Chapter 300
Lucy's POV
Consciousness returned like a slow tide. My head throbbed dully, and my tongue tasted the metallic flavor of fear. When I opened my eyes, instead of the concrete ceiling of the parking garage, I saw endless blue sky. The gentle rocking beneath me did nothing to ease my nausea.
Where am I?
I tried to move my hands, only to discover they were tightly bound behind my back with rough rope that dug deeply into my skin, sending countless tiny needles of pain with each movement. I struggled to sit up, wincing at the sharp pain in my shoulders.
That's when I saw her.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty."
My blood froze instantly. Oh God! Her face... it was horrifying! Why did she seem eerily familiar?
When those hate-filled blue eyes fixed on me, realization hit me like a punch—Ivy Wilson! It was Ivy Wilson!
"This... this is impossible," I whispered, my voice nearly drowned by the sound of water slapping against the yacht. "You're dead."
Ivy burst into laughter, the sharp, unhinged sound sending chills down my spine and twisting my stomach into knots.
"SURPRISE!" she shrieked, throwing her arms wide. "Back from the dead! Bet you didn't expect to see me again, did you, Lucy?"
My mind raced, my heart threatening to burst through my chest. My God, Ivy's alive? Then... what does she want?
"Want to hear a funny story?" Ivy continued, "Cole Grayson stabbed me right on this yacht!" She pointed to a spot on the deck, screaming, "RIGHT HERE, LUCY! He put a knife in my stomach and then threw me into the sea like garbage!"
Her face contorted with rage, spittle flying from her lips, some of it landing on my face, making me instinctively want to wipe it away, but unable to do so with my hands bound.
"But I survived," she suddenly calmed, "Surprise! Ha! I fucking survived!"
She's completely lost her mind, I realized, fear flooding my limbs like ice water. There's no reasoning with her now.
"Ivy," I tried anyway, despite my heart hammering wildly in my chest, "whatever happened, we can—"
"SHUT UP!" she lunged forward, slapping me hard across the face. The force knocked my head to the side, my cheek burning with pain. "Don't you DARE pretend to care! You took EVERYTHING from me! My life, my reputation, my Ethan!"
Before I could recover, she grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back painfully, making me see stars. "Now I'm going to take everything from you."
Just then, the sound of an approaching engine interrupted Ivy's tirade. We both turned to see another yacht speeding toward us. Even from a distance, I recognized who was at the helm.
Cole.
Ivy's grip on my hair painfully tightened, nearly tearing my scalp. "Right on time," she hissed.
The approaching yacht slowed as it neared, and Cole's voice carried across the water: "Let her go, Ivy! This is between you and me!"
Ivy dragged me to my feet, positioning me at the edge of the deck, my legs barely supporting me through the pain and fear. "Come aboard, Cole! We have SO much catching up to do!"
I watched as Cole skillfully maneuvered his boat alongside ours, then jumped across the gap.
"Release Lucy. She has nothing to do with this."
Ivy let out that unhinged laugh again. "Nothing to do with this? She has EVERYTHING to do with it! She's the reason we're ALL here!"
In one fluid motion, Ivy produced a small knife and pressed it against my throat. I felt the cold metal bite into my skin, warm blood trickling down my neck, soaking my collar. Fear made me tremble, but I didn't dare move, afraid the blade would cut deeper.
"Drop your weapon," she commanded Cole.
He slowly placed his gun on the deck and kicked it away, his eyes never leaving mine.
"Is this what you want, Ivy?" Cole asked, his voice surprisingly gentle. "More violence? More pain?"
"What I want," she growled, "is for you to suffer like I have."
"FINE!" Cole pulled a knife from his boot and, without hesitation, plunged it into his own arm.
"NO!" I screamed as blood immediately gushed out, spraying from the wound like a fountain. The red quickly soaked his entire sleeve, dripping from his fingers onto the deck, forming a small crimson pool. My heart nearly stopped with horror. "Cole, STOP!"
Cole didn't even flinch, his eyes locked on Ivy's shocked face. "Is this what you want? Will this make you feel better?"
Ivy's laughter was hollow. "That little scratch? That's nothing compared to what you did to me."
"Then tell me what's enough," Cole said, raising the blood-soaked knife again, this time pointing it at his own abdomen, the tip already piercing his shirt, a small stain beginning to spread. "This? Would this satisfy you?"
Oh God, he's going to kill himself. I struggled against my restraints, tears blurring my vision, the ropes cutting deeply into my wrists, but I couldn't feel the pain, only pure terror. "Cole, DON'T! PLEASE!"
The knife at my throat pressed tighter, forcing me to stay still, and I felt more warm liquid running down my neck. Ivy's breath was hot against my ear as she whispered, "Not even close."
Just as Cole was about to drive the knife into his stomach, my peripheral vision caught sudden movement behind us. A dark figure silently emerged from the water at the stern of the yacht.
Ethan.
---
Everything happened at once.
Ethan sprinted forward like a panther, tackling Ivy from behind. As she was pulled away, the knife at my throat sliced a shallow cut, the burning pain making me gasp. I fell to the deck as Ethan and Ivy crashed into a pile of equipment, the sound of metal colliding and Ivy's screams filling the air.
Cole rushed to my side, his blood dripping onto my clothes, warm and sticky. "Are you okay?" he asked urgently, already working to untie my hands.
Before I could answer, Ivy's furious scream pierced the air. She had broken free from Ethan's hold and was charging toward us with pure murder in her eyes, knife raised.
Ethan intercepted her like lightning, grabbing her wrist. They struggled violently, spinning across the deck in a deadly dance. I saw the flash of the blade, heard Ethan's grunt of pain as the knife sliced across his wrist, blood immediately spurting out, painting an arc across the deck.
"ETHAN!"
Blood poured from Ethan's wound, gleaming horribly in the sunlight, but he didn't let go. He fought to disarm Ivy. They slammed into the yacht's railing, wood cracking ominously, the structure giving way under their combined force.
The next moment, the railing broke, and Ivy screamed as she fell backward. Before I could react, she shot out a hand and grabbed my ankle. Shit!
"LUCY!"