A Divorce She Regrets

CHAPTER 8

Ethan stood outside the apartment building, his phone pressed to his ear.

"I need a pickup," he said quietly. "Now."

On the other end of the line, Claire Sterling's voice was sharp and immediate. "Location?"

Ethan gave her the address. The one David had choked out through blood and broken teeth. The Sapphire Club.

"Understood," Claire said. "I will have transport there in three minutes."

"Three minutes?" Ethan repeated.

"Yes, Master Cross. Three minutes."

The call ended.

Ethan slipped the phone back into his pocket. He looked down at the portrait in his hands. His parents' faces stared back at him through the cracked glass. He had already placed it carefully in the back seat of one of the cars. Safe and protected.

Now there was only one thing left to do.

Find Lily.

Bring her home.

Behind him, Claire approached. "Master Cross, the helicopter is already in the air. It will arrive shortly."

Ethan nodded but said nothing. His jaw was tight. His hands were clenched at his sides.

Somewhere in this city, his sister was suffering. And every second he stood here was another second she spent in pain.

The sound came exactly three minutes later.

A deep, rhythmic thumping that grew louder and louder. The air around them began to vibrate. Dust lifted off the street.

A black helicopter descended from the sky, its rotors slicing through the air with deafening force. It landed in the middle of the narrow street, its side door sliding open immediately.

Ethan climbed inside without hesitation. Claire followed.

The door closed. The helicopter lifted off.

And Ethan's expression grew colder with every passing second.

---

Inside the VIP hall of the Sapphire Club, the air was thick with smoke and laughter.

Dim red lights cast long shadows across the room. Expensive liquor flowed freely. Men in tailored suits lounged on velvet sofas, their voices loud and slurred. Women in glittering dresses hung on their arms, giggling at jokes that were not funny.

But the center of attention was not the drinks or the women.

It was the cage.

It sat in the middle of the hall, a crude iron structure barely large enough for a person to stand upright. The bars were thick and rusted. The floor was stained dark with old blood.

And inside the cage was a girl.

She was small. Fragile. Her long brown hair hung in tangled strands around her pale face. Her white dress was torn and filthy, stained with dirt and blood. Her bare feet were covered in cuts and bruises.

A thin iron shackle wrapped around her left ankle, chaining her to the floor of the cage.

Her eyes were open, but they saw nothing.

She was blind.

Lily Cross sat curled in the corner of the cage, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her body trembled. Not from cold but from fear.

Her fingers clutched something tightly against her chest. A small leather pendant, worn and faded. The metal edges had darkened over time. Inside it was a photograph. The only photograph she had left of her and her brother.

Ethan had given it to her on her birthday. Three years ago. The day before he went to prison.

"Keep this safe," he had told her, fastening the chain around her neck. "So you never forget that I am coming back."

She had not taken it off since.

Now, it was the only thing keeping her from falling apart completely.

Outside the cage, Vivian Hart stood with her arms crossed, leaning comfortably against Marcus Ashford. She wore a sleek black dress and diamond earrings. Her makeup was perfect. Her smile was cold.

She looked at Lily the way someone might look at a stray dog.

With disgust.

"This blind thing," Vivian said lazily, her voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "After all these years, she is finally useful for once."

Marcus chuckled and kissed her temple. "I told you she would come in handy."

Their gazes shifted toward the man standing a few feet away.

Richard Langley.

He was a high-ranking executive of Sterling Global Corporation. A man with power, influence, and connections that reached into every corner of the business world.

He was also a man with very specific tastes.

Richard's eyes swept over Lily's injured body. Her bleeding feet. Her torn dress. Her empty, sightless eyes.

A slow, twisted smile spread across his face.

"She is more interesting than the ones who throw themselves at me," he said quietly.

Vivian's smile widened. She turned to Marcus, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "I told you this would work. You were brilliant to think of bringing her here."

Marcus straightened, pride swelling in his chest. "I know what men like Richard want. Something different. Something helpless."

Richard stepped closer to the cage, his eyes never leaving Lily. "She is obedient?"

"Completely," Vivian said quickly. "She cannot see. She cannot fight. And she is too afraid to scream." She paused, then added with a sweet, flattering tone, "Of course, we would need your help in return. A small favor. Just a word to the chairman about our partnership proposal."

