Cassidy lay at the bottom of the marble staircase, a crumpled heap of glittering fabric and feigned agony. Her hands clutched her stomach, her screams echoing through the grand hall, drawing the horrified gazes of every guest. Blood, dramatically smeared on her pristine white gown, seemed to bloom around her. It was a masterpiece of manipulation, perfectly executed.

"My baby!" she wailed, her voice thick with anguish, yet still carrying enough force to be heard above the rising panic. "She pushed me! Brynn pushed me! My baby is gone!"

A wave of icy calm washed over me. I stood at the top of the stairs, my chest heaving, the adrenaline still coursing through my veins, but my fury had given way to a chilling clarity. I saw the fear in the eyes of the guests, the accusing fingers already pointing. They believed her. They always would.

Dayton, a blur of motion, sprinted across the hall, his face a mask of terror. He knelt beside Cassidy, his hands trembling as he gently cradled her. "Cassidy! My love! Are you alright? The baby?" His voice was laced with frantic concern, a stark contrast to the cold indifference he had shown me.

Cassidy sobbed into his chest. "She pushed me, Dayton! She' s always been so jealous! She hates our happiness! She killed our baby!" Her words, perfectly timed, landed like hammer blows, sealing my fate.

Dayton looked up, his eyes blazing with a dangerous fury I knew all too well. "You psychotic bitch!" he snarled, his gaze piercing me. "You will pay for this. You will pay for harming my child!"

His threat hung in the air, cold and definitive. I knew what was coming. I had seen it before. The elaborate performance, the public humiliation, the orchestrated downfall. But this time, it was different. This time, there was no innocent "amnesiac" Dayton, no deluded Brynn clinging to false hope. This was pure, unadulterated malice.

He stood, his height towering over me, his presence menacing. "Guards! Get her out of here! And make sure she understands the consequences of her actions." The last words were aimed at me, a promise of pain.

The guards rushed forward, seizing me roughly. My body, already battered and bruised, protested with every movement. But I offered no resistance. I was beyond fighting them. My gaze was fixed on Dayton, on his face contorted with rage, on his hands still hovering protectively over Cassidy, who was now being gently helped to her feet.

I was dragged out of the gala, the sound of Cassidy's sobbing echoing behind me. Thrown into a waiting black SUV, I braced myself for what was to come. I knew his anger. I knew his methods. And I knew he would make me suffer.

The SUV sped through the night, but we never reached the Reed estate. Instead, we pulled into a secluded industrial park, surrounded by towering, abandoned warehouses. The air was thick with the smell of decay and damp earth. This wasn't just punishment; this was a message.

Dayton emerged from a sleek black sedan, his face grim, followed by two hulking bodyguards. He walked towards me, his steps deliberate, menacing. "You took my child, Brynn," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Now, you will understand what it means to lose everything."

He gestured to the bodyguards. They hauled me out of the SUV, slamming me against its cold metal side. Then, the horror began. He got into the driver's seat, his eyes fixed on me, a chillingly calm expression on his face. He revved the engine.

"This is for our baby," he snarled, and then the SUV lurched forward, slamming into my legs. A searing, white-hot pain shot through me, so intense I could only gasp. My bones screamed. He backed up, then drove forward again, a slow, deliberate torture. The tires grazed my body, each movement a fresh wave of agony. My vision blurred, tears streaming down my face, but I refused to cry out.

"This is for Cassidy's pain," he ground out, as the vehicle shifted, this time crushing my arm against the cold ground. I heard a sickening snap, felt a bone shift. My arm hung unnaturally.

"This is for every lie, every manipulation, every moment you tried to steal my life!" The SUV lurched again, the back wheels rolling over my already injured leg. My body spasmed, a primal scream caught in my throat.

I lay there, broken and bleeding, my body a mangled mess. He got out of the car, his face still etched with cold fury. He stood over me, his shadow falling across my broken form. "You thought you could destroy me, Brynn? You thought you could take everything from me? Now you know what it feels like." He bent down, his voice a venomous whisper. "You are worthless. A mistake. And you will die alone, just like your greedy parents."

A ragged breath tore through my lungs. My parents. His words were a final, brutal blow, stripping away any last shred of dignity. But in that moment, something shifted. The pain, the betrayal, the loss-it coalesced into a single, burning ember of hatred. "You think this is over, Dayton Reed?" I croaked, my voice raw and broken. "You think you've won? You haven't. You've only just begun to pay. I will curse your name. I will curse your miserable life. And you will never know peace."

He scoffed, a sneer twisting his lips. "Empty threats from a broken woman. You're nothing. Just a memory I'll happily forget." He turned and walked away, leaving me bleeding and broken on the cold concrete.

It took every ounce of my remaining strength to drag myself from that desolate place. I left a trail of blood, a testament to his cruelty. I crawled, limped, and stumbled my way back to my small, empty apartment. The door was unlocked. A final indignity, a sign of their utter disregard.

