Chapter 6
Alaric’s stomach turned. A cold dread crept up his spine. With trembling hands, he accepted the box.
Before he could even open it, a metallic stench-sharp, coppery-hit his nose.
His skin crawled.
When the lid was lifted, a wave of horror swept through the room. Gasps rang out.
“Aaaaah!”
Calla shrieked in terror, covering her mouth with both hands.
“No… no, this can’t be real!”
Alaric stood frozen, the color drained from his face. The box dropped from his hands, thudding heavily on the floor. Its contents rolled out-dark red, thick with blood, staining
his shoes.
His eyes caught something on the inside of the lid-six blood-red words scrawled with
rage:
“This is your ten-million-dollar bet.”
His heart stopped. Panic surged through him.
He fumbled for his phone, dialing my number in a frenzy.
“The number you are trying to call is unavailable…”
Blocked.
“She knows… she knows everything.”
His voice trembled in disbelief. Then, like a man possessed, he lunged at Cassian and grabbed his collar.
“What the hell did you do to her last night?!”
Cassian backed away, fear in his eyes.
“W-Why are you asking me? Shouldn’t you be asking Calla? She brought the drug-said it was some foreign pill, said she’d forget everything by morning!”
He pointed toward Calla, his hand shaking.
“You and Calla planned this whole party!”
Calla stood frozen for a moment, stunned by the sudden turn. Then, in a panic, she reached for Alaric’s arm.
“Alaric, that drug is trending abroad. I don’t know why it didn’t work on Seraphine!” Calla quickly distanced herself, her voice trembling. “Besides, I only brought the drug. Everything else was Cassian’s doing. It has nothing to do with me!”
She threw Cassian under the bus without hesitation.
Cassian swore under his breath, then turned to Alaric.
“Alaric, weren’t you the one who never liked her? Now that Calla’s back and Seraphine lost
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the baby, just kick her out already. We’re all sick of playing with that slut anyway.”
The words had barely landed when a loud crack echoed-Alaric’s fist collided hard with Cassian’s face.
“Shut your damn mouth! She’s my wife. It’s not your place to speak about her!”
The blow sent Cassian sprawling to the ground. Blood poured from his mouth, and two teeth clattered onto the floor. He cupped his jaw, his voice muffled but furious.
“She’s just a slut! Why the fake sympathy? If you hadn’t offered her to us like some toy, none of this would’ve happened!”
“Shut up!” Alaric roared again. He lunged and straddled Cassian, punching him over and over. Each strike landed with the weight of regret, fury, and something darker.
No one dared intervene. The others only stood frozen, watching the storm unfold in horror. Just when it seemed like Alaric might beat Cassian to death, sirens wailed in the distance. Within seconds, two police officers burst through the door.
“Alaric, you are under arrest for intentional assault and multiple charges, including spousal
abuse. Please come with us.”
Before he could fully register what was happening, the cold steel of handcuffs clamped around his wrists.
As the officers restrained him, his assistant sprinted into the room, pale and panting.
“Mr. Vane, something terrible has happened. A video of you and Miss Calla has gone viral -it’s all over the internet! Our stock prices are crashing. Every partner wants out. We’re facing lawsuits and damages in the hundreds of billions.”
He handed over a tablet. The screen played footage from the night before-Alaric and Calla drugging Seraphine, dragging her into the bedroom, and treating her like prey. The silence in the room was deafening as everyone watched.
The comment section was a storm of outrage:
“He pretended to love his wife all these years-what a monster.”
“She was pregnant! And they still did this to her? Animals.”
“His adopted sister? This is sick. Their moral compass is completely broken.”
“Someone should cut his damn thing off. Isn’t he already vasectomized? Just finish the job.”
Calla stared at the screen, her face drained of color, her hands trembling.
“That bitch Seraphine planned this!” she snapped, biting her lip. “She must’ve known about us all along. She probably installed those cameras on purpose-maybe even faked the miscarriage just to destroy us!”
She clutched Alaric’s arm desperately.
“We can’t let her win. We have to shut her up before she ruins everything.”
Alaric jerked his arm away, his face twisted with rage.
“You already ruined me,” he growled.
Without warning, he lunged and wrapped his hands around Calla’s throat. She shrieked, clawing at his wrists-but before he could squeeze tighter, the officers tackled him to the ground.
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