Richard chuckled. "A word? My dear, with my position in the company, I only need to speak once. Your application will land directly on the chairman's desk."

Vivian's eyes gleamed. Marcus squeezed her hand.

Around them, the other guests murmured with envy.

"A partnership with Sterling Global," one man whispered. "Do you know what that is worth?"

"They are so lucky," another woman said. "To have Richard Langley's favor like that."

Someone else leaned closer to their companion. "Did you hear? Sterling Global is inaugurating a new chairman today."

"Really?" the companion replied. "Who is it?"

"No one knows. But apparently, Claire Sterling herself went to pick him up. In person."

"Claire Sterling? The CEO?"

"Yes. Someone said they saw her outside a prison earlier today. With dozens of cars. Bodyguards everywhere."

"A prison?" The companion laughed. "Why would a chairman be coming out of a prison?"

"I have no idea. But it must be someone important."

Vivian, who had been half-listening to the conversation, suddenly froze.

A prison.

That morning, she had been at Northgate Federal Prison. Divorcing Ethan.

If she had stayed longer… if she had not wasted time on that worthless man… maybe she could have seen the new chairman herself.

Maybe she could have caught his attention.

Her jaw tightened. Her fingers curled into fists.

What a waste.

Her anger flared. She turned sharply toward the cage and kicked it hard.

CLANG.

The iron bars shook violently. Lily, who had been sitting still, lost her balance. She fell forward—

—straight onto the iron spikes lining the bottom of the cage.

A sickening tearing sound filled the air.

Lily screamed.

A deep gash opened on her arm, blood pouring out immediately. Her entire body convulsed in agony. She tried to pull herself up, but her hands slipped on the blood-slick floor.

Instinctively, she clutched the pendant around her neck even tighter.

Blood from her palm dripped down the chain.

Vivian saw it. Her eyes locked onto the pendant.

She reached through the bars, grabbed the chain, and yanked.

Hard.

The metal links dug into Lily's throat. She choked, gasping for air, her hands clawing uselessly at the chain.

SNAP.

The chain broke.

Vivian pulled the pendant free and held it up, examining it with disgust.

"Trash from a convict," she sneered. "And you treat it like treasure?"

She dropped it onto the floor.

Then she raised her heel.And stamped down.

Hard.The pendant cracked. The glass inside shattered. The photograph tore.

Lily's sightless eyes went wide. Her hands reached out frantically, desperately searching for it.

"No," she whispered. "Please… please…"

Vivian slapped her.

The force was so great that Lily's head snapped to the side. She slammed into the cage bars. Blood streamed from her forehead.

Vivian grabbed her chin and forced her head up.

"You should be grateful," Vivian hissed. "Grateful that I did not let you starve to death all these years. Now Mr. Langley has taken an interest in you. So you are going to behave. You are going to be useful."

She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper.

"And if you dare resist… I will have someone cut your tendons. Then I will throw you into the red-light district and let every man in this city use you until there is nothing left."

Lily's entire body trembled.

By now, more guests had gathered around the cage. Some whistled obscenely. Others laughed. A few threw cigarette butts and fruit pits through the bars, hitting Lily's face and body.

Marcus stepped forward, a leather whip in his hand. He prodded Lily's bleeding wound with the tip.

She cried out in pain.

"Crawl out of the cage," Marcus ordered. "By yourself."

Lily shook her head weakly. "Please… please, I cannot…"

Richard's voice cut through the noise, cold and sharp.

"If you do not obey immediately," he said quietly, "I will make sure your prisoner brother does not survive tomorrow."

Lily's breath caught.

Her brother Ethan.

Despair crashed over her like a wave. She could endure anything for herself. She had endured everything already.

But she could not let her brother die because of her.

Physical agony and psychological despair shattered her will completely.

She knew she could not escape.

So she gritted her teeth. Endured the excruciating pain wracking her body.

And slowly bent her knees.

Her hands touched the blood-stained floor.

Just as her knees were about to follow

BOOM!

The heavy wooden doors of the hall exploded inward.

Fragments of wood flew everywhere. Guests screamed. Some dove for cover.

A voice rang through the entire hall.

Cold. Sharp and lethal.

"Stop.”