I collapsed onto the floor, my body screaming in protest. My vision swam. But through the haze of pain, a single, burning thought emerged: I needed to leave. Not just this apartment, not just this city, but this entire life. I needed to disappear, to heal, and then, I needed to make him pay. This wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

I reached for my phone, my fingers fumbling. My contact list. My brother, Kelvin. He was staying with a family friend while I dealt with... everything. I needed to get him out. Now.

Before I could dial, the apartment door burst open. It wasn't Dayton. It was one of his heavily built guards, his face impassive. "Ms. Miles," he said, his voice flat. "Mr. Reed has some further instructions for you."

He stepped aside, revealing Cassidy, a triumphant smile on her face. She held up her phone. On the screen, a chilling video played. It was Kelvin. My little brother, blindfolded, his hands bound, struggling against ropes in a dimly lit room. He looked terrified. My blood ran cold. "Kelvin!" I screamed, my voice raw with terror.

"Oh, he's quite the little fighter, isn't he?" Cassidy purred, her eyes gleaming with sadistic delight. "Such spirit. It would be a shame if something... unfortunate were to happen to him."

"You monster!" I shrieked, struggling to move, to reach her, but my body refused to obey. "What have you done to him?"

She laughed, a cold, brittle sound. "He's a little... inconvenient, Brynn. Always asking questions, always trying to help you. So, we decided to give him a little 'experiment'." She tapped her phone, and a new clip started playing. Kelvin was strapped to a chair, wires attached to his temples. A strange, menacing device hummed beside him. Then, a jolt. His body arched, his eyes wide with silent agony. An electric shock.

My heart stopped. "Stop it! Please, stop it!" I begged, tears streaming down my face. "Don't hurt him! He's just a child!"

"He's a liability, Brynn," she said, her voice devoid of remorse. "Just like your parents. And you. But unlike them, he's still alive. For now." She paused, letting the threat sink in. "Unless, of course, you cooperate."

"What do you want?" I choked out, desperation clawing at my throat.

"I want you to sign those divorce papers," she said, her voice sweet as poison. "And then, you'll do exactly as you're told. Or your dear little brother will suffer the consequences." She showed me another image, a syringe filled with a cloudy liquid. "My family's latest experimental drug. Highly... effective. On the brain."

I looked at Kelvin's terrified face on the screen, then at Cassidy, her eyes gleaming with malicious intent. My broken body, my shattered heart, none of it mattered now. Only Kelvin. "I'll do it," I whispered, the words tasting like ash. "Anything. Just don't hurt him."

She smiled, a truly evil smile. "Good girl. Now, let's go. Your brother is waiting."

They dragged me to a hidden underground lab within the Reed estate, a place I never knew existed. The air was sterile, cold, and reeked of chemicals. Kelvin was there, strapped to a medical bed, his eyes wide and unfocused, his body twitching involuntarily. Bright lights shone on his face, making him squint. He was paler than I had ever seen him, a thin IV drip in his arm.

"Kelvin!" I cried, trying to break free, but the guards held me firm.

Cassidy stepped forward, a triumphant smirk on her face. "He's been quite cooperative," she informed me, her voice sickeningly cheerful. "A perfect subject for our new neural re-patterning therapy. Or, as we call it, the 'empty slate' project."

My gaze fell on a syringe next to Kelvin's bed, filled with a viscous, dark liquid. My stomach churned. This wasn't therapy. This was torture. This was brainwashing.

"What do you want from me?" I demanded, my voice trembling with a mixture of fear and rage.

"Simple," she said, picking up a large, official-looking document. "My mother, your dear Henrietta, is very ill. She needs a bone marrow transplant. And you, Brynn, are a perfect match." She gestured to the document. "Sign here, and you save her life."

"No," I spat, my voice filled with disgust. "I am not giving my bone marrow to that woman. Not after everything she's done."

Cassidy's smile vanished. She picked up a small, remote control. "Such a pity," she sighed, and then pressed a button. A loud zap echoed in the room, and Kelvin's body arched violently, his eyes rolling back in his head. A choked cry escaped his lips.

"Stop it! Stop it, you monster!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face. "I'll sign! I'll do it! Just don't hurt him anymore!"

"Wise choice," she purred, the remote still in her hand. She placed the document and a pen in my trembling hand. "A small price to pay, wouldn't you agree?"

I signed, my hand shaking so violently the signature was barely legible. Each stroke was a fresh stab of pain, a surrender of my body, my autonomy.

"Excellent," Cassidy said, her smile returning. She picked up the syringe with the dark liquid. "And as a bonus, your brother has been enjoying our new experimental drug. It makes him so... pliable. We call it 'Euphoria'. It removes all the pesky, inconvenient memories. His mind will be an empty canvas. Perfect for rehabilitation."

I looked at Kelvin. His eyes, once bright and full of life, were now vacant, unfocused, a chillingly blank stare. He giggled, a hollow, unnatural sound. My heart shattered into a million pieces. They hadn't just hurt him; they had stolen his mind. My brilliant, loving Kelvin. Reduced to this.

This wasn't just betrayal. This was the complete annihilation of my world, of my family, of everything I held dear. There was no more love, no more hope, only a burning wasteland within me. But the fire was not one of despair. It was a fire of cold, calculating vengeance.

Chapter 5

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