Chapter 3

Liam moved to strike Daniel again, his body fueled by a decade of repressed anger, but Olivia threw herself in front of him, her arms spread wide to shield Daniel.

"Stop it! What is wrong with you?" she yelled, her eyes blazing with fury.

"What' s wrong with me?" Liam laughed, a bitter, hollow sound. "You stand there protecting him after he set me up, after your men cut off my finger?"

"Daniel would never do that!" Olivia shot back, her voice shaking with conviction. "He told me everything! You staged this whole thing, Liam! You' ve always been like this, always scheming, always trying to get my attention with these sick, manipulative games!"

Her words hit him, but they didn't hurt like they used to. They were just confirmation of a truth he had died to learn. He looked past her, at Daniel, who was now straightening up, a small, triumphant smirk playing on his lips. Daniel' s eyes met his, and in them, Liam saw pure, unadulterated malice. This man enjoyed his suffering.

"He' s your lover, isn' t he?" Liam said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous tone. The question was a statement. "You' ve been sleeping with him this whole time, while I was breaking my back for you, for this organization."

Olivia flinched, her face paling slightly. "That' s none of your business."

"It is my business when he uses you to try and kill me," Liam retorted.

Daniel, playing the victim, leaned heavily on Olivia. "Olivia, he' s scaring me. He' s crazy."

Liam' s gaze hardened. He remembered his past life, how his own obsession with Olivia had destroyed not just him, but his family' s reputation. His brother, Ben, had begged him to walk away, but he hadn' t listened. He' d sacrificed everything for a woman who saw him as a tool, a nuisance.

"You' re pathetic," Olivia hissed, her voice dripping with contempt. "Get out of my sight. I' ll decide your punishment later."

The threat was empty now. He wasn' t her dog anymore. He wasn't the boy who would do anything for a scrap of her attention. He was a man who had seen his own end.

"There is no 'later' ," Liam said quietly. He turned his back on them, a finality in the gesture that felt like closing a heavy door. "I' m done."

He walked back to his room, his steps steady. He knew what he had to do. He would play their game one last time, just long enough to get out. His phone, which the guards had returned, buzzed. It was Ben.

"Liam, are you insane?" Ben' s voice was a mix of anger and concern. "I did what you asked. I contacted the Crawfords. Their people are on the way. But they mentioned... they mentioned a marriage alliance. What have you gotten yourself into?"

Liam looked out the window at the sterile compound. Freedom was close.

"It' s a long story, Ben," he said, a strange sense of calm settling over him. "Just tell them I agree. I' ll marry Jessica Crawford."

He hung up, leaving his brother in stunned silence. He knew Olivia' s people would be listening. He wanted them to. He wanted her to know he had an escape route she couldn' t block.

But he underestimated her possessiveness. A few minutes later, the door to his room burst open. It was Olivia, her face a mask of cold fury.

"You think you can just leave?" she said, her voice dangerously low. "You think you can ally yourself with someone else behind my back?"

Before he could answer, her guards grabbed him.

"Teach him a lesson," Olivia commanded, turning away. "Remind him who he belongs to."

The first blow landed, and Liam bit back a cry of pain. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction. He would endure this. It was the price of his freedom.