Rising From Fire: The Betrayed Wife's Return

n, let

in hammered against the tin roof of the warehouse

oment. It was pale, streaked with grime, her cheekbone already showing a dark bruise. Sh

efore her. They were pristine, untouched by the filth of the abandone

against her restraints. The metal links

Elara's raw nerves. She glided forward, her perfectly manic

er voice dripping with venom. "

ing on his pinky finger, a habit he had when closing a deal. His eyes, which once held

sheaf of papers from Julian. She tossed the

ered. "Your 'genius' f

ment for the drug she had spent countless nights pe

lazing with a fury that momenta

le my re

id of any emotion. "You 'voluntarily' transferred it. As payment f

ld dread, slick and oily, coated her insides. Her

this is your ch

time, echoing in the cavernous space. "Oh

ulian's face. "Don't insult me

ty. Too much champagne. Waking up in a hotel room,

t wasn't you?" H

lian drugged you that night to make you spill the formula," she whispered, the words a poison

ared at the sharp‑featured man

away in the basement like a dog by her adoptive mother. She

t the child

r younger sister. The pair had colluded despica

idening. "Too bad you and the basta

his patience wearing thin. "L

from the corner. The sharp, chemical smell of gasoline hit Elara seconds be

her. She thrashed against the cha

d, the sound teari

"Because everything you had should have been mine! Your

cket. The small flame flickered to

softly, as if discarding

ed the

oo

acing across the gasoline

, and they turned their backs, walki

t was inhuman as the fire licked at her

tened to consume her, one thought burned

nt child. For

she threw her entire body backward. The hea

ac

d. The jagged edge sliced throu

se heat and fell, crashing down between her a

n, she crawled. She scrambled across the filthy floor t

against the rotten

mbled out of the inferno, falling into the cold,

en, no