Chapter 501
Up front, Prescott’s hands tightened instinctively around the steering wheel. He shot a quick glance at Jonathan in the rearview mirror.
He’d thought, after that night when Jonathan ordered him to see Marina’s guest out, that there’d be no reason for her to cross paths with Jonathan again.
Yet here they were, not long after, with Marina back in Jonathan’s
car-only this time, nestled up against him, her tear-streaked face buried in his chest.
Jonathan hadn’t said a word for what felt like ages.
Maybe it hadn’t really been that long, but the silence was so heavy, it stretched on endlessly.
“…Alright…”
The word slipped out quietly; Prescott didn’t sound all that surprised.
He’d assumed he was just giving Marina a ride home.
But, thinking about it, he realized he didn’t even know where Marina was living these days.
She used to stay at Ebonwood Hall, but after the bankruptcy, the estate had been repossessed and now belonged to Niamh.
“Mr. Thomas…where are we headed?” Prescott finally broke the silence, even though he prided himself on knowing Jonathan better than anyone.
Jade Peak Manor?
Seabreeze Villa?
Prescott honestly didn’t want to drive Marina to either of those places.
He pitied her, sure-her situation was undeniably tragic-but deep down, his sympathy only went so far. Whatever she’d done, or whatever had
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happened, something about her always rubbed him the wrong way. He couldn’t explain it, but it left him oddly unmoved.
He’d never thought of himself as cold toward women, so he couldn’t quite understand why Marina failed to stir his compassion.
Meanwhile, Marina couldn’t stop crying. The tears streamed down her face in a relentless torrent, her whole body shivering uncontrollably.
She really had been assaulted.
She’d always known Joker was ruthless, but she never imagined he’d turn on her like that, not after everything they’d been through. The terror and pain-none of it was an act.
Even now, she didn’t understand how her life had come to this.
Wasn’t this just like her days back in Blackspire all over again?
Marina had believed that coming home would mean a fresh start, a chance to finally escape the nightmare she’d lived through in Blackspire.
But this time, as miserable as she felt, a twisted sense of satisfaction
flickered inside her.
This time, her suffering was real enough-bad enough-that Jonathan would pity her. The more she suffered, the more Jonathan would hurt for her, and the deeper his hatred for Niamh would grow.
In that sense, Joker had done her a favor.
She’d wanted to fake an assault, but the truth was, nothing she could have staged would look as pathetic as what she’d actually endured. Especially since, while they were at it, Keen and the others had beaten her, too. Just thinking about the pain made her physically ill.
Not that it was the first time she’d been with them.
If she couldn’t win Jonathan’s love, if she couldn’t turn her fate around, she’d always end up right back in their hands.
313
22.01
Jonathan felt Marina trembling against him, harder than before.
“It’s over now…it’s alright…it’s over,” he murmured softly, stroking her tangled hair with gentle hands.
Marina was genuinely terrified-not faking it, not this time.
She kept remembering those endless, sunless days in Blackspire, locked away in a remote mansion where no one could hear her screams. Day after day, she’d been forced to endure unspeakable things at the hands of different men. If she failed to please Drake, she’d be beaten, left bruised and broken.
She’d always been the “good” one among the women there-obedient, never tried to run, always did her best to satisfy every guest.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to escape; escape was simply impossible.
She’d seen what happened to those who tried-she’d watched Keen disfigure a girl’s face with acid and hack through her legs after she tried to run. The memory haunted her, a grotesque warning forever etched in
her mind.
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313
Chapter 501
Up front, Prescott’s hands tightened instinctively around the steering wheel. He shot a quick glance at Jonathan in the rearview mirror.
He’d thought, after that night when Jonathan ordered him to see Marina’s guest out, that there’d be no reason for her to cross paths with Jonathan again.
Yet here they were, not long after, with Marina back in Jonathan’s
car-only this time, nestled up against him, her tear-streaked face buried in his chest.
Jonathan hadn’t said a word for what felt like ages.
Maybe it hadn’t really been that long, but the silence was so heavy, it stretched on endlessly.
“…Alright…”
The word slipped out quietly; Prescott didn’t sound all that surprised.
He’d assumed he was just giving Marina a ride home.
But, thinking about it, he realized he didn’t even know where Marina was living these days.
She used to stay at Ebonwood Hall, but after the bankruptcy, the estate had been repossessed and now belonged to Niamh.
“Mr. Thomas…where are we headed?” Prescott finally broke the silence, even though he prided himself on knowing Jonathan better than anyone.
Jade Peak Manor?
Seabreeze Villa?
Prescott honestly didn’t want to drive Marina to either of those places.
He pitied her, sure-her situation was undeniably tragic-but deep down, his sympathy only went so far. Whatever she’d done, or whatever had
1/3
23-21
LA
happened, something about her always rubbed him the wrong way. He couldn’t explain it, but it left him oddly unmoved.
He’d never thought of himself as cold toward women, so he couldn’t quite understand why Marina failed to stir his compassion.
Meanwhile, Marina couldn’t stop crying. The tears streamed down her face in a relentless torrent, her whole body shivering uncontrollably.
She really had been assaulted.
She’d always known Joker was ruthless, but she never imagined he’d turn on her like that, not after everything they’d been through. The terror and pain-none of it was an act.
Even now, she didn’t understand how her life had come to this.
Wasn’t this just like her days back in Blackspire all over again?
Marina had believed that coming home would mean a fresh start, a chance to finally escape the nightmare she’d lived through in Blackspire.
But this time, as miserable as she felt, a twisted sense of satisfaction
flickered inside her.
This time, her suffering was real enough-bad enough-that Jonathan would pity her. The more she suffered, the more Jonathan would hurt for her, and the deeper his hatred for Niamh would grow.
In that sense, Joker had done her a favor.
She’d wanted to fake an assault, but the truth was, nothing she could have staged would look as pathetic as what she’d actually endured. Especially since, while they were at it, Keen and the others had beaten her, too. Just thinking about the pain made her physically ill.
Not that it was the first time she’d been with them.
If she couldn’t win Jonathan’s love, if she couldn’t turn her fate around, she’d always end up right back in their hands.
313
22.01
Jonathan felt Marina trembling against him, harder than before.
“It’s over now…it’s alright…it’s over,” he murmured softly, stroking her tangled hair with gentle hands.
Marina was genuinely terrified-not faking it, not this time.
She kept remembering those endless, sunless days in Blackspire, locked away in a remote mansion where no one could hear her screams. Day after day, she’d been forced to endure unspeakable things at the hands of different men. If she failed to please Drake, she’d be beaten, left bruised and broken.
She’d always been the “good” one among the women there-obedient, never tried to run, always did her best to satisfy every guest.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to escape; escape was simply impossible.
She’d seen what happened to those who tried-she’d watched Keen disfigure a girl’s face with acid and hack through her legs after she tried to run. The memory haunted her, a grotesque warning forever etched in
her mind.
