Elara's POV
I pulled out my phone, my hands trembling so badly I could barely type. With one deep breath, I hit send — the recording, Ian's confession, the betrayal, everything. I sent it all to his email with a note that felt like acid in my chest.
> "Take this to the press, Ian. Let's see you smile then."
A single tear slid down my cheek as I stared at the message. My world had already fallen apart, but at least now he'd know what it felt like to lose control.
Just then, my phone buzzed again.
It was a message from the hospital.
> "She is 3 weeks pregnant."
My breath caught in my throat. I blinked, once. Twice. Trying to process it.
Pregnant.
I was pregnant — for the same man who had humiliated me, cheated on me, and tossed me away like trash. A bitter laugh escaped my lips, cracking in the cold night air. I didn't know whether to smile or scream. The wind whipped against my face as I walked, the world blurring around me.
I was too lost in my thoughts to notice the quiet street I had wandered onto. Too broken to see the dark van speeding around the corner until its headlights burned into my eyes.
The van screeched to a stop beside me. Before I could run, a rough hand clamped over my mouth, and a cloth soaked in something sharp and chemical pressed against my nose.
I kicked. Struggled. Tried to scream.
The smell filled my lungs. My head spun.
Everything went black.
*****
When I woke, everything was cold. My wrists ached. My head pounded. I blinked, forcing my eyes open to a dim, rocking space. The steady sway beneath me told me exactly where I was.
A ship.
Ropes cut into my wrists. My clothes were gone, replaced with something thin and torn. Panic clawed through me as I realized what had happened.
And then I saw him.
"Finn?" My voice cracked.
He was there — my brother, tied up beside me. His face was bruised, eyes barely open.
"Elara?" he croaked. "What's going on? Where are we?"
Before I could answer, one of the kidnappers' phones rang. The man put it on speaker.
"Hello, boss," he said.
A familiar, chilling voice came through the line — male, deep, cruel.
> "Is everything going as planned?"
"Yes, boss," the man replied.
> "Good. Feed them to the fishes. Make it look like an accident."
My blood ran cold.
The man nodded. "Understood. Miss Camila's orders will be done."
Camila.
That witch.
Of course it was her.
But then another thought struck me, freezing me to the core.
Camila didn't have this kind of power — not on her own.
Unless…
Unless Ian helped her.
He had the money, the connections, and the reason. He'd told me earlier he wished I was dead.
My stomach twisted.
So this was his way of making it happen.
He wanted me gone. And now, he'd dragged Finn into it too.
"You bastards!" I screamed, struggling against the ropes. "Why are you doing this? Who sent you?"
The man holding the gun laughed. "You don't get it, lady. Death is easy. Close your eyes, and all you'll see is paradise."
He pressed the gun against my forehead. My heart hammered so hard it hurt.
"I can kill you now," he said, grinning. "But my orders are to let the sea take you."
His words made the others laugh.
Just then, the ship jolted violently. A loud crash echoed as something below hit a rock. Cold seawater rushed in from the sides, soaking the floor.
"The hull's broken!" one of the men shouted.
Water poured in fast. I turned to Finn, panic flooding my chest. "We have to get out!"
He wriggled his hands free first, then helped untie me. "There!" I pointed to a small speedboat floating near the side. "We can make it!"
We ran, slipping across the wet floor. But just as Finn reached for the edge, one of the kidnappers grabbed his leg, dragging him back.
"Go, Elara!" he yelled. "Go now!"
"No! I'm not leaving you!"
Gunshots exploded.
The sound tore through the air — then silence.
"Finn!" I screamed, diving into the water as the ship tilted and sank. I searched through the waves, calling his name again and again.
Nothing.
The sea swallowed him whole, his blood turning the water crimson.
I screamed until my throat broke. Until my body was too cold to move.
But I forced myself to swim. To live.
If not for me — then for Finn.
The freezing water bit into my skin as I dragged myself onto a nearby reef. My body shook violently, but I refused to close my eyes.
Not yet.
Not until Ian and Camila paid for everything.
*****
"Ah—no!"
I jolted upright in bed, gasping for air. Sunlight spilled through the curtains, but it did nothing to chase away the darkness sitting heavy in my chest. My skin was slick with sweat, my heart racing like I was still drowning.
"Mummy!"
Three small voices pulled me back to reality.
Claire, Emily, and Noah burst into the room, climbing onto the bed with bright, worried faces.
"Why are you sweating, Mummy?" Claire asked, brushing my forehead with her tiny hand.
I forced a smile. "I just did some yoga, sweetie."
Noah frowned. "Yoga doesn't make people cry."
Emily crossed her arms. "You always say lying is bad, Mummy."
I swallowed hard. Their words hit me deeper than I expected.
Claire's voice softened. "You dreamed about Uncle Finn again, didn't you?"
I looked at them — my beautiful children, the reason I had survived. The ones who gave me strength when I wanted to die.
"I'm fine," I whispered, forcing the words out. "I just miss him, that's all."
Noah leaned close, his small hands gripping mine. "Then we'll miss him together."
I smiled through the ache in my chest, pulling them close.
They didn't know everything — not the blood, the betrayal, the screams. But one day, they would.
And when that day came, I'd make sure Ian and Camila's names burned.
Because they thought they had buried Elara Vance that night.
But all they did was awaken the woman who would destroy them both.