my alpha has a new love [Full Movie]

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Transcript

00:00:03happy birthday my boy go on make a wish i wish to lead the orsani family and rule the city

00:00:10with

00:00:10you dad if your mother was still here she'd be so proud for orsini hold the blood carry the name

00:00:22the rososi family sends their regards

00:00:31the party is over

00:00:35take julian get him out no dad that's an order son you hear me the orsini family is yours now

00:00:43can i count on you of course dad

00:00:48you picked the wrong day to fuck father bastards

00:00:53glen orsani pathetic i hope your son loved my birthday gift

00:01:07to hold the blood and carry the name

00:01:31miss rosetti please come out now time to leave

00:01:34yeah right all they ever do is lock me in that boring old manner i'm done with it

00:01:40can i help you i'm looking for a girl this is the kitchen i don't see any girl here

00:01:48who are you

00:01:51are you okay you're bleeding

00:01:54not your problem excuse me do you even know who you're talking to

00:02:06you didn't answer me who are you my name is

00:02:13boss all the rosetti family present today have been eliminated

00:02:16good job share all seized property to our lads

00:02:19yes boss

00:02:23mary or should i call you phoenix i finally avenged my family where are you now when will i find

00:02:29you

00:02:34this is the last day of my life we may never see each other again my dear love

00:02:43this is maggie rosetti

00:02:44hairress to the rosetti family

00:02:47then why is she still alive

00:02:48boss you made the rule

00:02:50no killing women or children so

00:02:52she's a rosetti i swore i'd wipe out every last one of them

00:02:58close your eyes

00:02:59what can't kill me while i'm looking at you

00:03:00i'm trying to leave you some dignity

00:03:02i don't want to see you wet yourself but if you're gonna do it just do it

00:03:08enough enough is enough julian and i thought i taught you never go too far

00:03:13this is my revenge for my family it's never enough you know how much i sacrificed for this

00:03:16day then you've already done it my boy

00:03:18no not yet julian let me put it this way

00:03:26she's about to be your wife you wouldn't hurt your own wife right

00:03:33me marry her

00:03:34she's the daughter of my enemy if you're going to kill me just do it

00:03:37don't humiliate me like this

00:03:39julian your families have been at each other's totes for years

00:03:42you've thrown the whole city into chaos

00:03:43it's time to end it up

00:03:45the only way this feud ends for good

00:03:47is if you marry her it'll never end

00:03:49i'll wipe every last rosetti how dare you speak to your godfather like that

