Reborn From Ashes: Loving My Ruthless Husband
Chapter 2
Scarlett stepped out of her bedroom barefoot.
The freezing marble floor of the penthouse hallway grounded her racing thoughts, sending sharp jolts of clarity up her spine.
She walked silently down the grand staircase, her hand gliding over the polished mahogany banister.
She knew the patrol routes. She knew exactly where the blind spots were.
She spotted two heavily armed guards near the east wing, their flashlights cutting through the dark.
Scarlett deliberately turned and slipped into the shadow-covered servant's corridor.
The air here smelled of lemon polish and old wood.
She reached the end of the hall and pushed open the heavy glass doors leading out to the expansive rose maze.
The cool night wind hit her instantly.
The thin silk nightgown clung tightly to her body, outlining her figure and offering zero protection against the chill.
She navigated the towering, manicured hedges, her bare feet crunching softly against the gravel.
Her eyes scanned the suffocating darkness, searching for her target.
A sudden rustling sound came from the center of the maze.
Scarlett stopped, her muscles tensing.
Chase stepped out from the shadows of a large stone fountain.
He was wearing a black hoodie, his hands shoved into his pockets, looking highly impatient.
He spotted Scarlett and his face broke into a relieved, smug smile.
He stepped forward rapidly, reaching out to grab her arm.
"Finally. What took you so long?"
Scarlett suppressed a violent wave of bile rising in her throat.
She swiftly took a step back, letting his hand grasp empty air.
Chase frowned in confusion, his hand dropping to his side.
He asked in a hushed, irritated whisper, "Why aren't you wearing your coat? Where is your bag?"
Scarlett stared at his handsome, deceitful face.
She saw the face of the man who had locked the warehouse door from the outside and left her to burn.
She took a slow, deep breath, her eyes darting slightly to the left.
She calculated the exact distance to the nearest security camera mounted on the stone wall.
She positioned herself perfectly within the camera's blind spot.
But she made sure she was within clear earshot of the third-floor main balcony.
Damian's balcony.
Chase stepped closer, his patience wearing thin.
He reached out with both arms, trying to pull her into a forced hug to hurry her along.
"Come on, Scarlett, stop playing around. We need to go."
Scarlett opened her mouth.
She let out a piercing, blood-curdling scream.
The sound shattered the dead silence of the estate, echoing violently off the stone walls.
Chase froze in absolute shock.
His hands hovered awkwardly in the air, his eyes wide with disbelief.
He frantically lunged forward, trying to clamp his hand over her mouth.
"Shut up! Are you crazy?" he hissed angrily, panic setting into his features.
Scarlett dodged his hand aggressively, throwing her weight backward.
She screamed even louder, her voice tearing through the night, yelling for help.
High above them, the lights instantly flicked on in the third-floor master suite.
Damian had been alerted.
Chase looked up at the sudden burst of light, his face draining of all color.
He panicked completely.
He turned around, his expensive sneakers slipping on the gravel as he tried to run toward the outer gate to save himself.
Scarlett refused to let him escape. Not this time.
Her eyes flashed with a dark, venomous vengeance.
She lunged forward, her fingers hooking into the thick fabric at the back of his hoodie.
She gripped it with a surprisingly strong, desperate force.
Chase stumbled backward, choking as the collar of the hoodie dug into his windpipe.
He cursed under his breath, losing his balance completely.
Scarlett used his own backward momentum against him, pulling him further off balance.
She planted her bare left foot firmly into the gravel.
She raised her right knee, gathering all her physical strength and three years of pent-up hatred.
She drove her knee brutally upwards.
The strike landed directly and devastatingly into his groin.
A sickening, muffled crunch echoed in the quiet garden.
It was followed immediately by Chase's high-pitched, inhuman howl of sheer agony.
Chase collapsed onto the gravel path like a puppet with its strings cut.
He curled into a tight, trembling ball, his hands clutching himself as he gasped uselessly for air.
Scarlett stood over him, her chest heaving, her bare feet bleeding slightly from the sharp stones.
Then, the sound of heavy, urgent footsteps approached rapidly from the terrace above.
The heavy iron gates of the garden rattled.
Damian was coming.
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