Chapter 6

"Let me out!" Tracy struggled to climb out of the pool, but the moment she moved, someone would force her back down immediately. "Mr. Halston said you must be in here for two hours. We have to make sure every last germ is washed off you!" one of the bodyguards said. Her skin had already turned red. Even the lightest contact would send sharp pain through her nerves. During the struggle, disinfectant splashed into her eyes. The burn was so intense that veins bulged at her temples and her eyelids twitched uncontrollably. She was already reduced to this state in just two minutes. How could she possibly last two hours? However, the bodyguards followed Sebastian's orders without question. No matter how much Tracy struggled, no matter how she cried for help, no matter how horrifyingly bloodshot her eyes became… They ignored it all and kept pressing her under the pool filled with disinfectant. By the end, she no longer had the strength to fight. She lay floating in the pool, silent and numb, staring up at the sky. She didn't see Sebastian, only the freedom that awaited her. Soon. Very soon, she would be free. Two hours later, Tracy was hauled out of the pool, changed into clean clothes, and shoved into Whitney's ward. The moment Tracy stepped inside, she was dragged to the bedside. Before she could react, a thin, bony pair of hands clamped violently around her throat. Tracy looked up. Whitney's eyes were swollen red, her face twisted with rage. "You lied to me! You're not a maid of the Halston family at all. You're the woman Seb married. You're the wife he brought home after abandoning me! "You lied to me! Why did you lie? And how dare you show your face in front of me again?" Whitney's grip tightened, her fingers clenching with murderous intent. Tracy's breathing grew ragged. Her face flushed red, then purple. She clawed desperately at Whitney's hands. "It was a misunderstanding… I'm… I'm divorcing him…" The moment the words left her mouth, the pressure around her neck vanished. Air rushed back into her lungs. Tracy doubled over, coughing violently. Tears streamed down her face from sheer physical reflex. Whitney sneered at her misery. "You already fooled me once. Why should I believe you? But since Seb sent you here, he clearly doesn't care that much about you. Didn't you come to play games with me? Fine. Let's play." Tracy finally understood how naive she had been about the games Whitney played. Tracy watched as Whitney pulled out a set of thick silver needles and moved to stab her with them. Tracy stumbled back instinctively. "I'm from the Sullivan family. You don't have the right to do this to me." "I don't care who you are. Hold her down!" Whitney ordered. Tracy had already been drained of all her strength back in the pool. Now, she couldn't fight back at all. She was forced to her knees in front of the hospital bed, like a lamb awaiting slaughter. The redness and swelling on her body had not yet faded before new wounds were added. Whitney toyed with Tracy cruelly, admiring the pain on her face as she dragged the silver needles across Tracy's back, carving bloody lines into her skin. Whitney's voice dripped with malice. "Why do you get to stand beside him like a normal person? Why do you get to be his wife? Why? Do you think just because you were born with a better background, you get to have everything I've spent my life working for?" Tracy clenched her teeth. Sweat drenched her face as pain tore through her body, but she lifted her head anyway and met Whitney's gaze without flinching. "You don't actually love Sebastian. You're latching onto him because you come from nothing and want to climb your way up. Edward saw right through you. That's why he locked you away." Whitney froze, and her pupils shrank. Blood had splattered onto Tracy's face. She smiled through it, the sight unsettling. "I'm right, aren't I? Otherwise, why did you only come back after we'd been married for two years? Because you were afraid. You didn't dare. That's all your love amounts to." A sharp slap landed across Tracy's face. Whitney's eyes burned crimson as she spoke slowly, word by word. "It's been a long time since anyone made me this angry. Tracy, you really are something. But Seb loves me now. So tell me, if I kill you right here, do you think he'll blame me?" As the words fell, Whitney drove the needle straight toward Tracy's eye, which was already red and swollen from the disinfectant. Whitney intended to blind her on the spot! The moment the needle pierced her eye, Tracy let out a hoarse, agonized scream. Every nerve in her body screamed in pain. Thick, sticky blood instantly covered her face. The door flew open with a bang as Sebastian came in. The moment he saw the state Tracy was in, panic surged into his eyes. He strode toward her, but when he reached her side, his outstretched hand froze in mid-air. Through her blurred vision, Tracy saw him hesitate again and again before he finally pulled his hand back. With a trace of guilt, he explained, "Trace, you know about my obsession with cleanliness. I really can't handle blood." In the end, he ordered the bodyguards behind him to carry Tracy into the operating room. The last thing Tracy saw before losing consciousness was Sebastian pulling the trembling, crying Whitney into his arms to comfort her, despite the fact that she was also covered in blood. He never looked back at Tracy and only focused on Whitney. Tracy slowly closed her eyes, tears soaking into the corners.