Chapter 2

As I was heading for the exit, a figure suddenly stepped into my path. I didn't have time to stop. I stumbled, my ankle twisting painfully as I fell to the hard marble floor. A sharp pain shot up my leg.

"Oh, Chloe! I' m so sorry!"

It was Scarlett. She knelt beside me, her voice dripping with fake concern. She reached out to help me up, but her hand pressed down hard on my injured ankle. I bit back a cry of pain.

"I was just so excited, I wasn' t looking where I was going," she said, her eyes wide and apologetic. But I could see the glint of malice in them.

"Get your hands off me." My voice was low and cold.

Just then, a pair of expensive leather shoes stopped in front of us.

"What' s going on here?" Ethan' s voice was sharp, cutting through the air.

He saw Scarlett on the floor, her face pale and her eyes filled with tears. He saw me, sitting there, glaring at her. His conclusion was immediate and predictable.

"Chloe, what did you do?" he demanded, his tone accusatory.

Scarlett immediately started defending me, which only made me look guiltier. "It' s not her fault, Ethan. It was an accident. I bumped into her."

"An accident? Or did you push her because you' re jealous?" Ethan' s eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on me. He completely ignored my twisted ankle, the pain that was making me see spots.

"I didn' t touch her," I said, my voice flat.

Scarlett sobbed, a delicate, heart-wrenching sound. "Ethan, please don' t be angry with her. She' s just upset. I' m the one who got the red card. It' s my fault." She was a master manipulator, playing the victim to perfection.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Ethan said softly to her, helping her to her feet with a gentleness he had never shown me, not even in our past life. He then turned to me, his face a mask of fury. "Apologize to her. Now."

"No."

The word hung in the air between us. His face darkened.

"You think because we grew up together you have some special privilege? You are nothing, Chloe. You lost. Now apologize."

"I have nothing to apologize for." I tried to stand, but the pain in my ankle was excruciating. I fell back to the floor.

Ethan' s patience snapped. "Fine. If you won' t learn your lesson, I' ll teach you." He motioned to two of his security guards standing nearby. "Take her to the storeroom in the north wing. Lock her in. She can stay there until she learns some humility."

The guards hesitated. The Miller family wasn't as powerful as the Thompsons, but we were not insignificant. Abducting me like this could have consequences.

"Did you not hear me?" Ethan' s voice was dangerously quiet. "Or do you want to find new jobs tomorrow?"

The threat worked. The guards moved towards me.

I didn' t fight them. There was no point. I let them pull me to my feet, my injured ankle screaming in protest. I didn't look at Ethan or Scarlett as they dragged me away.

They took me to a small, windowless room in a deserted part of the mansion. It was filled with old furniture covered in white sheets, smelling of dust and decay. The heavy oak door slammed shut, and I heard the lock click into place.

I was plunged into complete darkness.

The air was cold and thick. My claustrophobia, a fear I' d had since childhood, began to creep in. My breathing quickened. I slid down the wall to the floor, wrapping my arms around myself.

I remembered a time when I was six, and a game of hide-and-seek had gone wrong. I' d gotten trapped in a closet, and I had cried until my throat was raw. It was Ethan, just a boy himself, who had found me. He had opened the door, and the light had spilled in, chasing away the shadows.

He had held my hand and said, "Don' t be scared, Chloe. I' ll always find you. I' ll always be your light."

The memory was so vivid, so painful. He was the one who had taught me not to be afraid of the dark.

And now, he was the one who had thrown me back into it.

The pain in my ankle, the cold, and the suffocating darkness began to overwhelm me. My head felt light, and the room started to spin. I was so tired. The stress of the day, the flood of memories from my past life, it was all too much.

My consciousness began to fade.

Just as I was about to slip into unconsciousness, I thought I heard a sound. A faint, distant voice.

It was calling my name.

"Chloe."

It sounded so familiar. A warmth spread through me, a feeling of being cared for, a feeling I hadn't known in a very, very long time. Then, everything went black.