Chapter 291

Chapter 291
Pain exploded across my face. I winced, the world tilting as Maggie screamed beside me.
“That is what he does best,” Martha spat. “He pulls women into his orbit and turns them into fools for him.” Her eyes flicked with pure disgust. “I can’t believe my own daughter fell for that scum.”
My head remained turned to the side, my cheek throbbing, my mouth filling with the metallic taste of blood. Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to cry.
She hated that.
Martha grabbed my chin roughly and forced my face up, nails digging into my skin until I had no choice but to look at her.
“I have been betraying that fool for years,” she said calmly, almost proudly. “And he never knew. I was the one who fed his location to his enemies. I was the one who planted my boys inside his camp.” Her eyes gleamed. “I was the one who opened the doors to the men who took you that night. Who kidnapped you.”
Maggie sobbed loudly now, clutching my arm.
“I was the one who made sure you never knew peace the moment you stepped into that house,” Martha went on. “You always felt watched, didn’t you?” Her lips curved cruelly. “That’s because you were.”
My stomach churned violently.
“I thought,” she said, tightening her grip on my chin, “that with all of this, you would take the hint. Leave him. Walk away quietly.” Her eyes hardened. “But no. You stayed.”
She shoved my face away.
“Like the stupid bitch that you are.”

The words landed like a slap, sharp and deliberate.
“The plan was simple,” Martha continued coolly. “At the kidnap, you would be destroyed beyond repair. The abuse scene?” She smiled, proud. “That was my idea. I fed it to my son, who fed it to his boss. I wanted you ruined. I wanted Isaiah devastated beyond repair.”
She laughed softly, shaking her head. “But it didn’t work. Nothing ever works when it comes to that bastard. I must confess—he is smart. A true son of his father.”
She rose from her chair and paced slowly, hands clasped behind her back, enjoying every second of my unraveling.
“So instead, I wanted him dead. You must have thought it was the pakhan pulling the strings.” She stopped, turning to me with a grin. “It was me. I was the voice behind every action. I give my son an idea, he feeds it to his boss, and everything moves accordingly.”
Her eyes gleamed. “But when I heard you were poisoned?” She laughed, loud and unhinged. “I was overjoyed. And to think it was your precious ex-boyfriend Noel who did it?” She cackled. “How poetic.”

The world tilted.
Noel… poisoned me?
The truth settled in my chest like molten lead, heavy and suffocating. Maggie’s sob broke through the ringing in my ears as she collapsed against my shoulder, her body shaking violently.
I felt tears slide down my face—but that was all.
No scream. No gasp.

Just numbness.
“Anyway…” Martha went on lightly, as if we were discussing the weather. “I will finally have my sole desire now, mon chérie. You won’t leave this place alive—or you might.” She tilted her head, pretending to consider it. “But you will lose someone dear to you. I’m still deciding.”
She smiled.
“So here are your options. You behave well, and you get to live.” Her lips curled. “Albeit pathetically—because there is no world where I continue to breathe the same air as that son of a bitch.”
She leaned forward, her voice dropping.
“Or you misbehave… and you die alongside him.”
She straightened, eyes cold, merciless.
“Your choice.”

I stared at her with as much hatred as I could muster before gritting out, “I’m no fool, Martha. I know you won’t let me leave here alive no matter what I say… so just kill me and get it over with.”
Martha glared at me, then turned to her son. The two of them snorted and laughed.

“She has become so bad, son,” Martha scoffed. “Trust me, she was a scaredy-cat when she first came. Isaiah ruined her.”
They kept mocking me, like I wasn’t even there. I ignored them.
“But instead,” I continued, my voice steady despite the fear clawing at my chest, “I have one condition.”
They both turned to me.

“I knew you were my dream woman, princess,” Tom appraised, earning a sharp knock to the head from his mother.
He scowled at her. “What? She is.”

Martha rolled her eyes.

Tom faced me again, smirking. “It’s funny how you think you get to have conditions, princess. But for old times’ sake, I’ll humor you.”

I gulped hard. “You have to let my sister go. She has no business with this. Your beef is with me. Let her go.”
Maggie poked me hard from behind, shaking her head, but I ignored her. She had to leave. She had to go back to Mother—unscathed. Mother couldn’t lose two daughters in one day. I wouldn’t let it happen.

Tom and Martha exchanged glances, amusement dancing in their eyes.
“She makes sense,” Tom said.
“Too much sense,” Martha agreed.

My heart skipped, hope bubbling painfully in my chest at the thought of them freeing Maggie.
“Unfortunately, princess…” Tom drawled, turning back to me, “…that might not wo—”
The gunshot cracked through the field.
The sound was deafening. I froze, ears ringing, heart slamming so hard it felt like it might burst through my chest.
“We need your shitty husband to come running as fast as he can, mon chérie,” Martha said calmly. “And to do that, we need to spill a little blood. I hope you understand.”

By the time her words registered, it was already too late. Maggie’s weight crashed into my back.

A wet, choking sound left her throat as she slumped forward, her body folding against mine. Warmth spread instantly, soaking through my clothes, searing my skin.

The scream that tore from my throat didn’t feel real. Neither did the way my vision blurred as clutched Maggie in my arms. Her blood pooled beneath us, soaking into the earth, staining my clothes, my hands—everything.

“Maggie… Maggie…” I sobbed, pressing my hands uselessly against her wound. “Please… please…”
My world shattered in my arms.