Chapter 9

Cade POV:

The villa, once a beacon of my ambition and meticulously curated luxury, was now a desolate husk. Dust motes danced in the slivers of sunlight that pierced the drawn curtains, illuminating the empty bottles scattered across the marble floor. Days had bled into weeks since Blaire vanished, since that damn phantom rescued her.

I sat slumped on the plush sofa, my clothes rumpled, my hair disheveled. In my hand, a worn photograph of Blaire, taken years ago, before the bitterness, before the betrayal. She was laughing, her face radiant, paint smudged on her cheek. My thumb traced the contour of her smile, a ghost of a touch. "Blaire," I whispered, the name a raw, guttural sound, filled with a torment that clawed at my insides. "My Blaire."

The sheer silence of the house was deafening, punctuated only by my own ragged breaths and the occasional clink of a bottle hitting the floor. I closed my eyes, a wave of self-loathing washing over me. I had done this. My ambition, my blindness, my cruel choices. All of it had led to this desolate emptiness.

A fresh wave of rage, hot and irrational, surged through me. I hurled the photograph across the room, the frame shattering against the wall. The sound of splintering glass was a mirror to my own fragmented mind. "Why, Blaire? Why did you leave me?" I screamed into the void, the question echoing, unanswered.

The door creaked open. Alessandra, ever the persistent shadow, entered, a silver tray with a steaming bowl of soup in her hands. She wore a silk dressing gown, her hair perfectly coiffed, a stark contrast to my own disarray. "Darling," she purred, her voice solicitous. "You haven't eaten all day. You need to rest, my love. Let me take care of you."

I glared at her, my eyes burning with a sudden, fierce hatred. "Get out, Alessandra," I growled, my voice hoarse. "Get out of my sight. I don't want your food. I don't want your pity."

Her smile faltered, but she held her ground. "Cade, please. Don't be like this. She' s gone. She was never worth your devotion. She was a leech! A parasite! She only cared about your money, not you!" She stepped closer, her hand reaching for my arm, her touch repulsive. "I'm here for you, Cade. I always have been. Unlike her, I truly love you. I understand you."

"Love?" I scoffed, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. I pushed her hand away, violently. "You call this love, Alessandra? You, who reveled in her pain? You, who constantly whispered venom in my ear? You are a conniving, manipulative witch! You drove her away!"

Her eyes widened, a flicker of genuine shock on her face. "Cade, what are you talking about? I only ever tried to protect you! She was the one who was evil! She was the one who was trying to destroy us!"

"Destroy us?" I roared, rising to my feet, my chest heaving. "You destroyed us, Alessandra! You and your sick games! You think I didn't see it? You think I didn't know?" I lunged forward, grabbing her arm, my grip bruising. "I saw the videos, Alessandra. The ones from the hidden cameras I installed after the 'accident' at the park. The ones you didn't know about. I saw you push her. I saw you tamper with her art supplies. I saw you, you vile creature, reveling in her fear!"

Her face drained of color. Her eyes darted frantically, searching for an escape. "No! Cade, you don't understand! She provoked me! She was trying to turn you against me!"

"Liar!" I spat, throwing her arm away. "You are a pathological liar, Alessandra! You've been poisoning my life for years! You drove a wedge between me and the only woman who ever truly loved me! You made me a monster!" I pointed a trembling finger at her. "Get out of my house. Get out of my life. And if I ever see your face again, I swear to God, I will ruin you. I will strip you of everything you hold dear. You will regret the day you ever crossed Blaire Madden!"

Alessandra stumbled back, her face contorted in a mask of fear and disbelief. "You... you can't do this to me, Cade! My family... the Guerras..."

"Your family can't save you from me now," I snarled, my voice cold and hard. "You are nothing, Alessandra. Nothing but a venomous viper. And I will make sure everyone knows it."

She looked at me, a flicker of genuine hatred burning in her eyes. "She's not worth it, Cade! She's a nobody! A pathetic, clinging artist! She doesn't deserve you!"

I laughed, a harsh, humorless sound. "You're right," I said, my voice thick with self-contempt. "She didn't deserve me. She deserved so much more. And I, you, we destroyed it all." My gaze drifted to the shattered photo of Blaire on the floor. "Get out," I repeated, my voice now a low, dangerous whisper. "Before I do something I truly regret."

Alessandra whimpered, then turned and ran, her footsteps echoing in the cavernous silence of the villa. I watched her go, a hollow victory in my chest. It felt like I had ripped a cancerous tumor from my life, but the wound it left behind was gaping and raw.

I sank back onto the sofa, the photograph of Blaire clutched in my trembling hand. "Blaire," I whispered, my voice thick with unshed tears. "My love. What have I done? I killed our baby. I destroyed everything. I'm so sorry. Please, come back to me. Please, forgive me."

A chilling wind whistled through the broken window, rattling the glass. The night was cold, vast, and utterly empty. Just like my heart. I closed my eyes, the image of Blaire's tear-streaked face, her eyes filled with hatred, burning behind my eyelids. She was gone. And I deserved every agonizing moment of this torment. But I would find her. I would make amends. I had to.