Chapter 2

Brynn Miles POV:

The bitter taste of his betrayal clung to my tongue, a poison I couldn't spit out. I walked away from the Reed estate, the grand, opulent gates now feeling like the bars of a gilded cage I had narrowly escaped. The city lights blurred through my unshed tears, each one a testament to the five years I had wasted on a lie. I was alone, truly alone, and the emptiness inside me echoed the silence of the deserted streets.

Suddenly, a high-pitched yelp, sharp with pain, sliced through the quiet night. My blood ran cold. It was a sound I knew, a sound I dreaded. My rescue dog, Shadow. He had been my only constant, my loyal companion through the long, lonely years of my torment. The sound came from the direction of the Reed manor, specifically, near the kennels.

Fear, cold and sharp, pierced through my numbness. I didn't think, I just ran. My feet pounded against the pavement, every muscle screaming in protest, but I pushed harder. Shadow. My Shadow. Please, let him be okay. Please.

I vaulted the low fence, ignoring the "No Trespassing" signs that once felt like a personal affront. My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic drumbeat of terror. The kennels were in chaos. Shadow was thrashing, pinned to the ground by something heavy. I saw red.

I threw myself at the silhouette, a guttural cry tearing from my throat. It was Cassidy, her face a mask of sadistic delight, a heavy metal pipe in her hand. She swung it at Shadow again, a sickening thud echoing in the night. "Stop it!" I screamed, lunging forward. The pipe connected with my arm, a blinding flash of pain, but I barely registered it. All I saw was Shadow, my sweet, gentle Shadow, whimpering in agony.

Cassidy laughed, a brittle, chilling sound. "He dared to bark at me," she sneered, her eyes gleaming with malice. "He deserved it." She raised the pipe again, aiming for his head. "No!" I shrieked, shielding Shadow with my own body. The pipe slammed into my back, a searing pain that made me gasp, but I held on, my arms wrapped protectively around my dog.

"Dayton!" I cried out, my voice hoarse, desperate. "Dayton, please! It's Shadow! Our Shadow! Remember how we rescued him from the shelter? He was so scared, and you held him all night until he felt safe!" I invoked our shared past, clutching at any thread that might still exist between us. I needed him to remember, to stop this monster.

Dayton appeared, his face illuminated by the distant mansion lights. He looked confused, then annoyed. "What is all this commotion?" he demanded, his gaze sweeping over the scene. His eyes landed on me, then on Cassidy, then on Shadow, who lay whimpering beneath me. "Brynn? What are you doing here?" He sounded utterly devoid of recognition, of care, of anything that tied him to the memories I was screaming.

"It's Shadow, Dayton! Cassidy is hurting him!" I pleaded, gesturing wildly at the pipe, at Shadow's bleeding form, at Cassidy's malevolent grin. "Please, stop her! She's going to kill him!"

Dayton frowned, his gaze flicking to Cassidy. "Is this true, Cassidy?" he asked, his tone still mild, almost bored.

Cassidy pouted, feigning innocence perfectly. "Oh, Dayton, darling, this stray dog attacked me! I was only defending myself!" She looked at me with a theatrical shudder. "And then she attacked me too! She's completely unhinged!"

"She's lying!" I choked out, a fresh wave of despair washing over me. "Shadow would never! He's gentle! You know that!" I tried to push myself up, to show him the pipe, the blood, the undeniable truth.

But Dayton stepped forward, not to help, but to confront me. He didn't even look at Shadow. His eyes, once full of a love I now knew was fake, were cold and distant. He kicked Shadow, a brutal, casual movement that sent a shockwave of pain through my already broken heart. "This dog is a nuisance," he declared, his voice chillingly calm. "Get rid of it. And get her out of here."

My breath hitched. "Dayton... no! He's our dog! You loved him!" I tried to reason, to cling to the fragments of a shared past that he had so easily discarded.

He scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about. I've never seen this mangy animal before. And as for you, Brynn, your delusion is getting tiresome." He looked at Cassidy, a possessive gleam in his eyes. "Cassidy is carrying my child. I won't have you or any stray threatening her or our baby."

Then, with a sickening crunch, he stomped on Shadow's head. Time stopped. My scream was ripped from my throat, raw and primal. "No! Dayton, no!" But it was too late. Shadow's body went limp. His eyes, glazed and lifeless, stared up at nothing. My beloved Shadow. Dead. Murdered. By the man I loved.

I crumbled, my world collapsing around me. "He was innocent," I sobbed, clutching Shadow's lifeless body, my tears mingling with his blood. "He was innocent."

"Don't worry, darling," Cassidy purred, wrapping her arms around Dayton. "I'll have him disposed of properly. Perhaps we can even have him... stuffed. A trophy, really, to remind us of your unwavering protection." Her words were a twisted mockery, a final, grotesque insult.

