Chapter 4

Addison Anderson POV:

The world swam back into focus, a blurry watercolor of muted light and throbbing pain. My head felt heavy, a dull ache reverberating behind my eyes. My hands, still raw and tender, were numb, a phantom fire contained. I lay on a soft bed, the familiar scent of my own sheets a disorienting comfort. I was back in my apartment, in my bedroom. How?

Ethan stood at the foot of the bed, his face pale, his eyes shadowed. He wasn't radiating the usual cruel confidence. Instead, there was a strange, unsettling vulnerability about him, a flicker of something akin to fear in his gaze.

"You're awake," he said, his voice low, rough. He avoided my eyes, staring at a point just past my shoulder. "I... I brought you back." He paused, then added, his voice regaining a hint of its usual cold edge, "You belong here, Addison. With me. This is your home. My home."

My stomach clenched. He was trying to reassert control, yet there was a tremor in his voice that hadn't been there before. He was shaken. But not enough. Never enough.

"I called for help," I whispered, my voice hoarse. It was a lie, a test. I hadn't seen anyone, but if he thought someone knew, perhaps he'd back off.

His eyes snapped to mine. A flicker of panic, quickly masked. "Who did you call?" he demanded, his voice sharp. "I told you, you have no one but me. No one cares about you like I do, Addison. No one will protect you." He took a step closer, his eyes intense. "You tried to leave. You tried to betray me. But I won't let you. You need me. And I... I need you."

His words were a toxic blend of possessiveness and manipulation. A chill ran down my spine. The old Ethan, the one who truly loved me, would never have spoken like this. This monster, this stranger, simply wanted to own me.

I closed my eyes, refusing to engage. My silence was my only weapon now, my only form of resistance. Inside, a tiny spark of defiance, though battered and bruised, still glowed. I would escape. I had to.

Five years. Five years of this living hell. The memory of the accident, the way he looked at me before everything changed, the way he would hold me, cherish me. It felt like a dream, a beautiful lie I clung to. Then, the crash. The blank stare. The slow, insidious transformation into this callous, cruel man. This man who now seemed to believe I was nothing more than an object to be controlled, a pawn in his twisted game. He had forgotten everything, replaced our shared history with Kasey' s venomous narrative. He truly believed he hated me.

His phone buzzed, a jarring sound in the quiet room. He glanced at the screen, his expression tightening. "It's Kasey," he muttered, almost to himself. He answered, his voice softening, then quickly turning to alarm. "What? What happened? The children? Are they hurt?"

My blood ran cold. Kasey. Her insidious machinations.

I heard Kasey' s voice, high-pitched and tearful, though I couldn't make out the words. Ethan' s face contorted in a mixture of anger and concern. "She did what? Addison pushed Lily? She hit Leo?" His voice rose, filled with disbelief and rage. "That's impossible! She wouldn't-"

He cut himself off, his eyes snapping to mine, now filled with a dark, terrifying accusation. The brief flicker of fear from before was gone, replaced by absolute conviction. "You!" he snarled, pointing a finger at me. "You did this, didn't you? After everything, you tried to hurt them?"

He rose from the bed, his movements jerky, violent. He grabbed my arm, his grip bruising. "Get up! We're going there now! You're going to answer for this, Addison!"

He dragged me roughly out of bed, ignoring my pained cry, pulling me through the apartment, down the stairs, and out into the waiting car. He drove recklessly, the tires squealing, the car swerving through traffic. Each jolt sent fresh jolts of pain through my still-healing body. The world outside was a blurry rush of lights and shadows. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic bird trapped in a cage.

We screeched to a halt outside a brightly lit children's museum, its colorful facade now a grotesque mockery of joy. A small crowd had gathered, whispers and angry murmurs filling the air. Kasey rushed out to meet us, her face blotchy, her eyes red, but a triumphant glint shone through her feigned distress.

"Ethan! Oh, my God! Thank goodness you're here!" she wailed, throwing herself into his arms. She shot me a quick, venomous glare over his shoulder, a silent message of victory.

"What happened, Kasey?" Ethan demanded, his arm around her. "Where are the children?"

"Inside," she sobbed, pulling away. She looked at me, her eyes widening in a performance of shock. "Addison! How could you? After everything we've done for you, how could you hurt those innocent children?" She lunged at me, slapping me hard across the face, her nails scratching my skin. "You monster!"

The public humiliation burned, a wave of shame washing over me. I tasted blood in my mouth. "I didn't do anything!" I cried, my voice cracking. "Kasey, you know this isn't true! Check the security cameras! They'll show everything!"