00:03:52what i said was not a suggestion it was an order

00:03:54my men just came out of a battle

00:03:55this isn't the time to confront

00:03:57you've got me wrong godfather

00:03:59of course i'll do as you say

00:04:03go hug your wife

00:04:04show your commitment

00:04:06of course

00:04:08you guys are sick

00:04:11that's my boy

00:04:13i think you'll enjoy your marriage

00:04:15boss

00:04:15he's humiliating you

00:04:16he's doing this because you're getting stronger

00:04:18and he wants to keep you in check

00:04:19how long are we gonna let this go on

00:04:21no rush

00:04:22i've got plans for him

00:04:24don't think you're getting away with it

00:04:26i have plenty of ways to torture you

00:04:31i'll survive

00:04:32only by staying alive can i get my revenge

00:04:36phoenix

00:04:37i've been looking for you all these years

00:04:39i had this dress made just for you

00:04:40waiting for you to come back

00:04:44where are you

00:04:45we've searched the whole city

00:04:46but we still can't find a girl with a white phoenix birthmark

00:04:48keep looking

00:04:48she's the only one i've ever loved

00:04:53julian i knew you'd marry me

00:04:54i've been waiting so long

00:04:55now that you have your revenge

00:04:56we can finally be together

00:04:59you've always been like a sister to me

00:05:00how could i marry you

00:05:01besides i'm about to marry maggie rosetti

00:05:04wait

00:05:05that dress is for her

00:05:06the only woman worthy of that dress is phoenix

00:05:08that phoenix again

00:05:09after all these years

00:05:10she's still on his mind

00:05:12i'm tired

00:05:13i'm heading to bed

00:05:13all right

00:05:14good night

00:05:15anyone who tries to take julian from me

00:05:17will die

00:05:18starting with you maggie rosari

00:05:19i'm sorry my dear love

00:05:21to survive i have to get married

00:05:22i just wish it were you instead

00:05:23miss rosetti

00:05:24here's your wedding dress

00:05:25mr orcino had it made just for you

00:05:27didn't he swear he was gonna torture me

00:05:29why would he give me something so extravagant

00:05:30mr orcino may sound heartless

00:05:32but everybody knows he's such a gentleman

00:05:37julian looks like he's at a funeral

00:05:38not his wedding

00:05:39shut up

00:05:40the bride's a razzoni

00:05:41how's he supposed to look happy

00:05:42yeah but have you seen how hot she is

00:05:43boss everyone's watching

00:05:44at least try to look a little less miserable

00:05:46it's your wedding

00:05:47just thinking about that rossetti woman

00:05:48makes me want to throw up

00:05:49the bride is here

00:05:56i'm getting you out of here

00:05:57i swear

00:06:00phoenix

00:06:00is that you

00:06:01are you out of your mind

00:06:03of course you're nothing like her

00:06:04you're not even close

00:06:05oh so you had a lover

00:06:07how sad

00:06:07does she know how ruthless you are

00:06:09shut up

00:06:10you're just a cheap rossini

00:06:11you don't get to talk about her

00:06:16this wedding dress

00:06:17how dare you wear this

00:06:19what's your problem

00:06:19let go of me

00:06:22take it off

00:06:23now

00:06:26that's the wedding dress

00:06:27i prepared for my only love

00:06:28take it off

00:06:29now

00:06:32she handed it to me

00:06:33boss

00:06:34she's lying

00:06:35she insisted on trying it

00:06:37we couldn't stop her

00:06:38you liar

00:06:39you said it was for me

00:06:41are you drunk

00:06:43for god's sake

00:06:44you're a rossini

00:06:44how on earth would i prepare anything for you

00:06:48she only wanted to wear it to please you

00:06:50she thinks if she looks cute enough

00:06:52you'll love her

00:06:53exactly

00:06:53so now you're trying to lure me

00:06:55classic rossini

00:06:56doing whatever it takes to get what you want

00:06:59i see

00:06:59you two snakes

00:07:01don't flatter yourself

00:07:02not everyone wants your pity

00:07:03i'm the errantress of the rossini

00:07:04i've worn dresses way better than this

00:07:09what the hell are you doing

00:07:10don't you want me to take it off

00:07:11enough

00:07:17do your thing

00:07:17today we gather before god and these witnesses

00:07:20like i have a choice

00:07:21i do

00:07:21you may now kiss the bride

00:07:22i'd have to be insane to kiss her

00:07:26perfect

00:07:27she's done

00:07:34why is it so hot in here

00:07:36must be the booze

00:07:37trying to act like a gentleman now

00:07:39shut up

00:07:40i'm just being careful with the dress

00:07:42don't move

00:07:43that bastard

00:07:44he actually has a soft side

00:07:45damn

00:07:46am i out of my mind

00:07:47or this dress really does suit her

00:07:48wait

00:07:49could she be

00:07:52enough

00:07:53i'll take the rest off myself

00:07:54you can wait for me outside

00:07:55forget it

00:07:56how can she be phoenix

00:07:57this whole house belongs to me

00:07:59and you want me to wait outside

00:08:01what are you doing

00:08:03i'll make sure you never forget

00:08:04today's punishment

00:08:05this isn't right

00:08:06don't you have someone you love

00:08:07isn't this what you want

00:08:08wearing my beloved's wedding dress

00:08:10trying to take her place

00:08:11to please me

00:08:12no i'm maggie rosati

00:08:13i won't be anyone's substitute

00:08:15of course you're not her

00:08:16you don't even come close to her

00:08:17then get out

00:08:19look at yourself

00:08:20i want you to see yourself humiliated

00:08:22julian

00:08:23you are such a bastard

00:08:29just you wait you bastard

00:08:30one day

00:08:31i'll have her revenge

00:08:35what

00:08:35that bitch should be julian's enemy

00:08:37how could they

00:08:37don't worry

00:08:38i think mr orez away

00:08:39just wants to humiliate her

00:08:40for that slut

00:08:41i'd be julian's bride

00:08:42i want that bitch dead

00:08:44i have a plan

00:08:57sir the dress has been inspected

00:08:58it's good

00:08:59no damage was done

00:09:00store it in the vault

00:09:01until the day i find phoenix

00:09:03and what about maggie

00:09:05well i've already punished her last night

00:09:07send her some food

00:09:08i don't want her to die that easily

00:09:10oh god julian i messed up

00:09:13it's all my fault

00:09:13what happened

00:09:15the access card you gave me is missing

00:09:17what

00:09:20here is your breakfast

00:09:21mr oricino personally arranged it for you

00:09:23don't you think a little kindness

00:09:24will make me forgive you

00:09:25i'll settle the score with you later

00:09:29once i finish eating

00:09:30i'm gonna find a way

00:09:31out of this hellhole

00:09:37what's this

00:09:38wait

00:09:39isn't this card

00:09:44so it really was you

00:09:46you're out of your mind

00:09:47how dare you steal this

00:09:48this card is the same one

00:09:48i gave that boy back then

00:09:50then let me see it

00:09:51i thought you'd behave

00:09:52after last night

00:09:53it seems that you still

00:09:53have a death wish

00:09:54i just want one look

00:09:55i only need to confirm one thing

00:10:08well i shouldn't be surprised

00:10:09julian is such a ruthless person

00:10:11how could he be the brave boy

00:10:12from back then

00:10:13this is the access card

00:10:14to the oreski family arsenal

00:10:15how dare you steal it

00:10:16what are you planning to do

00:10:16i just picked it up off the floor

00:10:17if you didn't steal it

00:10:18why would it be in your room

00:10:19i don't know

00:10:19i just got here

00:10:20where would i steal it from

00:10:21you really are an idiot

00:10:22julian this is all my fault

00:10:23i thought maggie was already

00:10:25part of our family

00:10:26so i didn't keep my guard

00:10:27up against her

00:10:27how could this be your fault

00:10:29you're just too naive

00:10:30this bitch is using you

00:10:31you think she's naive

00:10:32and i'm using her

00:10:33god

00:10:34what's wrong with you

00:10:36looks like you still

00:10:37haven't realized your place

00:10:38now

00:10:38i know my place better

00:10:39than you do

00:10:40i'm just a slave

00:10:41in this hellhole

00:10:41you know i hope i did

00:10:42steal that card

00:10:42i hope i took weapons

00:10:43from your arsenal

00:10:44and i hope i kill

00:10:44every last one of you

00:10:46you

00:10:47take her to the dungeon

00:10:48it's time she faces

00:10:49real punishment

00:10:50i'm gonna let her know

00:10:51how savage we are

00:10:52yes boss

00:10:57i have other things to do

00:10:59you don't have to

00:11:00the toughest men

00:11:01can't last an hour

00:11:01in the orizi dungeon

00:11:02she'll surely die there

00:11:03this time

00:11:04are you serious

00:11:05what is all of this

00:11:07my advice don't ask

00:11:07the more you know

00:11:08the more scared you get

00:11:10you're lucky

00:11:11the orsizi family

00:11:12has no punishments

00:11:13for women

00:11:13what

00:11:14looks like

00:11:15i'll have to improvise them

00:11:16no please don't

00:11:26look at you scared like a rabbit

00:11:28you'll stay here for the next couple of days

00:11:30i hope you will soon know your place

00:11:42savages

00:11:42perfect to defend myself with

00:11:45nothing can be heard

00:11:46looks like that little bitch

00:11:48is already tortured to death

00:11:56why is she still alive

00:11:57well isn't this the naive elizabeth

00:12:00can't wait to see me tortured huh

00:12:02you

00:12:05hey

00:12:05i hear you're good at pleasing men

00:12:07right

00:12:07use whatever tricks you want on her

00:12:10go ahead

00:12:15one more step

00:12:16and i'll kill myself

00:12:17no matter what

00:12:18i'm julian's wife now

00:12:20if anything happens to me

00:12:22let's see how are you gonna explain to him

00:12:25you filthy bitch

00:12:26how dare you call yourself julian's wife

00:12:28you're nothing but a slave

00:12:29now i get it

00:12:32i was wondering why you were trying to set me up

00:12:35you want to marry him

00:12:37shut up

00:12:38how pathetic

00:12:40he'd rather marry me

00:12:42than you

00:12:46do what you're here to do

00:12:47now

00:12:54no stop

00:12:56you savages

00:12:57mr orizzi is here

00:13:00three million people cursed my name on labor day

00:13:03they called me a hysterical woman driver

00:13:05who turned interstate 90 into a graveyard

00:13:07my new silver sedan's brakes went completely dead

00:13:10i stood on the pedal with both feet but it was locked solid

00:13:12the impact killed two

00:13:16and injured 24

00:13:17no one believed me

00:13:19every inspector

00:13:20every black box data line said the vehicle was flawless

00:13:22vehicular manslaughter

00:13:2412 years

00:13:26to pay the millions in damages

00:13:27my 68 year old father drove night shifts for a delivery company

00:13:31until his heart burst over the steering wheel

00:13:33eight weeks later

00:13:34my grief strutting mother died alone in a rented room

00:13:36when their two death certificates arrived at my cell

00:13:39my world ended

00:13:40i stared at the concrete prison wall

00:13:42pulled my head back

00:13:43and slammed it forward

00:13:44then

00:13:45a sudden vibration in my palms

00:13:47i gasped

00:13:49throwing my eyes open

00:13:50my shaking hands were gripped around a steering wheel

00:13:54through the windshield

00:13:55a green sign flashed by

00:13:57interstate 90

00:13:58my phone buzzed in the cup holder

00:14:00with a new text from mom

00:14:01drive safe sweetheart

00:14:02pots already on

00:14:05i didn't die

00:14:06i was reborn

00:14:0740 minutes before the slaughter

00:14:10my hands locked on the wheel like iron clamps

00:14:12the road ahead blurred into a streak of gray

00:14:14my body was physically remembering the ghost of a crash

00:14:16that hadn't happened yet

00:14:17the violent snap of the seatbelt

00:14:18the taste of airbagic smoke

00:14:19the screaming

00:14:19the car drifted toward the fast lane

00:14:21until a harsh horn jolted me back to reality

00:14:23i corrected the wheel and eased off the accelerator

00:14:25the digital speedometer dropped

00:14:2650

00:14:2745

00:14:28the phone buzzed again

00:14:29it was a voice call

00:14:29my fingers shook so violently

00:14:31i dropped the device twice into the footwell

00:14:32before the line connected

00:14:33elena sweetie are you almost here

00:14:34just that one word took everything i had

00:14:36my voice cracked thick with the tears i was forcing back

00:14:38what's wrong you sound funny

00:14:39do you hit traffic

00:14:39a little bit

00:14:40i just i wanted to hear your voice

00:14:42well drive slow

00:14:42your dad is already fussing about dinner

00:14:44but it will keep

00:14:44mom

00:14:45what sweetheart

00:14:45i love you

00:14:46a heavy pause hung over the static

00:14:48then she let out that small embarrassed laugh

00:14:50she always used when emotion caught her off guard

00:14:52i love you too

00:14:53now stop being weird and just get here

00:14:54the line clicked dead

00:14:55i pulled the sedan into the slow bane

00:14:57i gave myself exactly 60 seconds

00:14:5960 seconds to sob

00:15:00to let the hot tears soak my genes

00:15:02to grieve for two parents who were currently alive and oblivious just 40 minutes away

00:15:0561

00:15:06i wiped my face on my sleeve

00:15:08my eyes turning hard

00:15:09i looked at the highway like a math problem

00:15:10the original crash happened at mile marker 218

00:15:13i was currently passing marker 196

00:15:15i had precisely 22 miles to change history

00:15:19i didn't know what had killed my brakes

00:15:20or if the invisible trap was already waiting

00:15:22i needed to know if i even had control

00:15:25i hovered my right foot over the brake pedal

00:15:27a simple test

00:15:28just to feel the mechanical response

00:15:30i pressed down

00:15:31the pedal was bricked

00:15:32the brakes were completely dead

00:15:33my stomach dropped through the floorboards

00:15:35it wasn't panic that filled my veins

00:15:37but something far colder

00:15:38it was the survival instinct of a woman

00:15:39who had already lived through this horror once

00:15:41and knew down to the millisecond

00:15:42how much time she had left

00:15:43i didn't waste time screaming

00:15:44i slammed my hand onto the dashboard

00:15:46and killed the engine ignition

00:15:47the glowing digital displays flickered and dimmed

00:15:49the hum of the engine died

00:15:50replaced by a rushing wind

00:15:51i slapped the hazard lights on

00:15:52the rhythmic clicking echoing

00:15:54like a ticking time bomb in the quiet cabin

00:15:55the sedan kept coasting forward on raw momentum

00:15:57bleeding speed far too slowly

00:15:5860 miles per hour

00:15:5955

00:16:00i wrenched the steering's wheel to the right

00:16:01angling's the gravel emergency lane

00:16:02on the right shoulder

00:16:03suddenly

00:16:04a massive semi-truck blew past on my left

00:16:05its air horn raged

00:16:06a deafening blast that shook my entire vehicle

00:16:08i ignored it

00:16:08i held the wheel steady

00:16:09letting the tires drift across the vibrating rumble strip

00:16:11crunch

00:16:11course and climbed

00:16:12at the in front i slowed her slightly

00:16:13the rough fraction dragging at the tires

00:16:14pulling the car down to 40 miles per hour

00:16:1630

00:16:1620

00:16:17the end of the shoulder lane was approaching fast

00:16:19blocked by a heavy steel guardrail

00:16:21i brazed myself

00:16:22steering into the barrier at a shallow angle

00:16:24metal kissed metal

00:16:25a screeching grinding groan

00:16:26echoed through the frame

00:16:27as the car scraped along the guardrail

00:16:28throwing sparks into the twilight

00:16:29finally

00:16:30with a violent shiver

00:16:31the sedan stopped

00:16:31i sat frozen

00:16:32my hands glued to the wheel

00:16:33for a full minute

00:16:34before my lungs forgot it had to expand

00:16:3520 minutes later

00:16:36a blinding flash of yellow emergency lights

00:16:38pulled up behind me

00:16:39a highway technician

00:16:40in a bright reflective bouse

00:16:41climbed out of a patrol vehicle

00:16:42a jittle clapper

00:16:43already resting in his hand

00:16:44ma'am

00:16:44operator davis with highway assistance

00:16:46you called in a total deceleration failure

00:16:47yes

00:16:47the pedal went entirely dead

00:16:51davis slide into the driver's seat

00:16:52with a heavy sigh

00:16:53he started the engine

00:16:55shifted into gear

00:16:56and pumped the brake pedal

00:16:58then he did it again

00:16:59to my horror

00:17:00the pedal moved smoothly

00:17:01his heavy boot depressing it

00:17:02with zero resistance

00:17:03he drove the sedan

00:17:0420 feet forward

00:17:05along the gravel shoulder

00:17:05hit the brake hard

00:17:06and stopped on a dime

00:17:07the tires gripped

00:17:08the asphalt perfectly

00:17:09feel solid to me ma'am

00:17:10every hydraulic line

00:17:11is pressurized

00:17:12it wasn't working

00:17:13i'm telling you

00:17:14it was locked

00:17:15like concrete

00:17:16look no offense

00:17:17it's labor day traffic

00:17:18a long drive

00:17:19and the adrenaline gets go

00:17:20people hit the accelerator

00:17:21thinking it's the brake

00:17:22all the time

00:17:23it's an easy mistake

00:17:24for a lady to make

00:17:24i've been driving for 20 years

00:17:26he shrugged the patient

00:17:27patronizing shrug of a man

00:17:28who had heard that exact line

00:17:29from every panicked female driver

00:17:30he had ever pulled off

00:17:31a highway shoulder

00:17:32he didn't believe a single word

00:17:33can you tow it

00:17:35i want a full diagnostic

00:17:36at the nearest gas station

00:17:37ma'am

00:17:37it's a holiday weekend

00:17:39every flat board in the county

00:17:40is dragging mangled chassis

00:17:41out of intersections

00:17:43he stepped out of the car

00:17:44tossing the electronic keys

00:17:46back into my palm

00:17:47the soonest i could get

00:17:47a tow truck out here

00:17:48is tomorrow afternoon

00:17:49the vehicle is mechanically flawless

00:17:50just drive slow

00:17:51stay in the right lane

00:17:52and you'll be fine

00:17:52i watched his yellow patrol lights

00:17:54disappear into the dark

00:17:55highway corridor

00:17:55leaving me entirely alone

00:17:57i sat back in the driver of seat

00:17:58my fingers hovered

00:17:59over the ignition button

00:18:00my heart hummered

00:18:01against my ribs

00:18:02like a trapped bird

00:18:04was he right?

00:18:05was my mind

00:18:05playing tricks on me?

00:18:07was the trauma

00:18:07of my past life

00:18:08like hijacking my senses?

00:18:10i pressed the starter

00:18:11the engine roared to life

00:18:12i tentatively tapped

00:18:13the brake pedal

00:18:14with my right foot

00:18:15response

00:18:15perfect

00:18:16hydraulic response

00:18:17the car shuddered

00:18:18and slowed

00:18:18i tried it again

00:18:19and again

00:18:20what the fuck?

00:18:21it worked

00:18:21every single time

00:18:23ahead

00:18:23a hundred yards out

00:18:24the lead semi of the cavoy

00:18:26slammed on its brakes

00:18:27wall after wall

00:18:27of giant red trailers

00:18:29bloomed before my eyes

00:18:30like a rising firing tide

00:18:32no

00:18:33no

00:18:35i rinsed the steering wheel

00:18:36left into the mediant lane

00:18:38a black suv swerved behind me

00:18:40its horn screaming in a panic

00:18:41as it scraped past the center line

00:18:43i tried to slip into the microscopic gap

00:18:45but it was too late

00:18:46the wall of red was 20 yards away

00:18:48ten

00:18:48five

00:18:52time stretched into a slow motion nightmare

00:18:54i saw my mother stirring the pot of roast

00:18:57my father pouring a cold beer

00:18:59the two people i had failed to save

00:19:01in a past life

00:19:01i no longer wanted to remember

00:19:04i'm sorry

00:19:07the impact hit from the front and back

00:19:09almost simultaneously

00:19:10my face violently smashed into the inflating airbag

00:19:13the seatbelt sliced into my collarbone

00:19:15like a burning wire

00:19:16behind me

00:19:17metal crumpled with a sickening slow groan

00:19:19of folding steel

00:19:20the world spun 90 degrees

00:19:22and violently slammed against the concrete guard ram

00:19:26smoke

00:19:26the toxic stench of coolant

00:19:28and scourge wrenched rubber

00:19:29i opened my eyes

00:19:30my limbs answered when i moved them

00:19:32i was alive

00:19:33but through the shattered windshield

00:19:34interstate 90 was a war zailed

00:19:36vehicles were twisted at horrible angles

00:19:38across all three lanes

00:19:39sirens wailed in the distance

00:19:41climbing in pitch

00:19:42i kicked the crumpled passenger door open

00:19:44and crawled out onto the warm

00:19:47a man with blood streaming into his mouth

00:19:48from a torn polo shirt

00:19:49slammed his fist onto my vehicle's hood

00:19:51his eyes wild with rage

00:19:52you were the one

00:19:53what the hell were you doing

00:19:54two state troopers shouldered through the furious crowd

00:19:56and lifted me to my feet

00:19:58but behind them

00:19:59another figure pushed through the bystanders

00:20:01it was davis

00:20:02his face was completely bloodless

00:20:04the color of wet paper

00:20:05he looked at me as if recognizing a ghost

00:20:07he had personally unleashed upon the world

00:20:10my brakes failed

00:20:11the state police precinct smelled like burnt coffee

00:20:13and floor wax

00:20:14gerald and patricia arrived 90 minutes after the call

00:20:17mom's hair was still damp from the kitchen steam

00:20:19her face pale with terror

00:20:20dad was still wearing the worn house slippers

00:20:22he hadn't bothered to change out of

00:20:23elena elena baby

00:20:25i held on to her without speaking

00:20:26burying my face in her shoulder

00:20:28i could not let go

00:20:29in my last life i had buried this woman

00:20:31i had buried both of them because of what happened next

00:20:34we sat together in a row of plastic chairs against the weeping wall

00:20:37hour after hour the precinct processed the night around us

00:20:40the blood-soaked statements

00:20:41the chaos

00:20:42the quiet tears of other broken families

00:20:44once dad crossed the floor to apologize to the driver with the banded forehead

