"Why is it you? Where's Vanessa?"

Mason smiled and rubbed his neck. That was when I noticed it was covered in hickeys. "Vanessa was too tired. She just fell asleep in my arms."

He was the one who sent the message. A bad feeling crept through me.

"You deliberately lured me here. What do you want?"

Mason did not answer. Instead, he gestured to the thugs behind him. In an instant, I was surrounded by those massive men.

Mason's voice turned cold. "Beat him."

One of them grabbed my head and slammed it against the ground several times. My vision blurred immediately.

Mason walked over and stepped on my head, looking down at me. "What do I want? To get rid of you, of course. Vanessa's completely devoted to me, but I still can't relax. Only when you're completely destroyed can I finally feel secure."

He pulled out a knife and slowly crouched down. I screamed and fought back with everything I had, but they pinned me down.

Tears streamed down my face and burned the cuts on my skin. The pain made me curl up. I stared at his face and swore to myself that one day I would make him pay.

Mason stood up and told his men to proceed with the plan. The next moment, someone doused the photography studio with gasoline.

Mason called Vanessa. "Vanessa, please come save me! Beckett said he's going to kill me!"

He calmly pulled out a lighter and lit a cigarette, then tossed the still-lit lighter onto the gasoline. Flames shot up instantly.

Vanessa arrived quickly. By then, the fire had spread throughout the entire studio.

Panic covered her face as she rushed in without hesitation. When she passed me and saw me lying on the ground covered in blood, her eyes widened in disbelief. She hurried over and helped me up.

Just then, Mason, lying on the ground nearby, called out weakly, "Vanessa, you're finally here. Please save me!"

Vanessa immediately dropped me and ran toward Mason.

I watched helplessly as she used all her strength to lift Mason, who was deliberately lying on the ground, and carried him out of the fire. I screamed for her to help me, but Vanessa's response was ice cold.

"This is what you get for hurting Mason. You deserve it. I already called the fire department. Whether you survive is up to you now."

With that, Vanessa left without looking back.

In the end, the flames consumed my body inch by inch. My consciousness faded. The only thing that remained clear was the smug smile Mason flashed me before he left.

…

At the hospital, Mason was deeply traumatized by the incident. He could not eat or sleep properly. Vanessa, who had never lifted a finger in the kitchen, personally made him chicken soup and took care of him herself.

Yet for some reason, Vanessa kept feeling inexplicably anxious. My image kept appearing in her mind. Hence, she decided to show some mercy and check on me in the next ward over. However, when she arrived, no one was there.

She immediately called her assistant, Sophie Jones. "Where's Beckett?"

Sophie sounded confused. "Vanessa, you don't know? Beckett died in the fire that day."

The phone fell to the ground with a crash. Vanessa's face turned deathly pale.