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Chapter 1
In the filthy, chaotic backyard of Sea City Mental Hospital, Gale Warm gazed hungrily at the scraps of meat and bone in front of a stray dog. She hadn’t eaten in three days. If she didn’t find food soon, she would starve. Desperation clawed at her, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she considered grabbing the food from the dog’s mouth.
Survival had become her sole focus ever since Shawn Wood had thrown her into this hellhole two years ago. The Wood family, the wealthiest in Sea City, had ensured that she remained forgotten, locked away in this place. Shawn, their heir, was the most powerful man in the city, and the last memory of him was burned into her mind—his fingers tight around her throat, his eyes filled with fury as he spat, “I want you to suffer for the rest of your life. You’ll never be able to beg for death. Everything your family owes me, you’ll pay in full.”
The more pain she endured, the more Shawn seemed to enjoy it. It all started after a tragic accident. Shawn’s father had been critically injured in a car crash, and Gale’s father, Peter Warm, had been the attending doctor. But a tragic mistake—an error in the medication—had led to the elder Wood’s death from blood loss. The authorities blamed her father, and he was sentenced to life in prison.
The news shattered Gale’s world. Her mother, unable to cope with the devastation, fell into a coma and was left in a vegetative state. From that day forward, Gale’s life had been reduced to a fight for survival.
She could still hear Shawn’s cruel words in her mind: You will pay for what your family did to mine.
Yet, Gale refused to die. Her parents—her mother, still clinging to life—were all the reason she needed to keep going. If she gave up, there would be no hope left for them.
Just then, the click of a door lock interrupted her thoughts.
“Gale, someone’s here to pick you up,” the dean’s voice echoed down the hall.
Her heart skipped a beat. “Who?” she asked, her voice hoarse from days of neglect. After her father’s imprisonment, she had no family or friends left. Who could possibly want her?
“You’ll see,” was all the dean said before turning to leave.
A surge of hope fluttered in Gale’s chest, but doubt quickly followed. After all, without Shawn’s permission, no one would dare take her away. Yet, when a van pulled up outside the hospital, her pulse raced. She stepped forward cautiously. Before she could even glimpse who had come for her, rough hands grabbed her, and a black sack was thrown over her head.
“Help!” she managed to cry out, but a blow to the back of her head sent her spiraling into unconsciousness.
When Gale woke, she found herself bound to a bed in a dimly lit hotel room. Panic surged through her as she realized what had happened. Where am I? What’s going on?
A fat, bald man stood in front of her, rubbing his hands in excitement. “She’s really pure. I like it,” he said, leering down at her.
Gale’s stomach churned with disgust. The dean had tricked me. He didn’t send me to safety—he sold me out to this man!
“No!” she screamed, struggling against her restraints. “Don’t come near me!”
“Serve me well, and I’ll be kind,” the man said, grinning lecherously as he stepped toward her.
Gale’s heart pounded in her chest. She had to think fast. Summoning all her strength, she spat, “Wait, don’t rush. Take your time… untie me and we’ll have some fun together…”
“Alright,” the man said, a gleam of greed in his eyes. “But no tricks.”
As soon as the ropes loosened, Gale kicked him hard in the chest, sending him stumbling backward with a howl of pain. Without wasting a moment, she bolted toward the door.
“Catch her!” the man yelled, and the sound of footsteps followed her. She couldn’t afford to be caught. If they captured her again, there would be no escape.
Gale dashed into a nearby room and slammed the door behind her. She pressed her back against it, trying to catch her breath, when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist.
Her heart skipped as she struggled in the stranger’s grip. “Who are you? What do you want?” she demanded, panic rising.
“I just need you to help me get rid of the medicine on me,” came a deep, hoarse voice.
Before she could comprehend his words, Gale was lifted off the floor and tossed onto a bed. Her mind raced. This man… the tone of his voice, the faint scent of his cologne—it’s him.
“No,” she gasped, shaking her head. “It can’t be Shawn… It’s impossible.”
But the man leaned in, his breath warm against her ear. “I’ll marry you,” he whispered.
Her breath caught in her throat. Marry me? But that was the least of her worries now. She had to escape.
When the man finally fell asleep hours later, Gale’s body ached with exhaustion. She had hoped to flee from this nightmare, but it only seemed to grow worse. Even though this man had treated her better than the old man, he’d still violated her. And now, if she agreed to marry him, she would drag him into Shawn’s wrath. No. She couldn’t do that.
With a heavy heart, Gale quietly dressed and slipped out of the hotel. Standing on the street, she hesitated. She could run, but Sea City was Shawn’s territory. Every exit was guarded. Where could she go? Her parents were still here, and she couldn’t leave them behind.
In the end, Gale returned to the mental hospital. She needed to figure out the dean’s plan and protect herself from whatever was coming next.
As she approached the dean’s office, she overheard voices inside. The dean was arguing with someone.
“That old man took a fancy to my daughter. How could I let him marry her? I have to hand her over to him!” The voice was frantic.
“But Shawn was the one who put her here! How dare you—” someone else protested.
The dean, catching sight of Gale at the door, quickly composed himself. But when he saw the mark on her neck, his face twisted in anger. “You… who did you sleep with last night? You nearly got us all killed!”
Gale stood tall, her fists clenched. “I’ll go on my own,” she said coldly.
As she turned to leave, the dean sneered at her retreating figure.
Meanwhile, at the hotel, Shawn woke up in a disorientated haze, memories of the night before swirling in his mind. The woman—her delicate skin, her soft voice. Who was she? He scanned the room. She was gone.
“Find out who the woman was,” he ordered, already thinking ahead.
Later, as Shawn arrived at the mental hospital in a sleek black car, the dean quivered in fear.
“Where is Gale Warm?” Shawn’s voice was cold and commanding.
“I… I’ll get her!” the dean stammered, rushing off to her ward.
Shawn’s eyes narrowed as Gale appeared in front of him, her expression a mixture of fear and defiance. She hadn’t changed in the two years since he last saw her. She looked just as broken as he had left her.
He smirked. “Still as obedient as ever, I see.” His voice was laced with mocking disdain.
“I’m not your dog,” Gale spat, her voice trembling but resolute.
“From now on, you will be,” Shawn said, his eyes cold as ice. “Follow me.”