00:20:48at six in the morning

00:20:49detective rains finally entered the interview room

00:20:51he set a heavy monelogy folder on the metal table

00:20:55miss marsh

00:20:56we've had three independent mechanics on your vehicle all night

00:20:59and

00:21:00the vehicle has no defects whatsoever

00:21:01brakes

00:21:02electronics

00:21:02hydraulics

00:21:03every system passes within factory specs

00:21:05furthermore the black box telemetry shows you never once engage the brake pedal

00:21:08during either incident

00:21:09that's because the pedal wouldn't move

00:21:11the pedal moved fine on the bench test

00:21:13it moved fine when officer davis drove it

00:21:16it moves perfectly fine right now in our impound garage

00:21:23detective cowan stepped forward from the shadow

00:21:25uncluffing a pair of heavy metal handcuffs

00:21:27the metal cuff loosed around my left wrist with a soft vinyl thick

00:21:30i stared down at the cold steel

00:21:32then my eyes drifted lower

00:21:33fixing on the cuffs of my jeans bunched over the tops of my shoes

00:21:35they were thick-said black driving loafers

00:21:37i remember derrick holt pressing the box into my hands at the dealership lots

00:21:40teeth flashing in a practice smile as he apologized

00:21:42anti-fatigue souls he had said

00:21:44a custom gift from me personally something inside my brain shifted

00:21:46a jagged puzzle piece slid into a slot it had been waiting for across two lifetimes

00:21:50wait

00:21:50detective cowan paused the second cuff hanging open in his hand

00:21:53give me one minute

00:21:54just one minute please

00:21:55detective rains crossed his arms

00:21:57his eyes narrow-garrowing in suspicion

00:21:58talk

00:21:59with my free right arm i swept a stapler

00:22:01and the metal monarily folder clattered onto the floor

00:22:03i quickly grabbed the remaining stationary arranging them on the cold surface