Just then, a young woman, one of the museum employees, pushed through the crowd, her face streaked with tears. She saw me and gasped dramatically. "It's her! It's the crazy woman! She pushed Lily down, and she hit Leo right in front of me! She was screaming about how Kasey stole her life, and then she attacked the children out of pure jealousy!"

The employee, Maria, had been Kasey's accomplice in the acid attack, disguised as the children. She was now cementing the frame. My head spun. The audacity, the cruelty of it all.

"No!" I choked out, my voice hoarse, desperate. "That's a lie! She's lying!"

But the crowd had turned against me. Their eyes were accusing, their whispers growing louder. "Monster! How could she?" "Poor children!" "She deserves to be locked up!"

My heart sank. My reputation, my life, was being systematically destroyed. I had been so close to freedom. So close.

A message buzzed on my phone, a notification from my gallery manager. Mr. Henderson has pulled his entire collection. Citing 'unacceptable behavior' and 'negative publicity'. Others are following suit.

My business. Ruined. My last avenue of escape, my financial independence, now gone.

Ethan, his face grim, rushed inside the museum. He emerged a moment later, holding Lily, who had a small bandage on her knee, and Leo, who was clutching his arm, his eyes wide with feigned fear.

"Look at what you did, Addison," Ethan said, his voice cold, hollowed out. He pointed to Lily's bandaged knee, then to a faint red mark on Leo's arm. "You hurt them. My children." His eyes, when they met mine, held no pity, no recognition, only a chilling, absolute hatred. "You are truly a depraved individual."

Kasey clutched Ethan' s arm, her voice rising in a theatrical sob. "She deserves to be punished, Ethan! Severely! For what she did to our precious babies!"

Ethan's gaze hardened. He looked at the crowd, then at me. His eyes were like chips of ice. "Bring me the tools," he commanded, his voice unnervingly calm, a terrifying stillness settling over him. "Someone get me a needle and thread. And something to sterilize them with."

My blood ran cold. "Ethan, no!" I screamed, my voice raw with terror. "What are you doing? Please, stop!"

He ignored me completely. His eyes were fixed on the museum employee, Maria, who looked horrified. "Did you not hear me, Maria?" he said, his voice quiet, deadly. "Bring them. Now."

Maria hesitated, her face pale. The horror of his request was palpable. "Sir, I... I don't think-"

"You don't think?" Ethan's voice was a low growl, a predator's warning. He stepped toward her, his eyes blazing. "You will obey me, or you will regret it. Do you understand?"

Maria, trembling, nodded frantically and rushed away.

Ethan turned back to me, his face impassive. "You will not speak, Addison," he said, his voice an emotionless monotone. "You will not lie. You will not manipulate. Not ever again." He looked at my mouth, his gaze chillingly clinical. "We will start there."

My breath hitched. Panic, cold and absolute, seized me. He was going to sew my mouth shut. No. No, he couldn't.

Maria returned, her hands shaking, holding a small first-aid kit. Ethan snatched a needle and thread from it, his movements precise, terrifyingly calm. He then grabbed a bottle of antiseptic.

"Ethan, please!" I sobbed, struggling against the two security guards who had appeared, holding me in place. "I didn't do anything! I swear!"

He ignored my pleas, his grip tightening on my jaw. He threaded the needle, his eyes focused. My vision blurred with tears as he brought the needle closer to my lips. The sharp prick of the needle, the searing pain, the metallic taste of blood-it all merged into a horrifying reality. I couldn't scream. I couldn't speak. I could only whimper, a choked, muffled sound of terror.

"And now, your eyes," he said, his voice a dispassionate pronouncement, as if ordering a meal. "You will not see what you have done. You will not cast your malicious gaze upon my children again." He looked at the guards, his eyes blazing. "Hold her steady! And then, her ears. She will not hear the truth. She will not hear their cries."

The guards, though visibly hesitant, stiffened under his gaze. His words, his absolute conviction, his terrifying authority, compelled them. They were scared of him.

"This is for Lily's tears," Ethan said, his voice a low, chilling murmur as he continued his work. "For Leo's fear. For Kasey's pain. This is for all the suffering you have caused, Addison. You deserve every stitch."

A hysterical, broken laugh bubbled up in my chest, a desperate, silent release. It was a sound of absolute despair, a recognition of my complete and utter helplessness. I was trapped, mutilated, silenced. My sanity, a fragile thread, began to unravel.

He was right. I had been so foolish. I had given him everything, my love, my loyalty, my very being, believing in a phantom version of him. I had clung to the hope of his return, endured his cruelty, rationalized his abuse. I had allowed myself to be broken, piece by agonizing piece, for a man who no longer existed. My love, once my greatest strength, had become my deepest wound.