CHAPTER 20
It had been barely over a month since Madelynn last set foot in the Fontaine estate, but the moment she arrived, she knew.
Something was wrong.
The air felt heavier, the once familiar home felt cold and foreign. There were unfamiliar servants in the courtyard, even their uniforms were different. Strangers patrolled the property like guards. As she approached the front door, one of them stepped forward and blocked her path.
“Who are you?” he demanded. “Without Madam Cecelia’s permission, outsiders aren’t allowed
inside.”
Madelynn narrowed her eyes. “I’m the eldest daughter of this house. Since when do I need a servant’s permission to enter my own home?”
“Leave!” he barked.
But the others didn’t move. They stood firm, forming a wall of resistance. Behind them were several large men in black-clearly trained security.
“Madam Cecelia gave strict orders,” one of them said flatly. “No one gets in without her permission.”
Ava stepped up beside her and tugged gently at Madelynn’s sleeve. “Lynn… something’s seriously off. I already texted my brother when we got here. Maybe we should wait for backup?”
Madelynn’s jaw clenched. Her mother’s voice echoed in her head from the phone call earlier.
‘Madelynn! Please help us!”
At the time, she had thought it was desperation. Maybe even another tactic to try and manipulate her. But now? Something felt far more sinister.
‘No,” she said, her voice low and tense. “If we wait, it might be too late. Someone inside could already be in danger.”
Ava exhaled, glanced at the guards again, and raised her hand in signal.
Within moments, Red’s personal security team, six elite bodyguards in black tactical wear swept in from the perimeter. They didn’t ask questions. They moved like they owned the place, efficien and deadly.
The Fontaine’s men barely had time to react.
Thirty seconds later, they were taken down and the grounds were silent.
Madelynn rushed to the door and shoved it open. The once lavish foyer was dark and eerily quiet. She ran up the grand staircase with Ava right behind her, their hearts pounding with every step.
She burst into the master bedroom and stopped short.
Her parents were both lying in bed, weak and emaciated. The air was thick with the sour stench of decay and unwashed linen. It was like a hospital ward left abandoned.
Harry was unconscious. Amelia was awake, but barely conscious.
Her once perfectly coiffed hair was limp, her face gaunt, and eyes wide with horror. Madelynn
had never seen her parents like this.
“Oh my God!” Madelynn exclaimed in horror. “What happened? Where’s Cecelia?”
“Maddy…” she choked. “Cecelia… She’s a monster. She locked us in here. She cut off our phones. She’s trying to kill us. The servants… They all work for her now. I had to beg my trusted maid to help me sneak my phone in here.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks. “She tried to kill us.”
Madelynn stared, frozen in shock. “What… What do you mean? Where is she?!”
Madelynn reached for her hand weakly. “I was wrong… I believed in her so blindly… But you were the one who came. You were always the one who stayed. Maddy-please, save us.”
Ava stood near the door, her arms crossed, and her voice full of venom. “How convenient. Now that you’re helpless, now she’s your daughter again? Where was all this motherly love when she needed it?”
Amelia’s lips trembled. “I know… I know we were wrong…”
Madelynn didn’t answer. She just stepped closer to the bed. “Save the apologies. Let’s get you out of here.”
She glanced at Ava. “Help me. Take the right side.”
Ava sighed but stepped forward.
Just as they reached for Amelia, the older woman’s eyes widened in terror. Her mouth movec breath rattling.
‘M- Maddy, behind you!”
The warning came too late.
A sharp blow struck the back of Madelynn’s head. Pain exploded in her skull. Her vision blurrec
hen darkened until it vanished altogether.
When she came to, her arms were bound to the arms of a heavy wooden chair. Thick ropes bi nto her wrists. Her head throbbed. She blinked groggily until the figure in front of her came int
ocus.
Oliver.
He sat across from her, slumped in a wheelchair, his face pale- but twisted with rage and desperation.
‘Oliver!” she snapped. “What the hell are you doing?!”
‘Maddy…” he said quietly, like her voice had soothed something raw inside him. “You promise me, remember? You said we’d be together forever.”
Madelynn stared at him. Her heart was pounding dangerously in her chest. “You’ve completely
lost it.”
Oliver ignored her.
“You’re marrying him? The bastard who took my leg?” His voice cracked with fury. “And you didn’t even hesitate!”
“You betrayed me first!” Madelynn snapped. “You and Cecelia! What, did you think I’d stay loyal while you two snuck around behind my back?”
Oliver’s knuckles whitened on the wheels of his chair. “I messed up. But you still belonged to me. You always did.”
“You’re delusional,” she said, voice sharp as glass. “If you have any sense left, you’ll let me go before Sebastian finds you.”
That made Oliver laugh.
Not a warm laugh. He laughed like a crazy person.
‘Do you know how long I’ve been planning this?” he asked. “I had to use your mother as bait. I <new you’d come. You’re too good. You’ve always been too kind. And I counted on it.”
Her stomach turned and she felt like throwing up.
You tricked me,” she whispered.
Of course I did,” he spat. “Do you think I’d ever get another chance otherwise? You never vould’ve spoken to me again.”
His eyes darkened, voice softening. “But it’s okay now. You’re here. You’ll see… Once you calm lown, you’ll understand. I loved you first.”
You hurt me first,” she said. “And I will never love you again.”
ler voice was firm.
Oliver’s expression hardened. “That’s fine. You don’t have to say it now. You’ll come around with
me.”
Madelynn’s heart pounded.
Where was Ava? Where were her security guards?
he tugged at the ropes but they were too tight. They didn’t even budge.
liver wheeled himself closer, and reached out to her.
You don’t know what I gave up for you. And now… you’re mine again. I won’t let Sebastian steal ou from me again.”