00:22:06this is the floorboard of the car

00:22:07this stapler is the brake pedal

00:22:08this pen is my foot

00:22:09i position the sample vertically angling the pen against it

00:22:11pressing my thumb firmly from above

00:22:12when i press the brake the pedal travels three to four centimeters

00:22:15my foot has to travel with it

00:22:16but if anything is wedged between the floor and my foot

00:22:19anything completely rigid

00:22:20the pedal can only move as far as that rigid object allows

00:22:23we checked the floor mats ms marsh

00:22:24we checked the entire foot room

00:22:26there was nothing

00:22:26you didn't check my shoes

00:22:28an absolute silence fell over the interrogation room

00:22:30cohen looked at rains

00:22:31rains slowly lowered his gaze to my feet

00:22:32let me take them off

00:22:33cowan reached down and unlocked the single metal cuff

00:22:36i bowen reached down and unlaced the lock the single metal cluffer

00:22:38treating it with the terrifying care of a person defusing a live bomb

00:22:41i lifted it and placed it solust on the metal table

00:22:43i reached across the metal table toward the stationary cup

00:22:45i grabbed a pair of heavy metal scissors

00:22:47detective cowan's hand instinctively dropped his service belt

00:22:51detective rains took half a step forward

00:22:53ms marsh

00:22:53his hand

00:22:54i didn't hesitate

00:22:55i flipped the leather shoe over

00:22:56sole up

00:22:57and drove the pointed blade of the scissors

00:22:59straight down into the rubber

00:23:00both officers froze

00:23:03i sawed through the material with brutal force

00:23:05the outer leather parted first

00:23:07then the dense foam layer beneath it

00:23:09followed by a sheet of hard vulcanized rubber

00:23:11i worked the scissors deeper

00:23:12twisting the blades like a knife carving into tough fruit

00:23:15something solid and metallic struck the steel table

00:23:17through the slashed bottom of the shoe

00:23:18a polished steel rod rolled out

00:23:20stopping right against the manifold

00:23:22it was five centimeters long

00:23:23thin as a pencil

00:23:24and machined perfectly smooth at both ends

00:23:26nobody breathed

00:23:28rains reached out very slowly

00:23:29and picked up the steel cylinder between his fingers

00:23:32he held it up to the harsh fluorescent light

00:23:35turning it over

00:23:36what in the

00:23:37i was already stabbing the scissors back into the heel

00:23:40the high density foam resisted

00:23:41but i wedged the blade deep and twisted with all my weight

00:23:44a second steel rod popped out

00:23:46landing beside its twin with a sharp bright ching

00:23:50holy

00:23:50i kept cutting

00:23:51moving toward the arch

00:23:53my fingers were shaking violently now

00:23:55but my hands moved with absolute purpose

00:23:57i peeled the slashed leather back like skin

00:23:59from the deepest hollow of the soul

00:24:01a tiny black trentangle slipped out into my palm

00:24:03it was the exact size of a postage

00:24:04trailing two microscopic wires

00:24:06a coin-sized motor housing

00:24:07and an integrated receiver chip

00:24:08i dropped the electronic components onto the table

00:24:10next to the steel rods

00:24:11the room fell so dead quiet

00:24:12that the only sound left

00:24:13was the low electric buzz of the lights overhead

00:24:15the police electronic specialist arrived in 40 minutes

00:24:17he was a small man with steel-rimmed glasses

00:24:19and dark ink staining his fingertips

00:24:20he laid the cutlet of tiny may components out on a clean white cloth

00:24:22working under a heavy magnifof in absolute silence for 20 minutes

00:24:25when he finally looked up

00:24:27the routine boredom had completely vanished from his face

00:24:29this is a custom remote trigger assembly

00:24:31you have a radio receiver chip here

00:24:34and a micro-geared motor here

00:24:36the motor drives a manicotcher worm screw

00:24:38that pushes these two steel rods outward

00:24:41like this

00:24:42he demonstrated the movement with his fingers

00:24:44sliding them apart diagonally

00:24:46inside the shoe's lining

00:24:48the rods are positioned at a specific angle

00:24:52when the motor activates

00:24:53they brace diagonally

00:24:54between the thick heel and the ball of the foot

00:24:56forming a perfect geometric triangle

00:24:59from the outside

00:25:00the shoe looks completely normal

00:25:01but the sole instantly becomes rigid

00:25:04the wearer's foot cannot compress it at all

00:25:07and when her foot moves to the brake pedal

00:25:09the pedal physically cannot depress

00:25:12the driver pushes down

00:25:14the rigid shoe presses against the pedal face

00:25:17but the solid steel triangle

00:25:20inside the sole transfers

00:25:22100% of that force

00:25:24straight back into the car's steel floorboard

00:25:27the pedal won't move

00:25:29because it's physically blocked

00:25:31from the inside of the shoe

00:25:33the brakes never engage

00:25:34and what happens after the crash

00:25:36the operator sends a second wireless signal

00:25:38the motor reverses

00:25:40the steel rods retract

00:25:41and the sole goes soft again

00:25:43the shoe looks like a normal shoe

00:25:45the car looks like a normal car

00:25:47detective rain sat down heavily

00:25:48in a metal chair

00:25:49he had not been planning to use

00:25:50that's why every single post inspection

00:25:51cleared the vehicle

00:25:52there was never anything wrong with the vehicle

00:25:53the car wasn't the weapon

00:25:54someone engineered this footwear

00:25:55to commit murder

00:25:56and to ensure she took the fall for it

00:25:58detective rain slowly lowered the metal rod

00:25:59his eyes fixing on mine

00:26:00miss marsh

00:26:01who gave you these shoes

00:26:03derrick holt

00:26:03star vault motors

00:26:04the name left my lips like a curse

00:26:06in an instant

00:26:07the sterile precinct vanished

00:26:08replaced by the memory of a showroom

00:26:09that smelled of fresh carpet and leather

00:26:10three years ago in my last life

00:26:12i had walked into star vault alone

00:26:14my financing pre-approved

00:26:15having researched every engineering spec

00:26:17i asked derrick holt

00:26:18three highly technical questions

00:26:19about the vehicle's transmission options

00:26:20instead of answering

00:26:21derrick had looked me up and down

00:26:22flashing the condescending smirk menus

00:26:24on women they assume can't read

00:26:25he waved his hand toward the lounge

00:26:26tell you what

00:26:27bring your husband in this weekend

00:26:29we'll get the whole family taken care of

00:26:31i'm not married

00:26:32i am buying the car

00:26:34today

00:26:35sure sure

00:26:36your boyfriend then

00:26:37your dad

00:26:38who

00:26:38i was turning toward the exit

00:26:40when nora briggs

00:26:41another sales representative

00:26:43stepped in

00:26:43calmly and professionally

00:26:45she walked me through the actual inventory

00:26:47and the paperwork was finalized within an hour

00:26:50i was walking to my brand new silver sedan

00:26:52when derrick came jogging out into the parking lot

00:26:54all teeth and fake charm

00:26:56ma'am

00:26:57hold up

00:26:57i am so sorry about earlier

00:26:58it's been a crazy morning

00:26:59before i could reply

00:27:00his heavy polished dress shoe

00:27:02came down violently on the toe of my brand

00:27:03a massive black smudge

00:27:05ruined the clean canvas

00:27:06he already had a shoebox hidden behind his back

00:27:08oh no

00:27:08i am so incredibly sorry

00:27:10please let me make this right

00:27:11these are custom vip loafers

00:27:13anti-fatigue souls

00:27:14for long highway drives

00:27:15a gift from the dealership

00:27:16and from me personally

00:27:18back in the reality of the interrogation room

00:27:21detective rains closed his notebook

00:27:23and looked toward his partner

00:27:25cohen

00:27:25go fetch derrick holt

00:27:28derrick holt walked into the interrogation room

00:27:30with his collar opened

00:27:31and his hand slid casually into his pockets

00:27:33he glanced up at the security camera in the corner

00:27:35sat down without being asked

00:27:37and calmly crossed an ankle over his knee

00:27:39detective

00:27:40always happy to help law enforcement

00:27:42you know elena marsh

00:27:43she bought a sedan from us

00:27:44last fall i think

00:27:45nice woman

00:27:46quiet

00:27:46you gave her a gift

00:27:47sure did

00:27:48a pair of driving loafers

00:27:49i accidentally stepped on her sneakers

00:27:50out in the parking lot

00:27:51and felt terrible about it

00:27:51is giving a customer a nice apology gift

00:27:53to crime now

00:27:53detective rains didn't answer

00:27:55instead he opened a plastic evidence bag

00:27:57and placed the dissected black loafers flat

00:28:00on the metal table between them

00:28:01the cut leather flap spread wide open

00:28:03beside the ruined shoe

00:28:04rains neatly lined up

00:28:06the electronic receiver chip

00:28:07the miniature motor

00:28:08and the two polished steel rods

00:28:10derrick looked down at the table

00:28:11his eyebrows lifted in slow

00:28:13highly theatrical confusion

00:28:14he leaned forward

00:28:15extending a finger

00:28:15to lightly tap one of the steel rods

00:28:17he turned it over

00:28:18mimicking the exact motion

00:28:19rains have used ours

00:28:20what even is this

00:28:20was this actually inside the shoe

00:28:22that's completely insane

00:28:23where did you guys find these

00:28:24he set the steel rod down carefully

00:28:25and shook his head

00:28:26the performance was flawless

00:28:27he had clearly practiced

00:28:28this exact reaction in a mirror

00:28:30look i buy those vip loafers

00:28:31wholesale from a third party supplier

00:28:32in bulk

00:28:32hundred pairs a year

00:28:33if some factory worker is stuffing

00:28:34what is that machinery

00:28:35into the soles before they ship them

00:28:36to my dealership

00:28:36i want answers just as much as you do

00:28:38rains remained perfectly silent

00:28:39staring at him

00:28:40derrick let the silence stretch

00:28:41trying to maintain his mask

00:28:42then he tilted his head

00:28:42with a casual

00:28:43honestly i feel terrible for miss marsh

00:28:44i really do

00:28:44i can't believe a silly little fender bader

00:28:46on the highway

00:28:46turned into all of this

00:28:47detective rains went perfectly stone still

00:28:48the low hum of the fluorescent light

00:28:50suddenly sounded deafling

00:28:51detective rains leaned forward

00:28:52placing both palms flat on the metal table

00:28:53staring directly into

00:28:54a fender blash

00:28:55yeah i mean it's terrible obviously

00:28:56but cars get scraped on holiday weekends

00:28:57all the time

00:28:58mr holt we brought you in for questioning

00:28:59regarding a targeted vehicle sabotage

00:29:00we told you elena marsh was here

00:29:02we told you her shoes were confiscated

00:29:03derrick nodded slowly

00:29:04but we never said where it happened

00:29:05we never said it was on the highway

00:29:06and we actually mentioned the word fender blash

00:29:08derrick's smug smile didn't vanish

00:29:09but it froze

00:29:10turning into a rigid plastic mask

00:29:11he shifted his weight

00:29:12his ankle slipping off his knee

00:29:13come on detective

00:29:14it's labor day weekend

00:29:15if a customer gets pulled over by state troopers

00:29:16on friday night

00:29:17it's obviously a traffic incident on the highway

00:29:18i just assumed

00:29:19you didn't assume

00:29:20you knew

00:29:21because you were monitoring her

00:29:22rains opened the marion folder

00:29:23and pulled out of circunver logs

00:29:24with thousands of lines of encrypted data

00:29:26highlighted in bright yellow

00:29:27we didn't just test the car's brakes last night

00:29:29mr holt

00:29:29we pulled the internal telltometry logs

00:29:31from starbout motors central database

00:29:32every new sedan your dealership sells

00:29:34is connected to a proprietary logistics network

00:29:36the manufacturer can see the vehicle's speed

00:29:37location and mechanical status in real time

00:29:39that's standard inventory tracking

00:29:40it's completely legal

00:29:41it is

00:29:42but accessing that live data

00:29:43after the vehicle was sold

00:29:44from a private terminal

00:29:45outside of business hours

00:29:46is a federal privacy violation

00:29:48according to the server log

00:29:49someone logged into the system

00:29:50using your personal employee credentials

00:29:51at exactly 5 15 p.m. yesterday

00:29:53you were watching her dashboard

00:29:54from your office

00:29:54you tracked her until she reached

00:29:55kilometer mark 210

00:29:56derrick holt's polished salesman facade

00:29:58didn't just crack

00:29:59it disintegrated

00:29:59he shrunk back into the metal chair

00:30:01his arms wrapping so tightly

00:30:02across his chest

00:30:03it looked like he was trying

00:30:03to hold his own ribs together

00:30:04i want my lawyer

00:30:05i'm not saying another word

00:30:06without my attorney present

00:30:07you hear me

00:30:07not one word

00:30:08detective rains didn't blink

00:30:09he simply leaned down

00:30:10his face inches from derrick's

00:30:12sweat-seemed forehead

00:30:12and whispered with absolute

00:30:13freezing certainty

00:30:14you don't have to say a damn thing mr holt

00:30:16the digital footprints you left

00:30:17in her car system are already singing

00:30:18rains stood up

00:30:19scooped the heavy manarian folder

00:30:20off the table

00:30:21and walked out

00:30:21slamming the heavy iron door

00:30:22i was standing right outside

00:30:23in the dimly lit observation corridor

00:30:25my hands pressed flat

00:30:26against the one-way glass

00:30:26through the reflection

00:30:27i watched the monster

00:30:28who had murdered my parents

00:30:29rocking back and forth

00:30:30in his handcuffs

00:30:30rains turned to detective cowie

00:30:32his eyes hard as flint

00:30:33he's lawyered up

00:30:33but we have enough digital breadfunks

00:30:35to wake a judge

00:30:35call the magistrate at home

00:30:36wake him up

00:30:36i want a federal search warrant

00:30:37for holt's personal vehicle

00:30:38his dealership workstation

00:30:39and his apartment

00:30:40i want it executed

00:30:40before the sun comes up

00:30:41the warrant was signed

00:30:44the silence

00:30:45a sleepy suburban apartment complex

00:30:47was shattered

00:30:47boom

00:30:48a heavy steel battering ran

00:30:49pulgarized the dead bowl

00:30:50of apartment 4b

00:30:51the door flew inward

00:30:52splintering off its hinges

00:30:55the apartment smelled of stale takeout

00:30:57in cheap cologne

00:30:57they pushed into the bedroom

00:30:59cohen dropped to his knees

00:31:00shining his tactical light

00:31:01into the narrow gap

00:31:01beneath the bed frame

00:31:02deep in the dust

00:31:03hidden behind a rye

00:31:04of empty designer shoeboxes

00:31:05sat a weathered

00:31:06vintage wooden crate

00:31:06cohen reached down

00:31:08and dragged it out

00:31:08into the light

00:31:09inside the wooden crate

00:31:10resting on a bed

00:31:10of anti-static foam

00:31:11was the smoking gun

00:31:12a military-grade radio transmitter

00:31:14modified with a high-gain

00:31:15directional antenna

00:31:16a digital battery indicator

00:31:17glowed of sinister green

00:31:18it had been fully recharged

00:31:19right before i drove

00:31:20onto interstate 90

00:31:22but it was what cowen found

