Cruel Salvation

The balcony fell into a deathly, terrifying silence. The only sound cutting through the howling winter wind was the heavy, panicked breathing of the elite crowd. Dominic retracted his long leg. He glanced down at Audrey’s frozen, pallid face, a dark grin stretching across his lips. He then shifted his dangerous gaze toward the icy pool, looking down at the man thrashing in the water.

"You mentioned there was nothing to play with, Mr. Croft. Isn't there something entertaining to enjoy now?"

Damian thrashed in the chilling water, gasping for air. The winter pool was cold enough to bite through bone, yet not a single person dared to utter a word of protest. The surrounding guests stood paralyzed with fear, their eyes wide. They all knew Dominic Caldwell was a ruthless man capable of flipping all of Florawood City upside down with a single command. He was an apex predator among them, far above the spoiled heirs who merely coasted on their family wealth.

Damian shivered in the freezing pool, his previous arrogance washing away in the ice. He looked at Audrey shivering in Dominic's firm grip and backed down at once. "Oh, she belongs to you, Mr. Caldwell. I should have known better."

Dominic did not bother to acknowledge the pathetic apology. He picked up a glass of wine from a nearby table, rolling the elegant stem between his fingers with chilling indifference. "According to you, everyone is just looking for a good time. You are free to play however you choose. As an apology for interrupting your fun, I will foot the massive bill for the party tonight. It is your birthday after all, so it is my treat. Enjoy yourselves."

Unconcerned by the stunned, terrified faces around him, Dominic seized Audrey's wrist. He dragged her away from the pool area, his grip feeling like a steel vise against her delicate skin. Only after their figures disappeared beyond the balcony doors did Damian find his voice, screaming at his friends to pull him out of the icy water.

The party resumed in a chaotic flurry as servants rushed to help the freezing young master. Damian could only stare at the empty bottles on the ground that Audrey had been cleaning, his face contorted in gloom.

Dominic hauled Audrey toward the VIP elevator without slowing his pace. The moment the heavy steel doors slid shut and sealed them inside, isolating them from the world, the illusion of rescue shattered. Dominic turned and tossed her away like a piece of worthless trash.

Audrey stumbled hard. Her back slammed against the cold metal wall, and her shoulder flared with a sharp, blinding pain. She slumped, leaning against the smooth panels to keep herself upright. Her breathing was ragged, her chest heaving as she tried to process the sudden shift in danger.

Looming over her, Dominic sneered with pure venom. "If I had not shown up, what exactly did you plan to do? Were you prepared to strip and perform degrading dance moves for those men just to appease them?"

Audrey trembled as she looked up at him. She knew her choice was made before he arrived to interrupt it. She lowered her head and let out a shaky breath, resigning herself to her fate. "If you did not show up, Mr. Caldwell, I would have had to comply with their request."

Dominic frowned, his voice dropping into a harsh sneer that echoed in the confined space. "Perhaps that man was right all along. You really know how to flirt, Audrey. Were you planning to seduce one of those rich young masters into coming to your rescue? Hm?"

Audrey gripped her icy fingers together. The cold from the pool deck lingered on her damp skin, but it was nothing compared to the chill radiating from the man in front of her. Her eyes grew red, but they remained dry as she stared back at him. "Yes. But isn't that exactly the kind of show you want to see? A convicted murderer rejected by her own blood family, shunned by her peers, and trampled by society. Telling me to strip off my clothes is the least of the insults I face. This is how I envision the rest of my days going forward. Who exactly am I supposed to rely on to save me every time I am pushed to the brink?"

Dominic stared at her. Her face was pale, and her eyes held a sheer, bottomless desolation that he had never seen before. A strange, inexplicable prickle tightened his chest. It was not quite pain, but it was deeply unsettling. He frowned, his jaw clenching as he processed her hollow words. "What did you just say?"

Pushed to the limits of her desperation, Audrey bared the agonizing reality of her existence. "Everyone in the world believes I ruined Chloe's life. But the horrific truth is that Chloe was the one who ruined mine. You care so deeply for her, so you have made my existence a living, breathing nightmare to make me pay. Where are my rights? My entire life has been turned upside down because of her. The only reason I endure this torture and do not fight back is out of sheer terror that you would redirect your wrath and destroy my fragile family. If I did not worry about you taking it out on them, I would never want to wake up to the sun rising again. Your world is pure hell to me."

Dominic froze. The dim lights of the elevator cast harsh shadows over Audrey's fragile frame, making her look as though she might vanish into thin air at any moment. The haunting, hollow expression she wore on the snowy day she was released from jail flashed through his mind, striking a nerve he did not know existed. He closed the distance between them in a split second. He grabbed her slim wrists, pinning her against the cold metal wall.

"What would you have done if you had not run into me that specific day?" he growled with unleashed fury.

Audrey remained silent for a tense moment. She struggled against his iron grip, but the sudden movement only aggravated her aching shoulder. Realizing she could not break free from his dominance, she surrendered to the overwhelming despair consuming her soul. She abandoned all her defenses and let her voice break.

"If I had not met you, I would have already committed suicide! Does hearing that finally make you happy?" she screamed at him.

Forced to rip open her darkest, most guarded secret, her remaining physical and emotional energy drained away in an instant. Audrey slumped against the freezing cold metal wall of the elevator. The massive dam broke. The long-suppressed, agonizing tears poured like heavy rain down her pale, battered cheeks.