Capítulo 3
You said you wanted to die with me. I'll make sure it happens.

A week later, I received a call from Marco.

“Elara, Cassandra’s at Silverwood Estate.”

Caleb not only hid her in our old secret hideaway.

He even allocated the company's top technical personnel to her.

He lied to me.

In twenty years, he lied to me for the first time, all for a woman who publicly shamed me.

The sharp tinnitus screamed in my right ear again.

The throbbing in my temple made me restless.

I drove straight into the estate. Inside, I found Caleb, holding Cassandra’s right hand, meticulously teaching her how to operate our core business model code.

Cassandra saw me.

She deliberately leaned her head on Caleb’s shoulder.

Caleb didn't object, a smile touching his lips, overly tender.

I turned my head, covering my right ear.

Soul-shredding tinnitus swept over me.

My gaze slowly locked onto a heavy metal flask.

Amidst the buzzing in my brain, my eyes gradually lost all emotion.

I lifted the heavy flask and hurled it violently at them.

Caleb reacted incredibly fast. Hearing the shattering glass as the metal flask collided, he immediately shielded Cassandra.

*Thud!*

The metal flask hit his shoulder blade with a sickening crunch.

He staggered forward uncontrollably, a large step.

But he still fiercely protected the terrified Cassandra.

“Elara Hayes, do you have to escalate this to a war to the death?!”

My vision was still blurred, my mind screaming incessantly.

A war to the death?

From the moment she displayed my dignity for public consumption, all that was left between us was a war to the death.

“Caleb Vance, sign the termination agreement. We’ll compete fairly, a war to the death.”

Hearing my words, the anger in Caleb’s eyes gradually turned to weariness.

“Elara, I told you, unless it's a matter of life or death, nothing can separate us.”

“You're too agitated. I won't let you have blood on your hands. I'll personally supervise Cassandra. The rest of you, keep an eye on Elara.”

He finished speaking, then helped the shaken Cassandra walk past me.

As they reached the door, Cassandra, nestled in his arms, gave me a triumphant smile.

“Elara, let’s go.”

My crew came to support me.

They all knew that ever since my trauma, the calmer I appeared, the more shattered my state.

But Caleb forgot.

His retreating back, as he protected Cassandra, was like a rusty knife twisting in my gut, leaving behind jagged, poisoned scars.

Three days passed.

I received no word from Caleb.

The tinnitus, triggered by old wounds, tormented my nerves like a frantic, screaming bird.

I sat by the floor-to-ceiling window night after night, watching the city outside that belonged to "us," until dawn.

On the third day, just before sunrise.

Caleb sent me a message.

It was a photo.

Caleb was spoon-feeding Cassandra porridge.

His eyes were downcast, the lines of his profile taut, his expression unreadable.

But companionship itself was a cruel display.

I suddenly forgot how to breathe, instinctively wanting to throw my phone.

A second message immediately popped up.

The audio played automatically. Cassandra’s tearful voice blended with my ear ringing.

“Caleb, I’m so scared. Is she really going to kill me? Will you… will you abandon me?”

After a brief silence, Caleb’s voice was clear.

“No, you're different from her.”

“You’re… clean.”

Clean?

My headache grew increasingly severe.

Years ago, to buy him time to escape, I was dragged into a moldy warehouse by those degenerates.

When I emerged, I was covered in blood, my clothes ripped to shreds, like a discarded rag doll.

The fragmented memories of those men, their terrified eyes, were like red-hot nails hammered deep into my brain.

Back then, Caleb held me, sobbing until he lost his voice, repeating in my ear again and again:

“Elara, don’t be afraid.”

“Elara, they’re the dirty ones. To me, you’ll always be the cleanest girl in the world.”

But now he finally said it.

Cassandra was his "clean" one.

And I was the filthy, tarnished contrast.

I rushed into the bathroom, dry-heaving uncontrollably.

Those men I'd torn apart years ago appeared before me one by one, mocking me relentlessly.

My phone chimed again.

I instinctively snatched it, only to see the most desperate memory of my life.

The video showed my past assault, unedited.

Every movement, every sound of despair, was terrifyingly clear.

But it was mixed with Cassandra’s triumphant laughter:

“Elara, Caleb says every time he sees this video of you, it reminds him how much you sacrificed for him, and then he wants to… compensate me even more.”

“After all, I’m like the clean, untouched you from back then. It’s just a shame you can never be clean again.”

“He also said watching how you were manipulated back then, and then teaching me new positions hands-on, is the most exciting.”

“Sister, your sacrifice was truly magnificent. Caleb and I will be forever grateful.”

I smashed my phone.

The world instantly fell silent.

My consciousness began to blur, but my mind was clearer than ever before.

I retrieved the old burner phone hidden in a secret compartment.

“Marco, get some guys to wipe all the surveillance footage from the private clinic. Physically wipe it.”

“And find me a few men. The scum of the earth. The most depraved creatures you can find.”