00:31:24slipped into the false bottom

00:31:25of the crate

00:31:26that turned a vehicular assault case

00:31:29into a national horror story

00:31:34it was a black leather notebook

00:31:35bound with a thick rubber band

00:31:37inside were 37 meticulous

00:31:39handwritten entries

00:31:41spanning nearly three consecutive years

00:31:44each page was a horror log

00:31:46a name

00:31:47a date

00:31:48a specific highway route

00:31:49and a recorded top speed

00:31:52next to each entry

00:31:54a tiny check mark

00:31:55was drawn in red ink

00:31:58entry 14

00:31:59sarah jenkins

00:32:00i-95 north

00:32:01speed 78 ppa

00:32:02status clear

00:32:03entry 35

00:32:04elena marsh

00:32:05i-90 east

00:32:06speed 72 mpa

00:32:07status pending

00:32:10of those 37 targets

00:32:1331 were women

00:32:14an hour later

00:32:15back at the precinct

00:32:16detective reigns

00:32:17marched into the interrogation room

00:32:18he walked straight up

00:32:19to derrick holt

00:32:20lifted the heavy black leather notebook

00:32:21high above his head

00:32:22and slammed it down

00:32:23onto the metal table

00:32:23with a sound like a gunshot

00:32:2437 targets derrick

00:32:2637 separate remote

00:32:27controlled execution devices

00:32:27here to explain why

00:32:28a simple car saleman

00:32:29has a graveyard

00:32:29written in his own handwriting

00:32:30the sight of the black notebook

00:32:31destroyed whatever composure

00:32:32derrick holt had left

00:32:33his face flushed

00:32:34a dark violent primacy

00:32:35i will offend him

00:32:35i've months working on

00:32:36those circuit boards

00:32:37in line of my garage

00:32:37they think they're so independent

00:32:38but thrown the degrees of face

00:32:39like i'm some kind of servant

00:32:40i just reminded them

00:32:41of who they really are

00:32:43hysterical

00:32:43helpless

00:32:44so you killed them

00:32:44the highway killed them

00:32:45i didn't push the gas pedal

00:32:46i just gave them a little test

00:32:47and they failed it

00:32:47the internet called them

00:32:48bad female drivers

00:32:49before the ambulances even arrived

00:32:50society took the blame for me

00:32:51behind the glass

00:32:52a cold weight lifted off my chest

00:32:53looking at derrick holt

00:32:54weeping with rage

00:32:55in his handcuffs

00:32:55i finally understood

00:32:56the universe hadn't brought me back

00:32:57to save myself

00:32:58it had brought me back

00:32:59to drag the monster

00:33:00out of the dark

00:33:00derrick holt's voice

00:33:01was still echoing

00:33:02off the concrete walls

00:33:02of the interrogation room

00:33:03when detective cowan

00:33:04there was no hesitation

00:33:04he grabbed derrick's right arm

00:33:06yanked it behind his back

00:33:06and slammed the heavy steel

00:33:07handcuffs shut

00:33:08with a brutal echoing snap

00:33:09the plastic mask

00:33:09of the smooth pleatly gone

00:33:10leaving only a pathetic

00:33:11sweating man trembling

00:33:12at harsh fluoride

00:33:12and 37 counts of

00:33:13first degree murder

00:33:14eric didn't scream anymore

00:33:15he just stared at the

00:33:16scarred metal table

00:33:16his breath coming in

00:33:17shallow marched him

00:33:18out of the wheeze

00:33:19detective reigns

00:33:19turned toward the

00:33:20one-way glass

00:33:20meeting my eyes

00:33:21through the mirror

00:33:21he walked out

00:33:22into the observation corridor

00:33:23his heavy boots

00:33:23clicking rhythmically

00:33:24against the linoleum floor

00:33:25he stopped right in front of me

00:33:26taking off his trench coat

00:33:27looking older and more tired

00:33:28than he had an hour ago

00:33:29the district attorney

00:33:29is already on the line

00:33:30miss marsh

00:33:30they're converting this

00:33:31into a federal task force

00:33:32every single file

00:33:33every accident report

00:33:34involving those 37 names

00:33:35being pulled from the

00:33:36state archives

00:33:36and my charges

00:33:37dropped completely

00:33:38the state of new york

00:33:39owes you a massive apology

00:33:40and so do i

00:33:40by 7 a.m. the world

00:33:42outside the precinct

00:33:42had exploded

00:33:43the news of the

00:33:43shoe soul saboteur

00:33:44broke across every

00:33:44major network

00:33:45like a tidal wave

00:33:46the very same internet

00:33:46forums that had spent

00:33:47the last 12

00:33:47calling me a reckless

00:33:48woman driver

00:33:48suddenly went dead

00:33:49by a roaring fury

00:33:49directed at star vault

00:33:50motors and derrick

00:33:51the media cameras

00:33:51arrived at the precinct

00:33:52in a swarm

00:33:52they're blinding white

00:33:53flashes

00:33:53cutting questions

00:33:54in through the morning

00:33:54but i didn't care

00:33:55about the cameras

00:33:56i didn't care

00:33:57about the headlines

00:33:57or the viral tweets

00:33:58vindicating my name

00:33:59i pushed through

00:34:01the heavy double doors

00:34:02of the waiting room

00:34:02sitting on the row

00:34:03of plastic chairs

00:34:04under the dim hallway

00:34:04lights were my parents

00:34:05my father was holding

00:34:06a paper cup of stale

00:34:07police coffee

00:34:07his knuckles white

00:34:08his eyes red

00:34:09from a night of crime

00:34:10my mother was leaning

00:34:10against his shoulder

00:34:11her fragile body

00:34:12shaking with quiet

00:34:12exhausted sobs

00:34:13don't scroll away

00:34:15click the video link

00:34:16to download drama box

00:34:17watch all episodes now

00:34:20in 1861

00:34:21all of charleston

00:34:22from the battery wharfs

00:34:23to the ashley plantations

00:34:24knew the legend

00:34:25of my husband

00:34:26major reed ashford

00:34:27the second son

00:34:28of the south's

00:34:28largest planter

00:34:29they said

00:34:30he was a man undone

00:34:31by his wife

00:34:31for me he would

00:34:32forfeit the world

00:34:33when a planter's son

00:34:34humiliated me at a ball

00:34:36riot disarmed him

00:34:37in a dawn duel

00:34:38standing unflinningly

00:34:39before loaded barrels

00:34:40to defend my honor

00:34:42when outlaws

00:34:43ambushed my carriage

00:34:45ride braved

00:34:46deadly swamps alone

00:34:47returning blood

00:34:48splared at dawn

00:34:48to banish my fear

00:34:50of the dark

00:34:54forced into marriage

00:34:55to clear debts

00:34:56ride bought my freedom

00:34:57with half his lands

00:34:58then rode through

00:35:00a raging storm

00:35:01to snatch me

00:35:01from the altar

00:35:04i believed i'd be

00:35:05happy forever

00:35:06until his brother's

00:35:07bewidowed wife

00:35:08wanted to have a baby

00:35:09with him

00:35:09three years into our

00:35:10marriage

00:35:10rethi's elder brother

00:35:11theodore ashford

00:35:12lay wasting away

00:35:14and an old

00:35:14gungle root woman

00:35:15from the sea islands

00:35:16told the true

00:35:16mister of the house

00:35:17madam ashford

00:35:18that only a child

00:35:19born of the family's

00:35:20bloodline through

00:35:20the brother's wife

00:35:21could call him

00:35:22back from the grave

00:35:22but the brother's wife

00:35:25camellia could not

00:35:26bear that child

00:35:27by a dying man

00:35:27she would have to

00:35:29bear it by right

00:35:29the matriarch's grip

00:35:31tightened on her

00:35:32othony cane

00:35:33send for my second son

00:35:34a maid ran

00:35:36the parlor doors

00:35:37closed

00:35:38upon a council of women

00:35:39in the upstairs

00:35:40sitting room

00:35:40i laid down my

00:35:41embroidery hoop

00:35:42the needle had

00:35:43pricked my thumb

00:35:44and a single bead

00:35:45of blood was rising

00:35:46on the skin

00:35:47i watched it gather

00:35:48fall and stain

00:35:49the white linen

00:35:50of reese monogrammed

00:35:51handkerchief

00:35:52the one i had been

00:35:52mending for him

00:35:53all winter

00:35:53the maid came

00:35:55rushing upstairs

00:35:55breathless

00:35:56one hand clutching

00:35:57the bannister

00:35:58as if she might

00:35:59collapse where she

00:35:59stood

00:36:00mrs eleanor

00:36:01madam ashford

00:36:02has made her

00:36:02decision

00:36:03she means for

00:36:04mrs camille to

00:36:05bear the family

00:36:05heir by mr ray

00:36:06the room fell into

00:36:07a dead suffocating

00:36:08silence

00:36:09on my lap

00:36:10the fresh bead

00:36:11of blood

00:36:11finally sank

00:36:12deep into the

00:36:13fabric

00:36:13completely drowning

00:36:14reed's monogrammed

00:36:15initials in crimson

00:36:17camille

00:36:17my sister-in-law

00:36:19how could they be

00:36:20sending her to my

00:36:21husband's bed

00:36:21reed went from the

00:36:22parlor to the family

00:36:23chapel without removing

00:36:24his great coat

00:36:24he laid his revolver

00:36:26at his own breastbone

00:36:27as god is my witness

00:36:28i would sooner die

00:36:29than betray eleanor

00:36:30the chaplain wept

00:36:31the servants wept

00:36:33madam ashford

00:36:34did not weep

00:36:35she had me brought

00:36:35down to the courtyard

00:36:36in nothing but my

00:36:37morning dress

00:36:37barefoot

00:36:38and made to stand

00:36:38upon the ice-stiffened

00:36:39gravel

00:36:39until my son

00:36:40can dishonor his

00:36:41brother's line

00:36:41you will not move

00:36:42from this place

00:36:43the first hour

00:36:44my mind was clear

00:36:45by the second

00:36:47the cold had moved

00:36:48into my bones

00:36:48by the fourth

00:36:49the frost had split

00:36:50the soles of my feet

00:36:51and thin red ravens

00:36:52crept across the

00:36:52gravel beneath me

00:36:53i stood three days

00:36:54no bread

00:36:55no water

00:36:55the january rain

00:36:56came down once

00:36:57and then turned to

00:36:57sleep and froze

00:36:58upon my shoulders

00:36:59madam ashford

00:36:59set a chair

00:37:00beneath the

00:37:00piazza colonnade

00:37:01and sat

00:37:01and watched

00:37:02and waited

00:37:02a hundred yards away

00:37:03in the family chapel

00:37:05reed had been locked

00:37:06in without food

00:37:06or water

00:37:07or a fire

00:37:08forbidden to leave

00:37:09until he consented

00:37:10his mother visited him

00:37:11each morning

00:37:11with the codice of papers

00:37:12in her hand

00:37:14he bore the cold

00:37:15and the hunger

00:37:15in silence

00:37:27he came across

00:37:28the flagstones

00:37:29with a slow

00:37:29deliberate step

00:37:30of a man not certain

00:37:30his legs would carry him

00:37:31to where he needed to go

00:37:32the servants drew back

00:37:33from him as from

00:37:33something holy

00:37:34or contagionous

00:37:35he stopped before me

00:37:36and knelt on the gravel

00:37:37at my feet

00:37:37in his right hand

00:37:38was the service revolver

00:37:39he held it out to me

00:37:40but first

00:37:41i have submitted

00:37:41to mother's arrangement

00:37:42if you despise me for it

00:37:43end my life now

00:37:44shoot me dead

00:37:45my lips were too cracked

00:37:46to part

00:37:46i love you to madness

00:37:47eleanor

00:37:48i cannot bear to see you

00:37:49broken and punished again

00:37:50because of me

00:37:51the cold iron of the pistol

00:37:52bit into my palm

00:37:53and the tears finally broke

00:37:54but i would endure

00:37:55a thousand more lashes

00:37:56raid before i ever

00:37:57watch you beget a child

00:37:57upon our sister-in-law

00:37:58he squeezed my hand

00:37:59the hammer fell

00:38:01blood flowered

00:38:02through the linen

00:38:02of his shirt

00:38:03i screamed without sound

00:38:04he staggered

00:38:05white as bone

00:38:06and let me gather him

00:38:07into my arms

00:38:07i wept

00:38:08i did not know how long

00:38:10i kissed his face

00:38:13i begged the maids

00:38:14for queen claw

00:38:14for peregrine

00:38:15for a surgeon

00:38:16i swear this on the wounded cell

00:38:17i will lie with her once

00:38:19for the child

00:38:20and never look at her again

00:38:21she is a stage actress

00:38:22from the new orleans halls

00:38:23a creature dredged up

00:38:24from the gas lit gutters

00:38:25whose virtue was sold

00:38:26to the highest bidder

00:38:27long before she ever

00:38:27set foot in this house

00:38:28she is nothing to me

00:38:30he kissed my forehead

00:38:32and walked

00:38:32with the wound still wet

00:38:34across the courtyard

00:38:35to camille ashford's wing

00:38:36the household by sundown

00:38:37had a new story to whisper

00:38:38compared to eleanor

00:38:40reed seemed to favor

00:38:41camille more

00:38:41you smell of her tears right

00:38:43but tonight you are mine

00:38:45and let me forget her

00:38:46touch me

00:38:46make me believe

00:38:47you are the only one

00:38:49the maid who carried up

00:38:50the linen said

00:38:50the bedchamber

00:38:51smelled like a hot room

00:38:52i lay alone in our bed

00:38:53with the deed of separation

00:38:54i had so readily demanded

00:38:55some hours before

00:38:56i wept until the ink ran

00:38:58sometime past midnight

00:38:59i rose

00:39:00lit a candle

00:39:00in the sylvine chamber stack

00:39:01my mother had given me

00:39:02on my wedding day

00:39:03the papers still wet

00:39:04i carried pressed

00:39:05against my breast

00:39:05i stopped at the carved

00:39:06oak door of camille

00:39:07sitting room

00:39:08the corridor behind me

00:39:09was empty of servants

00:39:10even the night maid

00:39:11had been dismissed

00:39:13i raised my hand to knock

00:39:14and heard through the door

00:39:16camille's laugh

00:39:16what she said next

00:39:18dragged me straight into hell

00:39:19you are such a bad boy

00:39:20staging a whole shooting

00:39:22with a sack of bullock's blood

00:39:23in front of your own wife

00:39:24making her weep over your corpse

00:39:25and then you came straight

00:39:26here to me

00:39:26she is sentimental

00:39:28she believes whatever she has shown

00:39:30all the obstacles

00:39:31have been cleared away

00:39:32all theater

00:39:33mother and i arranged it months ago

00:39:35the gongo woman was paid in gold

00:39:36the night before

00:39:37the prophecy was written

00:39:39for her to recite

00:39:39the cold

00:39:40the chapel

00:39:41the wound

00:39:41every thread of it

00:39:42sown for you

00:39:43a whole year has been

00:39:45into your wounds

00:39:45by the backstair

00:39:46and now i am to be

00:39:48the lady of a wing

00:39:49i would marry you

00:39:50twice over for it

00:39:51take what you want

00:39:52take what you want

00:39:52and ask for nothing more

00:39:53most of all eleanor

00:39:54is never to know

00:39:55if she so much

00:39:55has suspected the truth

00:39:56i will shoot you dead

00:39:57where you stand

00:39:58the candle in my hand trembled

00:40:00the light walked along

00:40:01the carved oak panels

00:40:02and the gild of the picture frames

00:40:04and would not be still

00:40:05right who for my sake

00:40:07has been sleeping with camille

00:40:08for a whole year

00:40:08was every single bit of it

00:40:10just a lie

00:40:10i took three steps backward

00:40:12away from the door

00:40:13on the fourth step

00:40:14the floor was no longer there

00:40:15i fell on the fourth step

00:40:16hit the polished heart pine boards

00:40:17on my ruined feet

00:40:18and crumpled

00:40:18the candlestick rolled away from me

00:40:20the flame good old

00:40:21caught upon my sleeve

00:40:22smothered against the wool

00:40:22of my dress as i crumpled

00:40:23i drifted for three days

00:40:25between sleeping and waking

00:40:26unable to close the distance

00:40:27in that place camille knelt

