Chapter 11 SAVIOUR x KARMA WEARS A CROWN
Erica’s POV
I walked into my office and slumped onto my chair, exhaustion pressing on my shoulders. Jolie stood silently across the desk, her expression unreadable.
“Giselle is truly despicable,” she finally said, placing a hard drive on the table—the one containing the full video of Giselle’s manipulation.
I hummed faintly, flipping through the contract Giselle had signed. My thoughts drifted back to that moment, Giselle kneeling before the crowd, tears perfectly timed, her voice trembling just right. Manipulative. Calculated. She was more dangerous than I had imagined.
I snapped out of my thoughts, straightening my posture. “How’s Emily?” I asked, my tone steady.
“She’s doing fine,” Jolie replied with a small smile. “Eating well, resting too. I’ve hidden her in one of your houses in California—no one will find her.”
I nodded slowly, tapping my fingers against the desk. Giselle signing the contract was the first step. Her doom was already written. But there was still Carter… that bastard.
During my private investigation, I’d discovered the truth.....Carter had sold countless videos of young women to illegal porn sites. Even mine. My video had the highest number of downloads and views. My chest tightened with rage and humiliation. That was the price I paid for giving my body and heart to the wrong man.
I had tried everything— hackers, private agents. Nothing worked. The footage still existed, haunting me like a permanent scar on the internet.
My lashes trembled as I closed my eyes and leaned back, resting my head against the chair.
“Miss…” Jolie’s voice softened. “It’s okay. Every single one of them will pay. I swear it. You’ll be their greatest doom.”
Her conviction made me open my eyes. I smiled faintly at her. There was a fire in her that reminded me of something… of my past!
(Scene fades: flashback to the bridge.10 years ago)
The cold wind lashed against my face as I stood on the edge of the bridge. Below, the dark water rippled like a void calling my name. I jumped.
The plunge was silent, the shock immediate. The water swallowed me whole. I didn’t struggle. I just… let go. The icy water filled my lungs as it seeped into my mouth and nose.
I wanted to die.
I was ashamed—humiliated. I couldn’t walk down a street without feeling the stares, the whispers, the disgust. I had become a disgrace, to myself, my friends, my beloved mother.
My father had left before I was even born. When my mother told him she was pregnant, he said, “Take that bastard child and leave.”
She told me that story herself, eyes swollen from crying. “Value yourself first,” she said. “Don’t chase love. Don’t make my mistake.”
But I didn’t listen. I was young. I thought I understood love. I gave my heart and my body—to a man who only saw me as content for his greed.
I remembered watching my mother cry over that man, scrolling through his social media, torturing herself. “He was my mistake,” she said.
I was angry at her weakness. I spat cruel words at her. “Was I your mistake too?”
She wept harder. “No. You’re my joy. He was the mistake.”
“Then forget him already!” I screamed. I blamed her for everything, for my broken family, for the bullying, for the kids who mocked me for not having a father.
But now, sinking into the cold black water, I remembered her warmth—her hugs, her voice, everything. I didn’t want to die. Not anymore.
I wanted revenge. I wanted to live for her.
For her—and for Aaron. He’d said he loved me that night. I wanted to believe him.
Panic hit me suddenly. I kicked, flailed, clawed for the surface. “Help!” I screamed, choking as the water filled my throat. “I don’t want to die!”
The world blurred—then splash!
Through my fading vision, I saw a girl diving in, a blur of red skirt and white shirt slicing through the water. Her hair fanned out around her face, glinting in the light. Jolie. She was still in high school then, from a nearby school.
She swam toward me like a lifeline, her expression fierce. My body went limp as the cold seeped deeper. The pain faded. My heartbeat slowed.
For a second—I died.
I tasted death for a second, it was cold and depressing.
I watched myself from outside my body, floating in the water. Jolie grabbed my waist and dragged me upward, kicking against the current, refusing to let go even as her own strength faltered.
She couldn’t swim anymore. It was either her life or mine. But she held on.
Then, a hand from above reached down, pulling her out of the water.
Jolie collapsed onto the ground, panting and laughing weakly. “I thought I was dead,” she whispered, but froze when she looked at me—pale, lifeless, eyes open.
“Hey! Wake up!” she shouted, shaking me. I didn’t move.
“She’s gone,” a voice said behind her. It was Jaxon.
“No, she’s not!” Jolie screamed. “CPR! Do it!”
Jaxon sighed but knelt beside me.
First try......nothing.
Second....still nothing.
Third....silence.
Then, cough! I jolted up, water spilling from my mouth, gasping for air. The sky above looked brighter somehow.
“Am I dead?” I said and Jaxon’s angry face came into view.
“Are you insane?! You jumped off a damn bridge!” he yelled, shaking his head. “Fvcking Psycho.”
\---
The scene faded.
Back in my office, I laughed softly, tears glimmering in my eyes as the memory hit me. Jolie’s worried face blurred before me.
“Are you okay?” she asked, stepping closer.
I laughed again, louder this time, but my tears betrayed me. “Thank you,” I whispered, my voice trembling.
Jolie’s serious expression softened into a smile. “Saving you was the best thing I ever did, Miss. Don’t thank me—it was my pleasure.”
I smiled faintly, though deep down I knew— That day, I hadn’t just been saved. I had been reborn.
And now, it was time to make every person who broke me wish I had died on that bridge.