Chapter 1 The Betrayal
Chapter 1 The Betrayal
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The moment Dana Archer regained her hearing, the first person she wanted to share the good news with was her fiancé–Hunter Gedge.
But just as she unlocked her phone screen, a message popped up from one of Hunter’s buddies, “Dana, Hunter’s been kidnapped! You need to get here now!”
Panic gripped her. Dana raced to the bank, withdrew a large sum of money, and rushed to the address she was given–a decrepit, abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town.
But the moment she reached the entrance, someone kicked her hard, sending her crashing through the warehouse doors. They slammed shut behind her.
Seconds later, several large dogs lunged at her, their teeth tearing into her skin.
They tore into her, jaws ripping through flesh. Blood pooled around her as her screams echoed off the walls.
Yet through the pain, she shouted desperately, “I brought the money! You can do whatever you want to me–just please, let my fiancé go!”
Her plea was met with loud, mocking laughter from outside the door. “Hunter, have you seen how silly she looks? That fool actually fell for it again. Still worried about you even after all that. What a pathetic little thing. Maybe you should just give her a shot–she’s clearly devoted.”
Another voice scoffed. “Are you kidding? Hunter’s in love with Celine. This bitch? Only good enough to be dog meat.”
Hunter’s voice followed, low and cold. “Keep it down. She might hear us.”
But another voice chuckled. “Hear us? She’s deaf, remember? You asked us to slip that hearing–loss drug into her food for three years. She’s been deaf ever since–how’s she going to hear anything?”
Dana heard everything. The moment she did, it felt like she had fallen into a frozen abyss.
Three years ago, she’d been a rising star–a prodigy pianist with original compositions people adored.
Piano was her soul, but she was deaf.
She wasn’t Beethoven–she couldn’t compose music after losing her hearing.
She used to think it was the car crash that stole her senses. Celine Feron had lost her memory in the same accident. Dana assumed it was all just a cruel twist of fate.
Now she knew better. The man she loved had orchestrated it all.
Their so–called love story had been a cruel charade from the start.
Her heart shattered with the weight of betrayal.
Outside, the laughter continued rolling in.
“Gosh, this is hilarious. What time is this? Our thirty–third con? I’ve honestly lost count.”
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Chapter 1 The Betrayal
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“Yup. Girl’s a real sucker. Still believes us after all this time. Remember when Hunter told her he was too drunk to drive, and she carried him ten miles home on foot?”
“That’s nothing. Not as wild as the hotel setup. Hunter said he was waiting in a hotel suite. When she got there–bam! Some stranger in the room. She barely escaped being violated, and we still managed to twist it around and frame her for cheating”
“She even begged him for forgiveness. I’ll never forget that pathetic scene. Man, it still amused me every time I thought of this.”
Those words continued to drift into Dana’s ears.
Dana trembled on the floor, her body shaking uncontrollably.
She thought back to that night at the hotel–Hunter had texted her saying he was drunk and couldn’t get home. He asked her to meet him at the hotel.
Dana packed some hangover broth and rushed over. But when she opened the hotel room door, it wasn’t Hunter. It was a huge, burly man.
She’d tried to run. That hulking man grabbed her, threw her onto the bed, straddled on top of her, and tore at her clothes.
Dana had screamed, begging him with teary eyes to let her go. He hit her–again and again–laughing cruelly. “Slut! Some guy told me there’d be a hot chick here tonight. I paid big for this, sweetheart.
“Don’t act all high and mighty. You get paid for it, don’t you?”
Dana couldn’t even hear him; she was deaf. But she could feel everything–the rage, the violation, the shame.
She begged him–pleaded with everything she had–for mercy. But the man didn’t care. He slapped her, hard, again and again.
He ruthlessly yanked at her clothes, tearing them apart. Just as Dana felt the last shred of hope slipping away, as terror swallowed her whole, the door burst open, and Hunter barged in.
Dana, broken and sobbing, tried to run into his arms–but he shoved her away.
Expressionless, he typed out a message on his phone. “I treated you so well, and this is how you repay me? How could you betray me? You’re disgusting.”
Dana had always hated being misunderstood, especially by the one person she loved most.
She tried to explain, begging him to trust her.
But now she finally understood–it had all been a setup. Hunter knew the truth. He knew she hadn’t cheated.
It had all been staged–his sick little performance to amuse himself.
Why? What had she done to deserve this?
They had grown up together. Childhood sweethearts, inseparable since they were kids. What changed?
The dogs were still biting her, but the pain in her heart drowned out the physical wounds.
She lay there, trembling, numb. Silent.
“She’s awfully quiet,” someone said outside the door. “Think the dogs killed her?”
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Chapter 1 The Betrayal
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“No way. A few bites won’t kill her. And even if she died, she deserves it. She’s the one who took Celine out that day–caused the crash, made Celine lose her memory, and made her forget Hunter.”
“And remember what the doctor said? After Dana fell in the hospital that time, Celine started remembering things. Pain and trauma can trigger her memories.
“Exactly. You think Hunter would’ve lowered himself to date her if it weren’t for that? Please. The only reason he put up with her was to help Celine recover. She’s not even worth the trouble. But if she dies and Celine sees it? Who knows–maybe she’ll remember everything.”
Each word stabbed deeper than the last. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
So that was it. Everything that had happened–all of it–was for Celine.
She and Hunter had been engaged since their coming–of–age, practically promised to each other since childhood. Everyone thought they were meant to be.
Back then, Hunter’s world had revolved around her. Dana was all that he could see. They were the couple everyone believed was
destined to last forever.
But everything changed when Celine entered their lives. Hunter became someone she no longer recognized. The warmth in his eyes vanished, replaced by a coldness that only melted for Celine.
Dana had begun to believe the engagement was over.
Then the accident happened. Celine lost her memory.
And in a move that stunned everyone, especially Dana, Hunter didn’t stay by Celine’s side. Instead, he turned to Dana–the girl who had gone deaf from that very same accident–and proposed.
She’d been so thrilled that night she couldn’t sleep. Dana thought, finally, her love had come full circle.
But none of it had been real. It was all part of Hunter’s scheme–a cruel plan to keep Dana close, to hurt her again and again, hoping her suffering might somehow jog Celine’s memory.
Over the next three years, Hunter tricked her 33 times. He toyed with her like she was a pawn in his twisted game.
He even drugged her–kept her deaf for three years.
Dana had laid her heart bare and loved him with every inch of her soul. And he never once truly cared. It was a vicious, unforgivable
joke.
If Hunter loved Celine so much, he could have her. She was done.
The dogs were still biting at her limbs, but something primal surged inside Dana. She flung them off with all her might.
Bloodied and gasping, she stumbled to her feet. Her eyes landed on a wooden chair nearby. She grabbed it and hit those dogs.
When someone’s staring death in the face, adrenaline can unlock a terrifying kind of strength.
Once. Twice. Over and over.
She didn’t stop swinging until the dogs lay on the ground, whimpering, no longer a threat.
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Chapter 1 The Betrayal
And then, she collapsed too.
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With the last ounce of strength she had, Dana pulled out her phone and made a call to an old friend. “Do you still have that private Island for sale?” she asked, her voice ragged. “I’ll take it.”
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