00:40:29beside the bed

00:40:29and held madam ashford's hand

00:40:30i heard them as a swimmer

00:40:31hears voices above the water

00:40:32she is with child

00:40:33mother ashfield

00:40:34the root woman was certain

00:40:36only the child i bear

00:40:37can save theodore

00:40:38if eleanor's child is born first

00:40:40the cure is broken

00:40:41my poor theodore will die

00:40:44madam ashford's pain

00:40:45struck the floor

00:40:46sent her to a physician

00:40:49i will not allow

00:40:50the child in her womb

00:40:51to affect my theodore's destiny

00:40:53mother

00:40:54stop

00:40:55those doctors are men

00:40:56i will not have a man's hands

00:40:57upon her body

00:40:58not for any reason

00:41:00a simple draught is enough

00:41:01to rid her of the child

00:41:01i will give it to her myself

00:41:04he came to the bedside

00:41:06i felt his weight upon the mattress

00:41:08the familiar dip of it

00:41:09he lifted my head

00:41:10with a tenderness

00:41:11i remembered from a thousand mornings

00:41:12and held a small porcelain cup

00:41:14to my lips

00:41:14i fought with everything in me

00:41:15to open my eyes

00:41:16to scream

00:41:17to beg him to spare my child

00:41:18only to find

00:41:19with a kerching despair

00:41:20that it was all in vain

00:41:23the taste was bitter

00:41:24cloves

00:41:25penny harry

00:41:26the faint hateful sweetness

00:41:27of paragassic

00:41:28to mask the rest

00:41:29my body knew the compound

00:41:30before my mind could name it

00:41:32my fingers tried to close

00:41:33around his wrist

00:41:34they were too weak

00:41:35i felt the warmth of the drug

00:41:36spread out from my stomach

00:41:37into the cold parts of me

00:41:38i felt the small intricate thing

00:41:40inside me go quiet

00:41:40then go still

00:41:41then go away

00:41:42sleep now eleanor

00:41:43pretend this child

00:41:44never came

00:41:45he laid my head

00:41:46back upon the pillow

00:41:47he smoothed my hair

00:41:48when i woke fully

00:41:49three mornings later

00:41:50the chamber was empty

00:41:51brooke sat weeping

00:41:52at the foot of the bed

00:41:53great the maid said

00:41:54had taken madam bowman

00:41:55down to new orleans

00:41:55on the noon train

00:41:56to celebrate the coming air

00:41:57and to consult a city physician

00:41:58about camille's own condition

00:41:59i looked at the wash base

00:42:00i washed my face

00:42:01in the cold basin

00:42:03i dressed in black

00:42:04i tied my hair back

00:42:05with a strip of morning croup

00:42:06then i walked the length

00:42:08of the corridor

00:42:08to madam ashford's

00:42:09morning room

00:42:10and asked with great courtesy

00:42:11for the deed of separation

00:42:13i am more than willing

00:42:14to step aside

00:42:15for camille and wreath

00:42:17i beg you madam

00:42:18help me

00:42:19and make him sign

00:42:20the deed of separation

00:42:21there is a steamer bound

00:42:22for europe next month

00:42:23you will take it

00:42:24and you will never set foot

00:42:25before my son again

00:42:26as long as you breathe

00:42:27to ensure there are no

00:42:30complications

00:42:30black is to know

00:42:31absolutely nothing of this

00:42:33before you sail

00:42:33you have my deepest gratitude

00:42:35madam

00:42:35for finally granting my request

00:42:37reed and camille returned

00:42:38at dusk a fortnight later

00:42:39the carriage rolled

00:42:40through the great gates

00:42:41of ashford manor

00:42:42in the failing light

00:42:42and the household

00:42:43lined up along the live oak

00:42:44drive as for any homecoming

00:42:45camille descended first

00:42:47gloved and radiant

00:42:48reed followed

00:42:49at her throat

00:42:49beneath the high lace collar

00:42:50was a livid mark

00:42:51she had not been able

00:42:52to powder away

00:42:52the fortnight in new orleans

00:42:53had left its mark

00:42:54on them both

00:42:55late suppers

00:42:57late mornings

00:42:58the langui of those city rooms

00:43:00still clinging to their clothes

00:43:01i stood waiting

00:43:03beneath the colonid piazza

00:43:04in my morning gown

00:43:06spanish moss stirring

00:43:07in the live oaks above me

00:43:08the servants watched

00:43:09without seeming to

00:43:10reed crossed the gravel

00:43:12and would have taken my hands

00:43:13i did not give them

00:43:14he pretended not to notice

00:43:16and produced instead

00:43:17from the inner pocket

00:43:18of his great coat

00:43:18a small dark glass bottle

00:43:20a european tonic

00:43:21every fashionable lady

00:43:22in new orleans

00:43:22is taking it

00:43:23it restores the constitution

00:43:24after illness

00:43:25drink it for me

00:43:26i accepted the bottle

00:43:28the glass was warm

00:43:29from his body

00:43:31i uncarked it

00:43:33the smell rose

00:43:34wine and something darker

00:43:35beneath the wine

00:43:36my paris training

00:43:37spoke before my tongue

00:43:38could

00:43:38herba

00:43:38sustained doses

00:43:39of herb of rye

00:43:40masked in clora

00:43:41and honeysuckle

00:43:42a woman fed this compound

00:43:43through a winter

00:43:44would bleed quietly

00:43:45for the rest of her life

00:43:46not killed

00:43:47made permanently

00:43:48invisibly ill

00:43:49made unfit to be touched

00:43:50by any man

00:43:51made nothing

00:43:52camille came up the steps

00:43:53in a hand at reed's elbow

00:43:54all the finest ladies

00:43:55in new orleans

00:43:56are taking it dear

00:43:56finish every drop

00:43:58do not be ungrateful

00:43:59not killed

00:44:00made permanently

00:44:01invisibly ill

00:44:02right

00:44:02this medicine

00:44:03must i drink it

00:44:04he had already

00:44:05slaughtered my child

00:44:05with his own hands

00:44:07severing every

00:44:08shred of love

00:44:08i once held for him

00:44:09was he truly intent

00:44:10on driving me

00:44:11into an early grave

00:44:12now

00:44:12i looked at my husband

00:44:13he met my gaze

00:44:14without lowering

00:44:15his own

00:44:16there was a flicker

00:44:17behind his eyes

00:44:18a thing he did not

00:44:19allow to surface

00:44:20i raised the bottle

00:44:21i drank it

00:44:22i drank every drop

00:44:24slowly

00:44:24while they watched me

00:44:25while the cold

00:44:26january wind

00:44:27moved the dead

00:44:27magnalia leaves

00:44:28across the piazza boards

00:44:29i lowered the empty bottle

00:44:31and set it on the piazza rail

00:44:32between us

00:44:33i know what this is

00:44:35and i know what it does

00:44:36we are done

00:44:38right

00:44:39before i blacked out

00:44:40i vaguely saw reed panic

00:44:42what do you mean

00:44:43done

00:44:45before the darkness

00:44:46swallowed me whole

00:44:47i learned the horrific truth

00:44:48from their whispers

00:44:50they had traveled to new orleans

00:44:52to consult a voodoo queen

00:44:53seven nights

00:44:54the witch told them

00:44:55that if they used my bed

00:44:56this our marriage bed

00:44:57for seven secutive nights

00:44:58the soul of my slaughtered child

00:45:00would be summoned back

00:45:01reborn into camiel's womb

00:45:03they took my room

00:45:05they desecrated my bed

00:45:08you are a cool man reed

00:45:09that tincture

00:45:10taken for weeks

00:45:12will ensure she bleeds dry

00:45:13from the inside out

00:45:14her body will wither

00:45:15and no man will ever be able

00:45:17to lay a finger on her again

00:45:19poor wretched eleanor

00:45:21eleanor belongs to me

00:45:23even if i never touch her again

00:45:25i would rather see her rot

00:45:26than let another man possess her

00:45:29in my half conscious state

00:45:31hatred burned so hot

00:45:33that blood seeped from the cracked corner of my mouth

00:45:37the next morning

00:45:39not long after reading camille departed

00:45:41i woke

00:45:41from my bed i heard the maids quarreling in the courtyard below my window

00:45:44she gave up her husband easy enough

00:45:46now she wants the south wing on top of that

00:45:47some women cannot bear to be parted from a comfort

00:45:49you watch your filthy tongue

00:45:51my mistress has bled in this house every day since she crossed its threshold

00:45:54she has paid for every stone of this place

00:45:58the voices rose

00:45:59there was a slap

00:46:00a scream

00:46:01brooke when she came up the stairs ten minutes later

00:46:03had a red wheel across her cheek and a furious set to her mouth

00:46:06she knelt at the foot of my bed

00:46:07miss eleanor i am going to the elder master

00:46:10mr theodore was always kind to you

00:46:11he will hear me

00:46:12brooke no

00:46:13you are a free woman but free papers do not stop a hand that means to fall

00:46:16brooke had her freedom papers

00:46:17my mother had filed them with the city register the year brooke turned 12

00:46:20it would not matter in this house

00:46:22but brooke was already gone

00:46:23what happened by the lily pond i learned in pieces from the running of feet and the shrieking of women

00:46:27theodore was killed in the lake

00:46:28brooke had found theodore in his bath chair on the south spiana

00:46:30taking the weak winter sun between the palmetto and the camellia head

00:46:34she had knelt and began to speak

00:46:37camille had come down the terrace steps

00:46:39words had passed

00:46:40brooke had risen camille had pushed

00:46:44brooke had caught at theodore's chair to keep her balance

00:46:46and the chair had tilted and the dying man had gone into the cold green water

00:46:50they pulled him out

00:46:52he was breathing barely

00:46:55he had not spoken

00:46:56the estate manager came to my door with two armed grooms behind him

00:47:00madam your maid is in iron

00:47:01you are summoned to the great hall

00:47:04i rose

00:47:06i bound up my hair

00:47:10i walked the long corridor without permitting myself to limp

00:47:15i entered the great hall

00:47:17the doorway was thick with physicians

00:47:20madam ashford sat in the high chair before the hearth

00:47:22her cane across her knees

00:47:23camille stood weeping against rive's shoulder

00:47:25and his arm was around her waist as a husband's arm is around a wife

00:47:28he stood with his arm around camille and did not move

00:47:31madam ashford lifted her cane and pointed

00:47:34seized the harlot from charleston

00:47:37she has tried to murder my eldest son

00:47:41two enormous house women seized my arms and forced me down

00:47:44my ruined feet struck the marble

00:47:48reed moved at last

00:47:50he crossed the hall in three strides and kicked the women aside

00:47:53get the hell away from her

00:47:55no one

00:47:56there's no not a single soul

00:47:58lays a fender on her

00:48:00he bent and lifted me in his arms

00:48:02for one suspended moment my cheek was against the rough wool of his coat

00:48:05and i could feel his heart fammering

00:48:07then camille made a small herded sound behind him

00:48:09right set me down upon a bench

00:48:11he turned

00:48:12he went to camille and gathered her against him

00:48:14eleanor you must apologize to my sister-in-law

00:48:16the matter of the maid will be investigated afterwards

00:48:18first the apology

00:48:19i pressed my bleeding wom flat upon the bench to steady myself

00:48:22brooke is a child

00:48:24she has not the wickedness in her to push a dying man into water

00:48:27investigate first

00:48:28then i will speak whatever words are owed

00:48:30reed's jaw tightened

00:48:31the apology first

00:48:32no

00:48:33a long silence

00:48:34madam ashford's cane tapped the marble once

00:48:37then you will be confined to the penitence chamber until you find your tongue

00:48:39the penitence chamber was where the household sent disobedient servants to be broken

00:48:42it had a stone floor

00:48:43no fire

00:48:44one window so high a tall man could not reach it

00:48:46i bent and unfastened my shoes

00:48:47i stepped out of them

00:48:48i pushed to my feet

00:48:48and walked across the great hall of ashford manor in my bare bleeding feet

00:48:51past my husband

00:48:52past the women

00:48:52past the doctors

00:48:53out the side door

00:48:54and across the snowy yard toward the brick out buildings beyond the kitchen house

00:48:57i left a line of small red prints behind me in the white

00:49:00i walked the whole way to the penitence chamber on my own

00:49:02the smell of pine smoke from the kitchen house followed me across the yard

00:49:06and somewhere in a wall a mouse scratched

00:49:07and i let those small things mark the distance

00:49:09the bolt slid shut behind me

00:49:11an hour later it slid open again

00:49:12camille stood in the doorway

00:49:13in fresh silk and silver fox

00:49:15with my river pearl strand around her throat

00:49:16you are finally at my mercy eleanor

00:49:18just watch how i break you

00:49:20camille came in

00:49:21and sat upon the only stool

00:49:22and crossed her ankles like

00:49:24a lady at a tea

00:49:27he built me a hot house for the winter camellios

00:49:30did you know that

00:49:32a glass house with brick paths

00:49:34and a coal stove of its own

00:49:36he had a hundred men dig a cunert clear from the city springs

00:49:39to pipe hot water into a bathing room

00:49:42he built for me beside my bed chamber

00:49:43she extended a foot

00:49:45slipper dangling

00:49:46he commissioned a music stage in the south ballroom

00:49:49and sent to mobile for a troupe of singers

00:49:50the plans for all of it he drew himself

00:49:53he told me last night that your hands are cold when you touch him

00:49:56i knelt on the stone

00:49:57my ruined hands folded in my lap

00:49:59and looked at the high small window

00:50:00he told me he has not wanted you in a year

00:50:02and was only being kind about it

00:50:03camille's prettiness changed

00:50:04she rose took up the cold teacup

00:50:06that had been left on the floor

00:50:07smashed it against the wall

00:50:08and drew the broken edge across her own white

00:50:10help help

00:50:10ride ride

00:50:11she is coming

00:50:12boots in the corridor

00:50:12the door flung open

00:50:13reet saw the blood at camille's throat

00:50:15he crossed the room and drove his boot into my stomach

00:50:17i went down without a sound

00:50:18blood ran from my nose in the corner of my mouth

00:50:19his face changed when he saw it too late

00:50:21i breathed

00:50:21i did not speak

00:50:22i let him see the blood

00:50:23he carried camille away

00:50:25he ordered me to the chapel

00:50:27three days kneeling on the flagstones before the altar

00:50:30no food

00:50:31no water

00:50:32i was to stitch the 51st pole and the miseranum

00:50:35onto a square of blackboarded morning linen

00:50:37one verse

00:50:38for each hour the chapel bell rang

00:50:40until madam ashfield was satisfied

00:50:43that my soul had repented

00:50:45of striking the eldest son's wife

00:50:47the chaplain set out the rosewood hoop

00:50:49the black silk flaw the row of fine steel needles

00:50:51his eyes refusing mine

00:50:52by dusk my fingers would not close without spasm

00:50:54and i was driving the needle through

00:50:55by pressing the eye against the heel of my palm

00:50:57by the second evening the broken skin of both hands

00:50:59had darkened the black silk to a deeper rust

00:51:01wash me throughly from mine iniquity

00:51:03and cleanse me from my sleep

00:51:05i could not feel my knees

00:51:07i could not feel my face

00:51:08on the third day the fever took me

00:51:10i stitched past it

00:51:12i stitched past the moment the needle went clean through the web of my palm

