Chapter 1

I loved Dax Thorne for five years, and for every single one of those years, I’d been tormented.

Until the Vance family empire collapsed, my loved ones died, and everything I held dear was systematically destroyed by Dax.

Eventually, in a raging inferno, I set myself on fire, right there in front of him.

Everyone outside thought Dax had finally gotten his revenge.

Only he knew that the moment I died, he truly lost his mind.

Muffled cries of pain echoed through the room.

Dax was performing the most intimate act, yet his expression was colder than a winter storm, as if he were miles away, trapped in a frozen wasteland.

I struggled to breathe, a terrifying sense of suffocation building inside me, and instinctively thrashed against him.

Just when I thought I was about to black out, Dax suddenly released me.

I gasped, gulping in air, but before I could catch my breath, his rough movements shattered the fragile calm again.

The torment went on for what felt like an eternity, only stopping when I was on the verge of losing consciousness.

My phone rang. Dax picked it up, a flicker of cruel satisfaction in his eyes as he looked at the screen.

He answered. The voice on the other end announced the collapse of Vance Enterprises.

My eyes, which had been half-closed from the agony, snapped open. I stared up at him, disbelief flooding my senses.

“Vance Enterprises… collapsed? What happened?” My voice was hoarse, weak, yet laced with sheer shock.

Dax noticed the terror in my eyes, and a cruel smirk twisted his lips.

“Like it? That’s my first gift to you.”

I gazed at his smile, a chilling realization dawning on me. “Dax… you did this? To Vance Enterprises?”

He gripped my chin, forcing my face up until I was trapped in an intimate, yet utterly terrifying, proximity.

“Yes. Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited for this day?”

I ignored the throbbing pain in my jaw, my heart plummeting to my stomach. “Why? Why would you destroy my family?”

Dax shoved me off the bed, watching me fall to the floor. His eyes, usually so carefully guarded, now blazed with raw, unrestrained hatred.

“Elara Vance, the Vance family’s ruin? You brought this on yourselves!

If your mother hadn’t forced Seraphina away, she never would have broken up with me, and she certainly wouldn’t have died because of you!”

Because of Seraphina…

He hated himself, hated everyone in my family.

So all his past tenderness, his kindness, had been a lie. This was his true face.

My heart clenched.

“No!” My face was pale. “My mother didn’t force Seraphina to break up with you, and I didn’t hurt her!”

Dax’s eyes turned venomous. “You think I’d believe a word you say?”

Years ago, Dax had been with Seraphina Hayes, my family’s adopted daughter. But my mother, knowing I harbored feelings for him, had forced Seraphina to break up with him.

Dax still remembered Seraphina crying, clinging to him, saying she had no choice. The Vance family’s vast empire was too powerful; if they didn’t break up, my family wouldn’t let her go.

Dax had been heartbroken, but at the time, his own family lacked the power to stand against mine. He’d had no choice but to painfully break up with Seraphina and marry me.

Yet, even after all that, I still hadn’t let Seraphina go. He remembered the scene of Seraphina drowning, and it made him want to slaughter my entire family.

But he couldn’t avenge Seraphina, so he had to swallow his hatred and live a lie with me.

Until today. Finally, he had the power to avenge Seraphina.

Dax said nothing more. He dragged me downstairs, opened a small room in the corner of the first floor, and shoved me inside.

I stumbled, falling to my knees. My eyes widened in horror as I looked up at the scene before me.

On the table in the room sat a framed photo. The girl in the picture was beautiful and delicate, with a melancholic air. It was Seraphina Hayes.

I tried to stand, but Dax’s foot lashed out, kicking me in the back of my knee. I crumpled to the floor.

“In front of Seraphina, you only deserve to kneel.”