The sound of water woke her.
Drip.
Drip.
Each drop echoed in the dark room, slow and loud, as if the whole world was empty.
Iris Hollow opened her eyes.
Everything was black.Not soft darkness — heavy darkness, like a closed coffin.
She tried to move.
Rope cut into her wrists.
Her ankles were tied to the legs of a rough wooden chair. Her shoulders hurt. Her lips were dry. Her heart beat so fast it hurt.
"Hello?" Her voice shook. "Is someone here?"
Only the water answered.
Drip.
The door behind her creaked.
Footsteps entered — slow, calm, not afraid at all.
A single light bulb flicked on above her.
The room was small. Dirty walls. Wet floor. No windows.
Two people stepped forward.
Veronica.
Her face was perfect, her hair neat, her eyes cold.
Beside her stood Vance Calder — tall, quiet, like someone who enjoys watching others suffer.
For one silly second, Iris felt relief.
"Veronica, thank God— please untie me. I don't know what happened. I—"
Veronica did not even blink.
"You talk too much."
Her hand hit Iris's cheek.
Not wild. Not angry.
Just calm.
Like punishment.
Iris stared at her, shocked. Tears filled her eyes.
"Why are you doing this?"
Vance walked around the chair, touching the ropes, checking them, tightening one until Iris gasped.
"Because you deserve this," he said simply.
Her voice broke. "For what? What did I do?"
Veronica leaned close. Iris could feel her breath.
"You want one answer?" she whispered. "Fine."
She smiled — cruel, slow.
"Your ex-fiancé, Noah Blackthorn, gave you to us."
Iris stopped breathing.
Noah.
Cold eyes. Quiet voice. Always distant. Always somewhere else.
He had never hugged her tightly.Never spoke gently.Never truly smiled at her.
Still — she loved him since childhood.
She waited for him.Cooked for him.Covered his lies.Defended him when people warned her.
She believed he was shy.
She believed he cared inside.
She was wrong.
"I loved him," Iris whispered, tears running. "I did everything for him…"
Vance laughed softly.
"And he gave you away like a broken toy. For power. For your family. For himself."
Veronica straightened.
"Tonight, your family ends. And then," she said quietly, "you are ours."
Pain and fear twisted in Iris's chest.
"You were my best friend," Iris said. "You promised—"
Veronica's face turned sharp.
"I was never your friend."
Her voice was full of hate.
"You had everything. People loved you. They chose you. They looked at you first. I lived in your shadow. And you never saw it."
Her nails pressed into Iris's chin until it hurt.
"You trusted me. That made this easy."
Vance pulled the ropes tighter. Fire burned through Iris's arms. She cried out, biting her lip to stop screaming.
"Enough," Vance said. "Leave her. We have work."
Veronica looked at Iris one last time.
"Stay awake. More truth is coming."
They walked away.
The light swung slowly.
Then darkness swallowed the room.
Drip.
Drip.
Something metal scraped across the floor nearby. Slow. Heavy.
Iris shook. Tears fell.
But now, under the fear…
Something else woke up inside her.
Not love.
Not sadness.
Fire.
She saw Noah coldly turning his back.She saw Veronica smiling while lying to her.She saw the ropes, the pain, the room.
Her fear hardened.
Her eyes narrowed.
One day, she thought.
I will make them all regret this.
And for the first time since she woke up…
Iris did not feel only scared.
She felt revenge.
To be continued.