00:51:15and a slow bead of blood worked along the thread

00:51:17and bloomed in the linen

00:51:17darker than the silk

00:51:18when i fell

00:51:19i fell forward across the altar

00:51:21and the hoop slid out from under my cheek

00:51:22and the unfinished stamp dropped to the stone

00:51:25i woke to ice water flung in my face

00:51:27and to camille's voice telling the servants

00:51:29to drag me into the snow of the side garden

00:51:30where there were no windows to look out from

00:51:32i laid there

00:51:33the gray carolina sky stretched above me

00:51:35banned by the bare branches of them did not melt

00:51:37i lifted one ruined hand to shade my face

00:51:40my cracked lips moved

00:51:41a sound escaped me

00:51:43not quite a laugh

00:51:44and not quite crying

00:51:46soon

00:51:47soon now

00:51:48i could leave this place

00:51:50for half a week i kept to my chamber

00:51:52and was forgotten

00:51:55the rest of ashford manor was loud with celebration

00:51:57word in the servants hall

00:51:59then in the streets of charleston

00:52:00then in every drawing room from calhoun street to the batter

00:52:03since master reed had taken his sister-in-law into his bed

00:52:06to give his dying brother an heir

00:52:08the consumption in master theodore's lungs had eased miraculously

00:52:11he had taken broth

00:52:13he had sat up

00:52:14the household named camille bayfield a good luck charm

00:52:16a saint

00:52:17a saving grace

00:52:19even general cornelius ashfield it was said had written from richmond

00:52:21that he was considering rape for a colonelette

00:52:23rive had the glass camellia house built for her in 12 days

00:52:25by a crew of 40

00:52:26he had coal grates fit in every room of her wing

00:52:28and a boy kept the fires alight from before dawn until past midnight

00:52:32he had a small theater raised in the south ballroom

00:52:34with a velvet curtain and a charleston orchestra retained for the season

00:52:37he bought you a single winter chameleon once for a new year's ball

00:52:39he took you to a country spring house for one weekend when your bones were aching

00:52:42he sent for one cruleal singer from new orleans for your birthday

00:52:44he does each of them now for her

00:52:45at 100 times the scale

00:52:46mister i cannot bear it

00:52:48then do not watch

00:52:49the night of camille's operette

00:52:50the snow came down in great soft flakes

00:52:52upon the live oaks and the carriages of half the country

00:52:54the ashford ballroom blazed with wool soil lamps

00:52:57i sat in the back row in dove gray silk

00:52:59i heard nothing of the music

00:53:00the talk around me was louder than the singers

00:53:03i went down the wrong corridor looking for a chamber pot

00:53:05and there they were in the magnolia walk

00:53:06the pretty widow and our gallant captain

00:53:07going at it like field hands

00:53:08does the wife know her husband bed his brother's widow

00:53:10and what if she does

00:53:12he is on the road to a general ship

00:53:14he cannot bind himself to one woman forever

00:53:17i rose and slipped out for air

00:53:18the garden pionza was cold

00:53:21the lanterns in the jasmine arker swung in the wind

00:53:24a figure emerged from the magnolia walk

00:53:25smoothing the front of her dress with both gloved hands

00:53:27her pearl shoulder

00:53:28my pearl shoulder

00:53:29catching the lantern light

00:53:31looking for someone dear

00:53:33the whale oil lantern in the jasmine arch went out

00:53:35a pistol muzzle

00:53:36cold as iron drawn from a well

00:53:37pressed against the back of my skull

00:53:38a second pair of hands leashed a small dark weight against my ribs

00:53:41a catchmas grenade

00:53:42its percussion cap already primed

00:53:44one hard landing and we would both be gone

00:53:45the man explained pleasantly

00:53:46i heard camille seized beside me

00:53:48camille shriek

00:53:49then camille's gagged whimper

00:53:50we were carried down the back drive

00:53:52the rare low country snow muffled the boots

00:53:54and the spanish main hung dark and unmoving in the live oaks above

00:53:57reet arrived at the gates with 20 men and pitch torches

00:54:00the kidnapper held both of us before him in the lamplight

00:54:03you may take one of these ladies home tonight

00:54:06the other you may ransom at the old chapel on the creek road at midnight

00:54:10for ten thousand silver dollars

00:54:11chew

00:54:12a silence that lasted half a minute

00:54:14blind inside my bard app

00:54:15i listened to my husband's breathing

00:54:17right

00:54:17the root woman swore i can save theodore

00:54:19i can make you a general

00:54:20can she do any of that for you

00:54:23release camille

00:54:24the bag was torn from camille's head

00:54:26camille fell into raid's arms weeping

00:54:29i felt the kidnapper's filthy hand close around my throat

00:54:32and dragged me into a wagon

00:54:34the roadside chapel was a ruin of beams and rotten pews

00:54:36the kidnapper untied his neckcloth and wiped his face

00:54:38and looked at me as a butcher looks at meat

00:54:40the lady who paid me said to keep you breathing

00:54:42she did not say keep you whole

00:54:43he struck me

00:54:44he tore at my bodice

00:54:45i fought with what i had left of my hand

00:54:47watched the broken altar window for him

00:54:49sundown

00:54:50no read

00:54:51midnight

00:54:52no read

00:54:53the slow gray hour before dawn

00:54:55no read

00:54:55my body began to cool from the soul's upwards

00:54:57i thought with a great strange tenderness

00:54:59how clean a thing i once was

00:55:01die bound to a man so unclean

00:55:02i closed my eyes

00:55:04when i opened them again

00:55:05a bed was beneath me i did not know

00:55:07and rape was screaming at three physicians to save me or be shot

00:55:09his eyes were red as wounds

00:55:10his voice had been used up some hours before

00:55:12eleanor eleanor

00:55:13they said you would not wake

00:55:14do not leave me

00:55:15do not leave me

00:55:16he gathered me against his chest

00:55:17the brass buttons of his gray uniform pressed into my cheek

00:55:20for one suspended moment

00:55:21i was a girl again in his arms

00:55:23in some charleston summer before the war

00:55:25and his love for me had been so clean

00:55:26i had drank from it as from a spring

00:55:29then i saw the marks camel had left in the hollow of his throat

00:55:32my stomach turned over

00:55:33i turned my face away

00:55:34the motion split the wound at my tilla

00:55:36and bright blood ran into my ear

00:55:38that night

00:55:39i could not choose you

00:55:41camille carries the future of this house

00:55:43i would have come at dawn

00:55:44i swear it on my life

00:55:45i could not answer

00:55:46the cracked corner of my mouth would not shape a word

00:55:48the chamber door opened

00:55:50madame ashford swept in upon her cane

00:55:51camille followed in fresh silk

00:55:53eyes already brimming

00:55:54the brigaden has confessed under questioning

00:55:56he was paid by this creature

00:55:58she hired a man to drag my dear camille

00:55:59to a brothel in mobile

00:56:00reet rose from the bedside

00:56:01he looked at me as if i had become a stranger in the dark

00:56:03then he struck me across the face with the back of his hand

00:56:06madame ashford struck me across the other cheek

00:56:08with the head of her cane

00:56:10camille pressed a lace handkerchief to her lips

00:56:11mother ashford ray

00:56:13spare her this once

00:56:14for my sake

00:56:15she is sister to me

00:56:17madame ashford patted her cheek

00:56:19camille's eyes flickered to the bedside table

00:56:21my new gown wants a small adornment

00:56:23might i beg one little kindness of poor eleanor

00:56:26right reached past me

00:56:27he lifted the river pearl strand

00:56:29he had threaded himself

00:56:30in the shallow waters off ednesty

00:56:33the year of our engagement

00:56:34the strand he had once said

00:56:36only his wife

00:56:37his one beloved

00:56:38could wear without shaming

00:56:39take them

00:56:41eleanor will not mind

00:56:42i picked up the pearls from camille's outstretched glove

00:56:45and threw them at her face

00:56:48it was always filth

00:56:50madame ashford clapped her hands

00:56:52the servants filed out

00:56:54the door closed

00:56:55i lay where i had fallen from the bed

00:56:57the pagine rug burned cold beneath my cheek

00:56:59in the bed i had bled in three nights running

00:57:02with me looking up from the floor

00:57:03and unable to so much as lift my head

00:57:05reet took camille

00:57:07he took her at length

00:57:09he took her audibly

00:57:10when he was done he rose and dressed in front of me

00:57:14as a husband might dress before his wife

00:57:17slowly deliberately

00:57:18fastening each button

00:57:19he came and

00:57:21knelt in front of me on the rug

00:57:23i did this in front of you

00:57:25i gave you every reason

00:57:26strike me

00:57:28curse me

00:57:29say something

00:57:30you're not gonna fight for me at all

00:57:31my voice

00:57:33when it came

00:57:33was very small

00:57:35and very even

00:57:36do you love me?

00:57:38yes

00:57:41god help me

00:57:42yes

00:57:47he reached for my face

00:57:49i put both my ruined hands

00:57:51flat against his chest

00:57:52and shoved with everything that was left in me

00:57:54i have not loved you in months

00:57:57you are soiled

00:57:59you make me sick

00:58:00his eyes went flat

00:58:01the way a pond goes flat before rain

00:58:02he took me by the shoulders

00:58:04he bore me down upon the rug

00:58:05what followed i did not stay inside my body to witness

00:58:08i rose out of myself and watched

00:58:10from somewhere near the cornich molding

00:58:11a woman who looked like me being used

00:58:13when the woman could move again

00:58:15she dragged herself across the floor by her elbows

00:58:17her torn fingernails left long red trails on the polished heart pine boards

00:58:21she pulled herself over the high threshold

00:58:23she fell down the icy stone steps into the courtyard snow

00:58:26behind her in the chamber

00:58:27she heard camille laugh

00:58:29and the bed springs begin again

00:58:31i lay in the snow and looked back up at my own window

00:58:35the curtain had been drawn

00:58:38don't scroll away

00:58:39click the video link

00:58:40to download drama box

00:58:42watch all episodes now

00:58:57hold on

00:59:03serverus is slaughtering some billions

00:59:06we have to stop it before the dragon lord gets here

00:59:29the dragon lord

00:59:31he's here

00:59:34he's here

00:59:35we're going to make it

00:59:42finish it

00:59:43finish it

00:59:45finish it

00:59:56finish it

00:59:57finish it

00:59:59close it

01:00:00all right

01:00:06profesor

01:00:07made

01:00:08gosh

01:00:08it

01:00:13was

01:00:26my lord you saved us again this is what the dragon temple stands for it's what we do

01:00:33my lord you're hurt

01:00:40we're both old that fight took the last of what we had left

01:00:44listen to me in ten years a new dragon lord will rise he'll find his own bond

01:00:47and he'll protect this world when that happens you follow him no matter what

01:01:00we will find him we'll make sure he becomes what you were the most powerful force in this world

01:01:11you pathetic magicless rat quit running i'll never give you my house

01:01:16fool you know what defies me no one

01:01:36run now bastard

01:01:56william what's wrong darling charlie's trying to kill me

01:02:01quick hide inside

01:02:09i got him

01:02:15well done sweetheart

01:02:27bring his mother too

01:02:36stay here

01:02:38no not my boy

01:02:39everyone these two retchels have been occupying my home illegally this bastard nearly got me killed too

01:02:46the nerve

01:02:47no he's lying it's our house it's always been ours

01:02:50do you have proof i have the deed

01:02:56that's our deed

01:03:00did you approach me just to steal it from us

01:03:05of course

01:03:06why else would i even speak to you you actually thought i'd love you

01:03:15let go of me everyone look at this what do you think it is

01:03:19a snake that's the devil's mark a bad omen he'll bring disaster

01:03:25could that be the dragon mark that's the dragon mark legend says whoever bears that mark can wake

01:03:31the dragon and rule the world you're crazy that's a fairy tale there's no such thing as an ancient

01:03:35dragon you old fool did i see it wrong you hired some old bard to make up this nonsense do

01:03:41you think

01:03:41you think we're all idiots kill him burn him

01:03:48throw this old hag into the dungeon and throw this bastard into the abyss

01:03:52my boy

01:03:55mother

01:04:12bye bye william a magicless wretch like you belongs in that cursed abyss this is the price of crossing me

01:04:39finally the dragon will awaken in three days

01:04:58so this is the bottom of the abyss i'm actually alive

01:05:04so this is the bottom of the abyss

01:05:16what

01:05:26legend says whoever bears that mark can wake the dragon

01:05:30and unrule the world

01:05:34are you the legendary dragon egg listen to me believing tales for children

01:05:46what is this magic

01:05:48is this magic did my magic awaken

01:05:52is this magic did my magic awaken

01:06:03is this magic

01:06:06it's magic

01:06:14it's magic

01:06:32to beide

01:06:41Thank you. You're truly my savior.

