The End of the Line

I shook my head. "I don't know."

Ian's voice dropped, tight with fury. "You'd better really be clueless, Hazel, or I swear I won't let you off!"

At that, he stormed out, making call after call until he finally learned where Rose was being held. "Get a few men. Bring her with us!"

They tied my legs together and threw me into the backseat of Ian's car. He drove himself, slamming the accelerator down. In all three years of marriage, it was the first time I'd ever seen him so out of control.

…

When we reached the coast, Rose was hanging by her wrists from a boat mast, crying so hard her voice broke. "Ian! You're finally here! I'm scared—save me!"

"Rosie!" Ian's voice trembled with panic as he called her name. Then, his expression hardened when he looked up at his enemies on the deck. "Let her go. I'll trade you my wife—plus two territories and ten properties."

A slow grin spread across the thug's scarred face. "Deal."

As they hoisted me upward, Ian held Rose tightly, whispering soft words to calm her down. By the time I reached the top, he had already turned away, still clutching the woman he loved. That familiar back—how many times had I seen it before? Only this time, he wasn't alone.

The enemy lit a cigarette and gave a lazy glance in my direction. "Do it."

The red-hot iron pressed into my skin. I couldn't hold back the scream that tore out of me. "Just kill me already!" I gasped.

He shook his head slowly. "That'd be too easy. My brother died because of Ian. If I kill you fast, it's not fair. Better to take it slow—and show everyone the great Ian Sutherland isn't invincible after all."

I thrashed, but the branding iron kept finding my skin—each burn more precise than the last. The pain was so sharp I couldn't even form words. I didn't know how many times they burned me before my body finally gave out. When they untied me, I barely felt anything at all.

But before I could take a full breath, a new pain seared my wrist. The man had sliced it open—and then shoved my arm into the sea.

Blood poured into the water, turning it crimson in seconds. I couldn't move. Someone forced my head sideways so I had no choice but to watch it happen—watch the life drain out of me, drop by drop. And somehow, I laughed.

'Ian… if I die here, will you find another woman to be the shield for your precious girl? Or will you finally marry her instead? Either way, it won't matter to me anymore.'

My vision dimmed, the world slipping away, until I faintly heard footsteps—his men, arriving too late as always.

There were voices, a rough exchange, and then I was lifted onto a stretcher. Inside the ambulance, they played cards and laughed like nothing had happened.

Somewhere in the blur, one of them said, "Boss really loves Ms. Wells. He wasn't even going to retaliate, but when he saw her wrist scratched, he lost it—killed the whole crew himself."

Another man chuckled. "You hear the news? Boss is retiring. Hanging it up for good—all for Ms. Wells."

…

When I woke in the hospital, the system's voice echoed faintly, "Six hours remaining."

I suddenly remembered what they said in the ambulance. Ian was giving up everything because Rose had a scratch on her wrist.

I looked down at my own wrist, wrapped in layers of gauze, and at the countless burns and cuts all over my body. A bitter smile pulled at my lips. Three years I'd spent trying to save him—three years failing—and in the end, someone else did it with a single wound.

And the one who completed the mission… wasn't me.

With four hours left, I ignored the doctors' protests and dragged my battered body back to the villa. I only wanted to see that medical report one last time before I disappeared. But when I arrived, the yard was a mess and the house completely empty. The guest room was torn apart, and the drawers were ransacked—everything gone.

I called Ian. He answered impatiently. "I'm planning to retire for good. To do that, I have to sell everything and start clean. Find somewhere else to stay. Once Rosie's recovered, we'll get a divorce."

I opened my mouth weakly. "But the things in my bedroom drawer—"

"Hazel Tanner, don't push your luck!" His voice rose, sharp and angry. "Rosie got hurt because of you. I already showed mercy by sending people to save you. What, you expect me to buy you your own house too? Just so you can keep your jewelry?"

The Last Hour

I had nowhere to go—and no reason to find somewhere to stay.

In the final three hours, I sat on the steps by the door, letting the sunlight fall over me. It should have been warm, but it couldn't reach the cold sinking deeper into my body.

Suddenly, the gate creaked open. I looked up to see Rose standing there with her arms crossed, leaning lazily against the gate as she stared at me. "You really are hard to kill. Still alive after all that."

I blinked, then smiled faintly. "Not for long. Don't worry."

She was about to reply when she heard something from behind her. In an instant, she dropped her arms and let tears well up in her eyes. "Hazel, I didn't mean to upset you. Please don't be angry, all right? You just got out of the hospital—you shouldn't get worked up. I'll tell the housekeeper to make some chicken soup for you—"

Before she could finish, Ian burst through the door, fury blazing in his eyes. He shoved his phone in my face, the screen showing a message someone had sent him.

'Boss, your wife's something else. She sent a group message to your enemies, said you're in love with Rose, and they should go after her instead. Even included photos, addresses—her social accounts are all exposed.'

Ian's expression twisted into something feral. He kicked me hard in the chest. "I never should've had you rescued! You should've died there!"

I gasped for air, the sunlight blinding me as I looked up. A gun pressed cold and heavy against my forehead, sending a chill through my spine.

"It wasn't me."

Those three words—how many times had I said them in the past three years?

Rose rushed forward, crying as she clung to Ian's arm. "Ian, please! Hazel didn't mean it. I took away the man she loves—it's normal for her to hate me. Please don't hurt her; she just got out of the hospital. If my account's gone, it's fine. Even if people come after me, I can handle it."

Ian's anger softened instantly. He pulled her into his arms, holding her like something fragile. When he turned back to me, his voice was full of contempt. "I regret ever picking you. Restless, cruel woman."

Just then, one of his men called. "Boss, a bunch of our enemies just put a bounty on Ms. Wells' head! What should we do? Maybe take her abroad? Someone must've leaked that she's here at the villa—they're already on their way!"

Ian's eyes flicked to me. "I know who tipped them."

He opened a livestream—the first time he'd ever shown his face online—but a moment later, he turned the camera toward me. His voice was calm, steady. "I'm Ian Sutherland. From this moment on, I'm out. No more business in the underworld. Anyone with a grudge, any score to settle—take it to her. Everything I did in the past was under her orders. I want no part of her anymore. Do whatever you want with her."

I drew in a shaky breath. "I've been the shield for Rose for three years, and now you want me to die for you too?"

Ian grabbed me by the collar, dragging me across the yard and out to the main road. When he finally let go, he looked down at me with cold indifference. "You brought this on yourself. Live or die—it's up to fate now."

That was the last time I saw his back—cold, resolute, and disappearing without hesitation.

He hadn't even been gone ten minutes when his enemies came flooding in from all directions. They tore into me like wild beasts, releasing years of rage and grief. Not one of them held back.

They severed the tendons in my hands and feet, shattered my legs, and drove their knives into my chest over and over again. They screamed for revenge—for brothers, for family, for blood. One of them grabbed my chin and demanded I apologize.

However, the pain no longer registered.

I just stared blankly up at the bright blue sky. How beautiful. Not a single cloud. Exactly the same as the day I first arrived in this world.

"Mission failed. Erasure initiated. In one hour, all records of your existence will be deleted. Hazel Tanner will cease to exist in this world."