Chapter 2

• Selina’s POV
• It was a rainy night when I was kidnapped.
• The kidnappers demanded three million, but Maddox hung up the ransom call three times.
• He thought it was all a joke.
• He didn't even bother to check if I was safe.
• Frustrated, the kidnappers called again, this time shouting, "Your wife is in my car right now, believe me or I'll kill her!"
• Bound in the back seat, I wasn’t gagged. I tried to scream, only to hear a woman’s moans on the other end of the phone.
• "Maddox, don't leave me. Can we just continue? "
• I tried to speak, but the words stuck in my throat like a knife.
• That voice clearly was from Clara.
• At the moment of life and death, he was entangled with another woman. How ironic.
• The kidnapper snapped, "Hey! Are you listening to me? I’m warning you…."
• Maddox chuckled. "Light some fireworks for her when they find her body."
• That one word, "fireworks," was enough to shatter the fragile illusion of our two-year contract marriage. He ended the call without hesitation.
• The kidnapper hung up again and slammed the gas pedal, while my heart sank into a pain I couldn’t bear.
• This was Maddox’s true face.
• He didn’t even try to confirm my location, just tossed out such a careless line, one that could have killed me instantly.
• The kidnapper punched the steering wheel. "Damn it! This lunatic doesn’t care if the hostage lives or dies!"
• His anger had clearly reached its limit because of Maddox. He floored the gas pedal, and I kept slamming against the car door in the back seat.
• And at that very moment, my husband was being intimate with another woman, even cursing me to die right away.
• "Why the fuck aren't you calling anymore!" My roar tore out of my throat. I grabbed the kidnapper’s arm tightly. "Keep calling until he picks up! Useless!"
• The kidnapper turned and stared at me, surprised.
• I must have looked terrifying then, but I didn’t care. "Why aren’t you calling? Are you a coward? Is this your way of threatening him? He doesn’t care if I live or die; your plan is falling apart. You okay with that?"
• "Aren’t you mute?" The kidnapper looked at me, stunned.
• Before I could answer, the car jolted, broke through the guardrail, and rushed onto an unfinished mountain road. There was no road ahead.
• Before he could react, I lunged forward and yanked the steering wheel.
• The car spun violently at the edge of the cliff, with the windshield shattering. In the rearview mirror, I saw my bloodshot eyes, like a beast cornered.
• I woke some time later to the sound of police sirens. The kidnapper stumbled out of the driver’s seat and ran off.
• I crawled out through the broken window, bruised and shaking, and noticed the kidnapper’s phone lying on the ground. My chest tightened. I hid it quickly before the police arrived.
• At the station, I gave my statement. The police asked me to contact my family, but I still couldn’t reach Maddox. He was away on a business trip, in bed with the model Clara.
• How ridiculous. He wouldn’t even know I had nearly died.
• The police managed to call my mom.
• After hearing I was safe, she didn’t ask what happened. Instead, she warned me, "Selina, resign. Let the bodyguard protect you. Stay home. You can’t afford any accidents. This year is crucial for Maddox; it decides whether our family can still work with him."
• Resign? Was that what a mother should say to a daughter who almost died?
• "Mom, I…" I tried to speak.
• "Shut up!" Rose interrupted. "Do you want to kill me? Don't forget, you're a mute, and you’ll always be mute! Working at the company is already a mercy for Maddox. Resign now! If your sister were still here, I wouldn’t have to deal with this nonsense!"
• The busy tone followed after she hung up.
• I hugged my trembling shoulders. I hadn’t been born mute; my mother simply never let me speak.
• When I was eight, Rose drove drunk and hit a mother and daughter. The Mindwell Community Circle nearly collapsed due to the scandal.
• Rose forced me to act as a traumatized, speechless girl from the accident. We confessed and paid a huge sum, gaining the public’s forgiveness.
• From then on, I could never speak again.
• I didn’t know if my sister would have been treated better in my place. But I knew I had always been just a tool for my mother. If I didn’t make Maddox divorce me, I would never escape this cage.
• From Rose to Maddox, I would never let anyone control my life again.
• Over the next week, I searched for a way to divorce without paying a billion dollars.
• There seemed to be no loophole in the contract Maddox gave me, and I felt desperate.
• Then, by chance, I pulled out the phone with the voice changer, the one I had picked up at the crash and locked away in a drawer.
• The kidnapper never showed up again. A private detective I hired found that the number belonged to a burner phone from East Asia.
• What did I have? Maddox didn't know the secret that I could actually talk, and I had this phone.
• So I made the first call to Maddox.
• I was determined to break free from my life, no matter the cost.
• From that day on, I became the "kidnapper," with a simple demand: to pay me a billion dollars, or Maddox divorces me willingly.
• And so, the dangerous game began.
• The hurried footsteps outside the bathroom broke my thoughts.
• I didn’t know who it was, but I couldn’t take any risks. I quickly fastened my bra, scratching my skin in the process. I endured the sting, got dressed, washed my hands, and pushed the door open.
• Just as I stepped out, I bumped into Maddox head-on. Guilt and nerves made me step back, but he caught my arm.
• "You..." His Adam's apple bobbed visibly, tension evident in his eyes. "Did you see any suspicious individuals?"