Chapter 3

• Marlowe's POV
• Salem carried me over to the bed and set me down gently, as if I were made of glass.
• He turned around, grabbed a roll of white bandage from the medical kit on the table, and knelt on the floor in front of me.
• He carefully began to wrap the tight bandage around my swollen ankle.
• I sat there on the edge of the mattress, completely speechless.
• My lips were parted, my eyes wide as I stared down at the top of his long dark hair.
• Salem had never treated me like this. He only ever touched me to hurt me, to break me, or to use my body to quench his anger.
• This sudden, tender care felt fake and suspicious.
• Just as he tied off the end of the bandage, a quick, sharp knock sounded on the bedroom door.
• Salem’s posture stiffened instantly.
• He snapped his head toward the door, clearly annoyed. “I’m busy, Rowan!” he yelled.
• Rowan’s voice came quickly from behind the door. “I’m sorry, boss! I just wanted to remind you about your meeting with the Kuznetsov syndicate heads. They’re already waiting downstairs.”
• Salem didn't hesitate for even a second.
• He stood up straight and called out loud, “Cancel it.”
• “What?” Rowan stammered through the door, sounding completely shocked. “Boss, that meeting took weeks to set up—”
• “I said cancel it, Rowan!” Salem barked back, his voice sharp. “Tell them we’ll reschedule for next week!”
• “Yes, boss...” Rowan muttered quickly. His footsteps hurried away down the hallway.
• I sat frozen on the bed.
• My mind was spinning out of control.
• Salem had canceled an important meeting with the syndicate leaders just to stay in this room with me?
• Why is he doing this? Why is he acting like he actually cares?
• A tiny, stupid flicker of hope tried to bloom in my chest, making me wonder if he was finally seeing me as a human being instead of a prisoner.
• Then Salem turned around to face me. The soft look in his eyes was completely gone, replaced by a cold angry look.
• “Don't get any crazy ideas, Marlowe,” he said, his voice dropping into a harsh whisper. “You’re not allowed to keep hurting yourself like this. In fact, you're not allowed to hurt yourself at all. If anyone is going to kill you, it will be me, with my own hands. So stop pulling stupid stunts trying to get my attention.”
• Every thought in my head shattered into dust.
• The harsh words hit my heart like a physical blow.
• The small warmth I had felt a second ago instantly turned into pure black hatred.
• He turned his back on me to walk away toward the door.
• But I suddenly moved—
• Without thinking twice, I scrambled off the bed.
• I lunged forward, grabbed Salem around his waist from behind, and shoved my hand deep into his side jacket pocket.
• I grabbed his gun, cocked it, and pressed the cold barrel against my forehead.
• Salem spun around quickly, but the moment he saw the barrel pressed to my skin, he froze dead in his tracks.
• He immediately threw both hands up in the air, his eyes widening in pure shock.
• “What are you doing, Marlowe?” he yelled, his voice cracking with a fear I had never heard from him before. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing right now?”
• He took a tiny step toward me, but I pressed the gun harder into my skull.
• “Don't come any closer!” I screamed, my body shaking with raw rage and tears. “I swear to God, Salem, I will pull this trigger and blow my brains out right here, right now! And it will hurt you so much—because I know you want me to suffer! You want to watch my miserable life end slowly, bit by bit! You won't get the satisfaction of killing me! So step back!”
• Salem’s jaw twitched. “Marlowe, listen to me—”
• “I said get back!” I yelled.
• “Fine! Fine! I'm stepping back!” he said quickly, backing away gently with his hands held high in surrender. “Just... don't pull the trigger, Marlowe. Put the gun down.”
• I wiped a tear from my eye with my shoulder, keeping the gun locked against my head.
• “When I fell, you ran into this room in two seconds. I know you have cameras in here! Take them out! I want every single camera taken out right now!”
• Salem tried to play dumb. “Marlowe, there are no cameras—”
• “Take them out now!” I screamed, my finger tightening against the trigger. “You’ve seen my bare body every single day in this room! You’ve taken everything from me! Can’t I have a tiny bit of privacy in this hellhole? Remove the cameras or I end my life this second!”
• “Okay! Okay! I’ll take them out!” Salem growled.
• He looked around the room, grabbed an iron decorative rod from the side table, and rolled up his suit sleeves.
• He didn't look away from me.
• He walked to the corner of the room, ripped out the light bulb, and smashed the hidden cameras inside the fixture.
• He moved to the smoke detector on the other side of the room and crushed the second camera.
• He walked over to the tall bookshelf and smashed the third camera hidden inside the shelves.
• Then he walked into my bathroom, and smashed the fourth camera hidden inside the mirror frame.
• I couldn't believe it. Salem had a camera inside my bathroom, watching me every single day while I took my bath.
• What a creep! A fucking pervert!
• Salem walked back out of the bathroom, his forehead dripping with sweat, his hands shaking slightly.
• “Is that all?” I asked quickly, my voice shaking.
• “I swear to you on my father’s grave, that was all of them. Four cameras. Now let me have the gun, Marlowe. Toss it over here.”