The Monster He Made, The Woman She Became

s her engagement party, a celebration of her future with Michael Thompson, the brilliant tech entrepreneur who had swep

on her lips, but it was the dark purple mark on her neck, just above the collar of her dress, that caught

ou look so beautiful. Michael is a lucky man." She leaned in, her perfume cloying. "H

kept her voice steady. "What

e good luck charm. He even said that on your wedding night, I should sleep betwe

s a declaration of war. Disgust, thick and suffocating, rose in her throat. She looked past Tiffany and sa

shot out. She grabbed Tiffany' s arm,

ny shrieked, her sweet faca

re starting to stare. She dragged Tiffany toward the exit, the woman's heels scraping against the polish

Tiffany yelled,

llroom. She turned to face Michael, her whole body trembling with rag

chael showed up at her apartment, not with an apology, but with a chillingly calm expression

han, her younger brother, was her world. He suffered from severe acrophobia, a paralyzing

yfall Tower," a 200-foot freefall ride. Ethan' s

he and two of his burly security guards grabbed Ethan. Her brother cried out, struggling, but they were

livia screamed, clawing at his arm. "He h

ny was on the screen, a smug look on her face. "Apologize to Tiffa

ht now!" Olivia pleaded, her heart pou

ed beforehand. He brazenly pressed the 'on' button. The ride jerked to life, shooting Etha

d, falling to her knees. "I'm sorry! Tiffany,

chirped from the phone. "Kowtow to me.

one down at Olivia. "

sorry, I'm sorry." She didn't care about the pain, the grit scraping her skin, or the blood t

d, sounding pleased. He held

t him down now," Olivia begged, look

en at the tower where Ethan' s seat was now at the very top, paused before its ter

ickening crack, he snapp

then her eyes shot up to the top of the tower. Ethan' s seat was released.

le

the base of the ride, her body refusing to

rom her soul. It was a sound

oed from the phone he still held. "Now, about our wedding," Michael continued, as if he were discussing the weather. "Your parents are on vacation in Europe. I'd hate for someth

p, but Michael' s men were there, surrounding her. They took her phone, her purse. They told the park staff it was a tragic accident, a ride malfunction

r, a name surfaced in her mind from a long time ago. Mr. Davies. A powerful, enigmatic man her father had once known. A man who owed