, antique furniture just because you bought a new TV."

Furniture.

The word hung in the silence.

And just like that, the last thread of attachment I had to Marcus Thorne snapped. It didn't hurt. There was no sharp pain, only a sudden, clarifying emptiness.

It was just... gone.

I backed away silently. I felt dirty. I felt foolish for ever loving a man who saw me as nothing more than an object to be broken, reset, and placed in a corner.

I turned and ran to my studio.

My hands were shaking as I burst in and grabbed my portfolio. I needed the blueprints for the villa in Tuscany. My lifeline. My escape route.

I found them on the drafting table, rolled up and waiting.

"Going somewhere?"

I spun around.

Marcus was standing in the doorway. He had followed me. He was still wearing his tuxedo, tie undone, looking drunk on a mixture of scotch and absolute power.

He sauntered into the room, his dark eyes scanning the chaotic piles of boxes.

"Packing up again?" He smirked, leaning against a stack of books. "How dramatic. Where are you going this time? The guest house?"

He reached out and snatched the paper I was guarding. The blueprint.

"What is this?" He squinted at the title block. "Project: Sanctuary. Tuscany."

He looked up at me, genuine confusion clouding his arrogance. "You're designing a house in Italy?"

"Give it to me," I said, stepping forward. My voice was steady, surprising even me.

"Why?" He laughed, mocking. "Is this your little fantasy? You think you're going to live under the Tuscan sun?"

He moved his hands as if to rip the paper in two.

I didn't think. I lunged.

I snatched the paper from his hand with a ferocity that shocked us both. I clutched it to my chest, backing away until my hips hit the drafting desk.

"Don't you touch it," I hissed. My voice was low, vibrating with a rage I had suppressed for three long years. "Don't you dare touch my future."

Marcus stared at me.

He looked at my hands, white-knuckled around the paper. He looked up at my eyes.

For the first time tonight, he didn't see a pawn. He didn't see furniture.

He saw a woman holding a knife, and for the first time, he realized he was the one standing on the blade.