Chapter 5

Blaire frowned. "I don't know what you're-"

"I'm the one who wronged you. So why are you hurting Cora?" Evan moved like a lion whose territory had been violated. He seized Blaire's wrist and demanded, "Honey, aren't you supposed to be reasonable? Is this because I signed the divorce papers first? I told you, I'm not actually divorcing you. We've divorced three times already. What difference does one more make? In the end, you're always the one by my side. Why would you hurt Cora out of jealousy? Do you even know she just made it out of danger?"

Blaire yanked her hand free. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Do you really not know, or are you just that confident?"

Evan's face darkened. He hurled his phone against her chest. A video began to play automatically.

On-screen, a man in a white lab coat knelt on the floor, bowing repeatedly toward the camera.

A cold voice off-screen said, "Repeat what you just said."

The man trembled violently. "I'll talk, I'll tell you everything. Just let me go. Ms. Bennett put me up to this. She said Cora was a manipulative seductress, that she was clever enough to tie Mr. Everett down by risking her own life. If she could gamble with death to win, she could just as easily be made into a real corpse."

"What proof do you have?"

"There's thirty thousand dollars in my pocket. Ms. Bennett gave it to me. It was payment to inject Cora with a cyanide compound."

The video cut off abruptly.

The absurdity of it crashed over Blaire. "That wasn't me. I've never paid anyone to hurt her. Evan, check it. Please-"

"You think I didn't?" He cut her off with a low snarl, disappointment burning in his eyes. "Three hours ago, thirty thousand dollars left your account. Did you really think I'd believe you unconditionally? That you could pull something this cheap and stupid right in front of me?"

Blaire's heart pounded. How could coincidence be this cruel?

"That was the lawyer's fee. I was preparing to file for divorce-"

"Enough!" Evan shook his head with a cold, humorless laugh. "I spoiled you rotten. You actually thought you could toy with someone's life. Honey, you need to learn boundaries. You need to understand what you can and cannot do."

He lifted a hand. The bodyguards who had been waiting near the entryway stepped forward immediately. With practiced precision, they forced Blaire down onto the sofa. One of them held a sharp syringe.

Her struggling only earned her harsher restraint. As the needle drew closer, she forced herself to stay calm. "Evan, I didn't do this. I've already decided to divorce you. Whoever you love has nothing to do with me anymore. Just calm down."

"I am calm." Evan bent down, looming over her shrinking frame. There was almost tenderness in his smile. "Honey, they'll be gentle. Just think of it as taking a nap. I love you too much to let anything happen to you. This is just a small lesson. You need to understand consequences."

"No-"

Blaire fought, but it was useless. The needle pierced her skin.

Within moments, her airway constricted violently. She gasped for breath, yet suffocation clamped down on her throat. Through the haze, she saw Evan's face and heard his voice soften as he spoke to someone else.

"Stop crying. The person responsible has been punished. I know you're scared. I know you miss me. I'm coming right now."

A bodyguard asked quietly, "Sir, should we intervene now?"

Evan glanced at his watch. "She won't be in real danger for another two or three minutes. I want her to remember this pain. Have the doctor step in before she actually dies."

Then his tone shifted, light but lethal. "Of course, if you miscalculate and my wife is harmed in any way, I promise none of you will walk away from it."

Tears slid down Blaire's temples. Regret-bottomless and suffocating-swallowed her whole.