Dayton nodded, completely unmoved by my anguish. "Do whatever you deem fit, Cassidy." Then he turned to me, his gaze cold as ice. "And you. You're confined to your room. Until I decide what to do with you." His voice left no room for argument.

My body was seized by two burly guards. They dragged me away, my screams dying in my throat, my eyes fixed on Shadow's still form. The world blurred, a kaleidoscope of pain and betrayal. I was thrown into a small, windowless room in the servants' quarters, locked away like an animal.

The days that followed were a blur of torment. They fed me scraps, barely enough to survive. Cassidy would visit, her smile chilling, her eyes triumphant. She would describe in exquisite detail how Shadow's body had been handled, how his fur was being treated for a "special display." Each word was a knife twisting in my gut, designed to break me, to destroy me piece by piece. My mind, already battered, reeled from the psychological assault. I hallucinated Shadow, wagging his tail, nudging my hand. Then the images would twist, his eyes vacant, his body broken.

One afternoon, the door creaked open. Cassidy stood there, a sweet, venomous smile on her lips. "Dayton wants to see you," she announced, her voice sickly sweet. "He wants you to see something." My heart thudded with a morbid curiosity. What fresh hell awaited me?

She led me not to the main house, but to an annex I'd never seen. The air was heavy, metallic, and cold. A door swung open, revealing a sparse, brightly lit room. In the center, on a pristine white pedestal, stood Shadow. Not really Shadow. It was him, yes, but stuffed. His eyes were glassy, his posture unnaturally stiff. A grotesque parody of life.

"Isn't he exquisite?" Cassidy gushed, her voice a cruel whisper. "Dayton thought it would be a lovely reminder. Of how fiercely he protects what's his." She stroked the stiff fur, her touch a desecration. "He's decided to call him 'Loyalty'."

My stomach churned. A wave of nausea washed over me, hot and bitter. "You're a monster," I choked out, my voice barely a whisper.

Cassidy' s smile widened, revealing a flash of genuine malice. "Oh, Brynn. You have no idea what monsters truly look like." She then gestured to a small, ornate box on a nearby table. "And for you, a little memento." She opened it. Inside, nestled on velvet, was a silver charm. It was the same charm that had hung from Shadow's collar, the one Dayton had given him. Now, it was polished to a sickening gleam, engraved with the single word: "POSSESSION."

Dayton entered, his eyes devoid of emotion. He looked at the stuffed Shadow, then at the charm, a faint smirk on his lips. "Cassidy has such thoughtful ideas," he commented, as if discussing a piece of art. "Loyalty, Brynn. A virtue you seem to have forgotten."

"He was your dog!" I screamed, the words tearing through my throat. "You gave him that charm! You named him!"

Dayton merely raised an eyebrow. "I have no recollection of such foolishness. Perhaps your memory is failing, Brynn. Or perhaps, you're simply insane."

Cassidy stepped closer to me, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "You know, his remains would make excellent fertilizer for my rose garden. They always say blood makes the roses bloom brighter." She paused, her eyes gleaming. "Or, if you prefer, I could have his bones ground into a fine powder. A custom-made paperweight, perhaps? For your desk. A constant reminder."

A guttural cry escaped me. My vision blurred. I lunged at her, a primal rage consuming me. I didn't care about the consequences, only about silencing her, about making her pay for the sacrilege, the desecration. My hands found her throat, my nails digging in. "You won't touch him!" I shrieked, my world narrowed to her terrified face.

But she was ready. She stumbled backward, a theatrical scream tearing from her throat, her hands flying to her stomach. She hadn't been pregnant long, but the news was fresh in everyone's minds. "My baby! She's trying to kill my baby!" she wailed, collapsing dramatically.

Dayton was there in an instant, his eyes blazing with a fury I had never seen directed at me. He grabbed me, his fingers like steel claws, and slammed me against the wall. The impact knocked the wind out of me, my head hitting the plaster with a sickening thud. "You psychotic bitch!" he roared, his face contorted with rage. "You tried to harm my child!"

He rained blows down on me, his fists connecting with my face, my ribs, my stomach. I curled into a ball, trying to protect myself, but there was nowhere to hide. Each punch was a fresh agony, each word a new betrayal. "You're a monster! A parasite! Get out of my life!"

Through the haze of pain, I saw Cassidy, her hair artfully disheveled, her clothes slightly askew, but otherwise unharmed. She met my gaze, a triumphant, chilling smile on her lips. She had done it. She had framed me. And Dayton, my once-love, was her willing executioner.

He didn't stop until I lay semi-conscious on the cold floor, blood trickling from my nose and a gash on my forehead. He stood over me, panting, his chest heaving. "Get her out of my sight," he commanded, his voice dripping with disgust. "And take that... thing," he gestured to Shadow's stuffed body, "and burn it. I never want to see it again."

My last coherent thought before darkness consumed me was the image of Shadow, his glassy eyes staring into nothingness. He was gone. And so, it seemed, was every last shred of my hope, my love, my will to fight. I had nothing left. Nothing.