Hands of Stone, Heart of Vengeance

na

re being scoured with acid. I was trapped for hours, my head poundin

and forced myself to run. I had to get to the

ds, the burned one raw and the other scraped from the fall, fumbled with the keycard. I burst into the bu

nerator. The roaring flame was a cleansing fire. I stayed there, shivering despite t

nd, a whirlwind of emotional exhaustion, threatened to consu

ith formulas tied to our life. A life I barely reco

ows. Our wedding day, before the car crash, before the amnesia, before Bella. We were smiling in every photo pasted next to the formulas, our eyes full of a fierce, youthful love. My heart ached, a

, self-destructive lie. This was it.

shredding pages. Each tear was a defiant act, a

s of our past. The images of our smiles curled and blackened, turning to ash. It hurt, a p

an stood there, his eyes wide, his chest he

n shifted, a flicker of concern in his eyes. "What happened to you?" he de

k. The memory of his disgust, his violent

. The flames licked at the last vestiges of a notebook. A photo o

" he snarled, kicking the incinerator door shut. "What are you burning?" He reached in with a p

rying to burn company property? Are you trying to destroy my intellectual assets?" His eyes fixed on my

raw, blistering burn, and squeezed. A fresh

fake! You're trying to frame Bella, aren't you? You

I gasped, tears streaming down m

y were brutal, dismissive, utterly devoid of recognition. Th

athy. Do you want me to praise your talent, Elena? Do you want me to tell you how brilliant you are?" He stalked towards

h. I cried out as the cold steel pressed against my back. I struggled, but he

wave of terror washing

about desire?" His eyes raked over my body, my stained dress, my burned hand, a look

down my temples. I braced myself for the

y screamed in protest, every bruise flaring with pain. "

e trouble," he sneered. "A place

a large, glass-walled chamber used for flash-freezing rare botanicals.

ng. "Let me go. I'll sign anything. I'll le

? You think I'll just let the nose of my company walk away?" He threw me inside the glass chamber. The impact on the i

glass. But my body was weak, my movements clum

e stood outside, his f

ed, his voice chillingly calm through the interco

cycle initiated. A blast of frigid air washed over me. I could

ody flashed in my mind. Not a memory, but a feeling. A lu

d on their own. I began to h

s expression, moments ago a mask of sadistic pleasure, suddenly

often had. A dream of a sun-drenched nursery, a woman with long, dark hair singing, and a man, a s

d twisting dials. The device whirred, then powered down. The

voice rough with a new, unsettling urgency. "Elena! Elena, wake up! What is

d remain