He knew those roses meant more to me than anything else in this house. They were the only thing my mother had left behind for me.

He used to help me tend to them.

Now Kathy had destroyed them, and Louis was actually taking her side.

Louis seemed to realize he'd gone too far and finally let go of me.

But the very next second, Kathy swayed and collapsed to the ground in slow motion.

Louis saw it happen. His pupils contracted.

He looked at me coldly and left me with a single sentence:

"If anything happens to Kathy or the baby she's carrying, I'll make you pay with your life."

He scooped Kathy into his arms and rushed out.

I listened to his footsteps fade into the distance, numb in body and soul.

Louis, you care so much about Kathy's safety. Have you ever once cared whether your own wife and child lived or died?

Obviously, he didn't. Otherwise, he would have known our baby was already gone.

I dragged myself up and went to the bedroom to retrieve two things.

The first was the prenuptial property agreement Louis had signed the day he was discharged from the hospital. If he ever betrayed me again, I could file for divorce at any time and claim all of our jointly owned assets. The agreement had been notarized. It was legally airtight.

The second was Louis's medical report from this month.

These two things would soon become bullets aimed straight at Louis's heart.

I was genuinely curious whether Kathy would still treat him like a prize catch once she found out.

This house had been transferred into my name after Louis was discharged.

Now I contacted a real estate agent and listed it well below market value.

I booked a flight to Northport for later that day.

Then I started packing my essentials, ready to leave.

What I didn't expect was Louis appearing at the door just as I stepped outside.

He saw the suitcase in my hand, and his face turned dark as a storm.

"You triggered Kathy's depression, and now you're trying to dodge responsibility by going on vacation? How can you be this selfish?"

He actually thought I was going on vacation.

I shot back: "Selfish? I had a miscarriage because of you two. I nearly died on the operating table. Kathy destroyed the roses my mother left me, and I'm not even allowed to hold her accountable?"

"Louis, if we're talking about selfish, the selfish one here is you."

"I donated stem cells for you. I gave up everything to take care of you until you were discharged. And this is how you repay me?"

Louis didn't show an ounce of guilt. Instead, he said with undisguised impatience:

"Miscarriage? Nearly died on the operating table? Do you actually believe your own lies now?"

"And can you stop bringing up that old crap every single day?"

Looking at the raw contempt in his eyes, I suddenly realized how ridiculous I looked arguing with him.

I nodded slowly and said, meaning every word:

"You're right. It's all in the past. Louis, we're done."

Louis laughed. He thought he had me all figured out.

"Done? This is just another one of your tricks to drive a wedge between me and Kathy."

"Your mother's gone. I'm all you have left now. You'd never actually leave me."

A chill spread through my chest.

So that was what he thought. No wonder he'd been so fearless all along.

But he was wrong.

I didn't bother arguing. I stepped around him to leave, but he grabbed my arm and held on tight.

"No. You're not going anywhere."

"Kathy is miserable right now because of you. You're going over there and apologizing to her."

"Once you've cheered her up, I'll personally drive you to the airport."

"And if I don't?" I asked calmly.

Louis was silent for a moment. Then, his voice turned ice-cold:

"If you refuse to go, I'll have your mother's ashes dug up and scattered into the ocean."

I stared at him in disbelief.

His shamelessness shattered every last illusion I'd ever held about him.

I drew a deep breath and finally lowered my head.

"Fine. I'll go."

Louis drove me to a seaside villa. That was when I discovered he'd been keeping Kathy tucked away here behind my back.

Kathy looked at me with smug satisfaction.

"Daphne, you're here to apologize? Do three things for me, and I'll forgive you."

"First, you take explicit photos of yourself and post them online."

"Back when you made things difficult for me and Louis, you stood there with a camera pointed at me. That was the worst nightmare of my life. Now I want you to tell the whole world exactly what you are: trash."

I turned and fixed my eyes on Louis.

Was he really going to make me do what she said?

His expression shifted several times before he finally spoke, his voice low.

"Daphne, you owe her this."

Then he reached over and tore at my clothes himself, snapping a photo that made my skin crawl with humiliation.

Without a second of hesitation, he uploaded it to my social media account.

Within seconds, the comments section turned into a cesspool.

Oh my God, is that Daphne? Has she lost her mind? She's basically selling herself on the street at this point.

For someone like this, I just want to ask—how much for the night?

Wait, isn't Daphne Louis Farley's wife? Posting photos like this online? Louis must have the worst luck in the world, marrying a woman like that.

"Second, you slapped me today. I want you to slap yourself ninety-nine times."

Kathy inspected her freshly painted nails, that self-satisfied look never leaving her face.

I was trembling with rage.

"Why should I? You destroyed my mother's roses—"

Louis's palm cracked across my face, cutting me off mid-sentence.

"Daphne, if you want to leave this place today, if you want your mother's ashes to stay safe in their cemetery plot, you'll do exactly what Kathy says."

I looked at this man. Looked long and hard.

Then I raised my hand and brought it down against my own cheek.

Kathy frowned.

"Too soft."

I bit my lip and swung harder.

One slap. Two. Three.

By the time I'd passed ninety, my face was raw and swollen, blood trickling from the corner of my mouth. A high-pitched ringing screamed through my ears.

Even so, Louis just stood there watching. It never once crossed his mind to spare me a single slap.

"And the third thing?" I stared at Kathy.

Kathy turned to Louis instead.

"Louis, do you think I'm being too harsh? Maybe you should decide the third one."

Louis answered with an indulgent smile.

"No, you're not harsh at all. Daphne brought this on herself."

"Since you put it that way, let's have Daphne cook dinner for us. What do you think, babe?"

The two of them stood there flirting while I turned and walked toward the kitchen.

I'd thought about running, but Louis had stationed two of his buddies outside the door. There was no way out.

In the kitchen, I fought through the searing pain in my face and numbly stir-fried dishes and simmered porridge.

Halfway through, I noticed something was wrong. The smell in the air had changed. Gas. And it was bad.

I spun toward the door, but it wouldn't budge no matter how hard I pulled.

I lunged for the stove to shut off the burner.

But before I could reach it, a wall of scorching heat slammed into me.

...

BOOM.

Louis had been laughing and chatting with Kathy the entire time. It wasn't until the explosion ripped through the villa that he realized something had happened in the kitchen.

His heart stopped for several beats. Then he bolted toward the kitchen like a man possessed.

He stood frozen like a statue, staring at the inferno raging inside.