Chapter 4

Ethan scoffed, a look of utter contempt on his face. "Hurt you? Don' t flatter yourself, Chloe. You' re not that important. This animal is a menace, and I' m dealing with it."

"He' s not a menace!" I cried, my voice breaking. "He was your dog, Ethan! You gave him to me for my sixteenth birthday! You named him Sunny because you said he brought light into your life! Don' t you remember?"

I was desperate, hoping that some flicker of the boy I once knew was still in there, buried beneath the anger and the hate.

For a split second, something shifted in his eyes. A flicker of confusion, of uncertainty. The name 'Sunny' seemed to resonate with him, a distant echo from a forgotten past.

But then he looked at Scarlett, who was watching with wide, fearful eyes, and his face hardened again.

"I don' t know what you' re talking about," he said, his voice cold and flat. "I would never give you something so vile. You probably stole him."

The words were a slap in the face. He had truly forgotten everything. Or he was choosing to.

"Please, Ethan," I begged, my pride shattering. I didn't care about myself anymore, only about Sunny. "Please don't hurt him. He' s all I have left of... of before."

Scarlett saw her opportunity. She let out a small whimper. "Ethan, my arm... it hurts so much. And look, the dog scratched me." She pointed to a tiny, almost invisible red mark on her wrist, a mark that could have come from anything.

That was all it took. Ethan' s brief moment of hesitation vanished. His face contorted with rage.

"That' s it," he snarled. He turned to his guards, who had followed him onto my property. "Get that dog. Take it to the back and put it down."

"No!" I screamed, clinging to Sunny' s collar. "You can' t!"

The guards advanced. Liam stepped in front of me, shielding us. "You' re on Miller property, Thompson. You have no right."

Ethan laughed, a harsh, mirthless sound. "Right? I have the right to do whatever I want."

He pushed Liam aside and grabbed me, his fingers digging into my arm. He ripped Sunny from my grasp and threw him to the guards.

"Take him," Ethan commanded.

I watched in horror as they dragged a terrified, whimpering Sunny away. I fought against Ethan' s grip, kicking and screaming, but he was too strong.

"Let him go! Please!" I sobbed, my heart breaking.

Ethan held me fast, forcing me to watch. I heard a sickening thud, followed by a final, agonized yelp from Sunny.

And then, silence.

The world went white. The strength drained from my body, and I collapsed, the darkness swallowing me whole.

When I came to, I was in a room I didn't recognize. It was dark, the only light coming from a sliver under the door. My back ached, and my head was pounding.

The door opened, and Ethan walked in. He was carrying a covered dish.

His face was unreadable in the dim light. He placed the dish on the table beside the bed.

"You' re awake," he said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Eat."

He lifted the cover. On the plate was a piece of cooked meat. My stomach churned. I knew, with a certainty that chilled me to the bone, what it was.

"What... what is this?" I whispered, though I already knew the answer.

"Your beloved pet," he said, his voice a cruel purr. "I had the cook prepare him for you. Since you love him so much, I thought you should have a final piece."

A wave of nausea washed over me. I scrambled back, away from him, away from the plate. "You' re a monster."

"I' m a monster?" He grabbed a piece of the meat with a fork and advanced on me. "You' re the one who let your beast attack Scarlett. She' s in the hospital now, being treated for shock. Her heart is weak, you know. An incident like this could have killed her."

He loomed over me, his face a mask of cold fury. "You' re the heartless one, Chloe. Now eat."

He grabbed my jaw, forcing it open, and shoved the fork into my mouth.

The texture, the taste... it was Sunny.

My body convulsed. I wretched, vomiting onto the pristine white sheets, the bile and the horror spilling out of me.

Ethan watched, his expression one of detached disgust. He dropped the fork on the floor with a clatter.

"Pathetic," he sneered. He wiped his fingers on a napkin. "Don' t ever go near Scarlett again. Don' t even look at her. If you cause her any more trouble, what happened to your dog will seem like a mercy."

He turned to leave, but stopped at the door.

"Oh, one more thing."

He tossed a folder onto the bed. It slid open, revealing a stack of papers.

"Scarlett' s heart condition is getting worse. The doctors say she needs a kidney transplant. Since you' re so eager to make amends, you' ll be the donor." He gave me a chilling smile. "Sign the papers. The surgery is scheduled for next week."