Chapter 13

In an instant, every single thing Jayden had done for Clara came rushing back to him. He remembered how, time and time again, he'd taken things that mattered deeply to Natalie and handed them over to Clara—thinking it was for the best. From the scholarship Natalie had earned in high school to the university recommendation she'd worked so hard for, and even that international dance competition that could've launched her career—he'd given it all to Clara. Jayden raised his hand and slapped himself across the face over and over again. What the hell had he done? How could he betray his own sister—his only family left in this world—for a woman as cruel and vile as Clara? He'd dragged Natalie into hell with his own two hands. Fury ignited inside him like wildfire. Jayden stormed out of the room and ran into Clara, who was on the phone, right around the corner. "Clara Johnson, I'm going to kill you!" Clara was startled by his thunderous roar, and her heart raced. Even though the phone call was still ongoing, she couldn't hear a thing anymore. All of a sudden, the air around her turned ice-cold, like the atmosphere had been vacuumed out of the room, and a chill spread through her limbs. Slowly, she turned around and saw Jayden and Logan's hardened expressions. Cold sweat trickled down her back. At that moment, she knew it was over. Everything was over. When she was dragged down to the Carter residence's basement, Clara finally saw the man in front of her for who he truly was. He was merciless, brutal, and cold. Clara knelt on the ground, sobbing, begging for mercy. She slammed her forehead against the ground, attempting to plead for forgiveness, but Jayden's eyes were like glaciers. As he pressed the red-hot iron against her skin, he didn't even bat an eye. When the smell of burning flesh filled the room, there was no trace of sympathy in his eyes—only disgust. Logan, on the other hand, thought the punishment wasn't harsh enough. Realization dawned on Clara. She'd never truly stolen Jayden or Logan away from Natalie. All this time, she'd been clinging to an illusion—one she'd built on manipulation and deceit, a world where she'd convinced herself that their love was real. But now that the truth was out, everything she'd stolen was slipping right back to its rightful place. She'd never truly gotten into Jayden and Logan's hearts. She was never on their level. In reality, they'd only acted the way they had out of pity for her; they'd never truly loved or cared for her. Watching the two of them spiral into madness over Natalie's death, Clara finally understood how foolish she'd been. The past ten years had been nothing but a joke. With nothing left to lose, she confessed everything with a twisted smile, as if she'd accepted the final punchline. She figured, in a way, she hadn't really lost; at least she'd stolen ten years of happiness through lies. Even if she died now, she thought, it wouldn't be in vain. After all, Natalie was already dead. However, Jayden and Logan weren't about to let Clara off that easily. Death would've been an easy way out. They wanted her alive. They wanted her to live and atone for what she'd done to Natalie. First, they had their bodyguards hold Clara down, forcing her to kneel in front of Natalie's memorial and banging her forehead against the ground as she whispered tearful apologies. Then, they made her relive every twisted, humiliating thing she'd ever inflicted on Natalie. In the end, they arranged for Clara to be dragged into a back alley, just like what she'd once arranged for Natalie. The night mirrored the past—the thugs, the blood-curdling screams, the dark alley—but now, Clara was the one at the center of it all. Cameras flashed as reporters captured her vulnerability, while her fans hurled angry insults, their words like daggers. At last, Clara had become the very image of what she'd once done to Natalie. She was left crippled—both legs broken, her left ear permanently deaf, and condemned to live with a catheter for the rest of her life. That was when Clara completely lost her mind. She finally understood that being alive was far more unbearable than death itself. She considered ending it all, but Jayden and Logan's men were constantly keeping an eye on her, ensuring she couldn't find anything to take her life. Her room had been stripped bare, with nothing in it. They even had a doctor inject her with sedatives that robbed her of all strength, so now, aside from being alive, she felt no different from a corpse.