01:07:07Sorry, um, what's your name?

01:07:11Lady Olivia!

01:07:13My mother is still waiting for me in the dungeon. You should go.

01:07:18Olivia!

01:07:24Cora, I won't go through with the arranged marriage.

01:07:42Hey!

01:07:57Oh, please!

01:07:59Mother!

01:08:00Mother!

01:08:07William, run! Get out now! Charlie knows you're still alive!

01:08:12Don't worry, Mother. My magic awakened. I'm not powerless anymore.

01:08:25Mother, I'll free you. I promise. Take him.

01:08:36You freak! Since when can you use magic? Don't come any closer. Kill him!

01:08:53Is that all you got? You're a fumbling mess.

01:08:57Oh, my goodness.

01:09:09Bastard. I'll kill you.

01:09:18Mother!

01:09:20My son.

01:09:22Lock him up.

01:09:22What's that?

01:09:38In three days, I'll burn you at the stake.

01:09:46Father, you finally returned.

01:09:48The storm's left the roads a mess. I heard you were in an accident.

01:09:52Three days ago, my carriage lost control and fell into the river. A brave man pulled me out.

01:09:57Who was he?

01:09:58I didn't catch his name. He didn't look like a noble, but he carried himself better than one.

01:10:03Sam, prepare a generous gift for that man.

01:10:08Father, I'd like to go myself and...

01:10:10Olivia, you will not keep company with strangers. You are to be wed to a noble family. No more talk

01:10:14of calling it off.

01:10:21Still clinging to that worthless rock? Guess it'll be your only company. To hell.

01:10:26Only trash would treasure trash.

01:10:34Oh, my God.

01:10:40It's identical to the ancient dragon egg of legend.

01:10:43If it's still alive, then...

01:10:49Charlie, do whatever you want to me. Just let her go.

01:10:51Don't worry. Once you're a charred-up corpse, I'll naturally let her go.

01:10:54No. No, my boy.

01:10:57Did you see that?

01:10:59See what?

01:11:00That stone egg is hatching.

01:11:02It's alive.

01:11:04Martin, take your fairy tales and leave.

01:11:06This is no place for a dodgering old fool.

01:11:11A dragon egg?

01:11:12Please, it's a demon serpent egg.

01:11:14No! Only a dragon egg responds to its master's rage.

01:11:18It is demon craft!

01:11:20Look at these 13 cracks on it!

01:11:22An unlucky number!

01:11:23And look at the back of William's hand.

01:11:25It's a true serpent, Mark.

01:11:26The devil's creature!

01:11:28He'll bring a curse down on all of us!

01:11:33No, my boy!

01:11:36Then let us...

01:11:38Burn him!

01:11:47Light it.

01:11:50No, my boy!

01:11:51It won't work!

01:11:53The ancient dragon lord fears no fire!

01:11:55Fire is the dragon's weapon!

01:11:56Oh, shut up, you lunatic!

01:11:58Quit spouting your stupid story!

01:12:02This is the end, you pathetic wretch.

01:12:05You've got nothing left.

01:12:08I've got your house,

01:12:09your woman,

01:12:12and now...

01:12:17You're life!

01:12:19No!

01:12:21William!

01:12:22Bring her here.

01:12:26Say it.

01:12:28Say your son is cursed, pathetic bastard.

01:12:31No, he's not!

01:12:42Will you say it now, Hag?

01:12:45I won't say it!

01:12:47I won't!

01:12:49Mother!

01:12:51Mother!

01:13:02Mother!

01:13:11More fire!

01:13:31What is that?

01:13:33Increase the flames!

01:13:35Everyone, add fire!

01:13:42The new dragon lord, the king of the world.

01:14:39The new dragon lord, the king of the world.

01:14:42We have to stop it before the dragon lord gets here!

01:15:06The dragon lord!

01:15:08He's here!

01:15:10He's...

01:15:10He's here!

01:15:12We're going to make it!

01:15:19Finish it!

01:15:20We're going to...

01:15:22The new world...

01:15:23Shhhhhh...

01:15:38Shhhhhh...

01:15:42Shhhhhh...

01:15:45Shhhhhh...

01:15:46Yeehee...

01:16:02Shhhhhh...

01:16:03My lord, you saved us. Again.

01:16:06This is what the Dragon Temple stands for. It's what we do.

01:16:10My lord, you're hurt.

01:16:17We're both old. That fight took the last of what we had left.

01:16:21Listen to me. In ten years a new Dragon Lord will rise, he'll find his own bond, and he'll protect

01:16:25this world.

01:16:26When that happens, you follow him. No matter what.

01:16:37We will find him. We'll make sure he becomes what you were. The most powerful force in this world.

01:16:48You pathetic magicless rat. Quit running! I'll never give you my house!

01:16:54Fool! You know what defies me! No one!

01:17:00I'll never give you my house!

01:17:03I'll never give you my house!

01:17:05Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

01:17:14Ah! Run now, bastard!

01:17:33William, what's wrong, darling?

01:17:35Charlie's trying to kill me.

01:17:38Quick, hide inside.

01:17:45I got him.

01:17:52Well done, sweetheart.

01:18:03Bring his mother too.

01:18:07Mother!

01:18:13Stay here.

01:18:14No, not my boy!

01:18:16Everyone, these two retchels have been occupying my home illegally.

01:18:20This bastard nearly got me killed too.

01:18:23The nerve!

01:18:24No, he's lying.

01:18:25It's our house, it's always been ours.

01:18:27Do you have proof?

01:18:28I have the deed.

01:18:33That's our deed.

01:18:37Did you approach me just to steal it from us?

01:18:42Of course.

01:18:42Why else would I even speak to you?

01:18:45You actually thought I'd love you?

01:18:52Let go of me!

01:18:53Everyone, look at this.

01:18:55What do you think it is?

01:18:56A snake?

01:18:57That's the devil's mark.

01:18:58A bad omen.

01:18:59He'll bring disaster.

01:19:02Could that be the dragon mark?

01:19:04That's the dragon mark.

01:19:05Legend says whoever bears that mark can wake the dragon and rule the world!

01:19:09You're crazy!

01:19:10That's a fairy tale!

01:19:11There's no such thing as an ancient dragon, you old fool.

01:19:14Did I see it wrong?

01:19:15You hired some old bard to make up this nonsense?

01:19:18Do you think we're all idiots?

01:19:19Kill him!

01:19:20Burn him!

01:19:25Throw this old hag into the dungeon.

01:19:26And throw this bastard into the abyss.

01:19:29My boy!

01:19:30Mother!

01:19:41Mother!

01:19:48Bye-bye, William.

01:19:50A magicless wretch like you belongs in that cursed abyss.

01:19:55This is the price of crossing me.

01:20:17Finally!

01:20:18The dragon will awaken!

01:20:20In three days!

01:20:35So this is the bottom of the abyss.

01:20:37I'm actually alive.

01:21:03Legend says whoever bears that mark can wake the dragon and rule the world!

01:21:11Are you the legendary dragon egg?

01:21:14Listen to me, believing tales for children.

01:21:21What?

01:21:23Is this magic?

01:21:26Did my magic awaken?

01:21:52help!

01:21:53Help!

01:21:54Help!

01:22:19You're truly my savior.

01:22:44Sorry, um, what's your name?

01:22:48Lady Olivia!

01:22:50My mother is still waiting for me in the dungeon.

01:22:53You should go.

01:22:55Olivia!

01:23:00Cora, I won't go through with the arranged marriage.

01:23:19Hey!

01:23:34Oh, please!

01:23:36Mother!

01:23:43Mother!

01:23:44Williams!

01:23:45Run!

01:23:46Get out now!

01:23:47Charlie knows you're still alive!

01:23:49Don't worry, Mother.

01:23:51My magic awakened.

01:23:52I'm not powerless anymore.

01:24:02Mother, I'll free you.

01:24:04I promise.

01:24:06Take him.

01:24:13You freak!

01:24:14Since when can you use magic?

01:24:15Don't come any closer.

01:24:17Kill him!

01:24:19Kill him!

01:24:29Is that all you got?

01:24:31You're a fumbling mess.

01:24:33You're a fumbling mess.

01:24:45Bastard.

01:24:46I'll kill you.

01:24:55Mother!

01:24:56Mother!

01:24:57Mother!

01:24:58My son!

01:24:58Lock him up.

01:25:00I'm stuck!

01:25:15In three days, I'll burn you at the stake.

01:25:23Father, you've finally returned.

01:25:25The storm's left the roads a mess. I heard you were in an accident.

01:25:28Three days ago, my carriage lost control and fell into the river.

01:25:32A brave man pulled me out.

01:25:33Who was he?

01:25:35I didn't catch his name. He didn't look like a noble.

01:25:37But he carried himself better than one.

01:25:40Sam, prepare a generous gift for that man.

01:25:45Father, I'd like to go myself.

01:25:46Olivia, you will not keep company with strangers.

01:25:49You are to be wed to a noble family.

01:25:51No more talk of calling it off.

01:25:58Still clinging to that worthless rock?

01:26:00Guess it'll be your only company to hell.

01:26:03Only trash would treasure trash.

01:26:11Oh, my God.

01:26:17It's identical to the ancient dragon egg of legend.

01:26:20If it's still alive, then...

01:26:25Charlie, do whatever you want to me. Just let her go.

01:26:28Don't worry. Once you're a charred-up corpse, I'll naturally let her go.

01:26:31No. No, my boy.

01:26:34Did you see that?

01:26:35See what?

01:26:37That stone egg is hatching.

01:26:39It's alive.

01:26:40Martin, take your fairy tales and leave.

01:26:43This is no place for a dodgering old fool.

01:26:48A dragon egg?

01:26:49Please, it's a demon serpent egg.

01:26:51No!

01:26:52Only a dragon egg responds to its master's rage.

01:26:55It is demon craft.

01:26:57Look at these 13 cracks on it.

01:26:59An unlucky number.

01:27:00And look at the back of William's hand.

01:27:02It's a true serpent mark.

01:27:03The devil's creature.

01:27:05He'll bring a curse down on all of us.

01:27:10No, my boy.

01:27:13Then let us burn him.

01:27:23Light it.

01:27:27No, my boy.

01:27:28It won't work.

01:27:29The ancient dragon lord fears no fire.

01:27:32Fire is the dragon's weapon.

01:27:33Oh, shut up, you lunatic.

01:27:34Quit spouting your stupid story.

01:27:39This is the end, you pathetic wretch.

01:27:42You've got nothing left.

01:27:44I've got your house,

01:27:46your woman,

01:27:49and now...

01:27:54Your life!

01:27:56No!

01:27:57William!

01:27:59Bring her here.

01:28:03Say it.

01:28:05Say your son is cursed, pathetic bastard.

01:28:07No, he's not!

01:28:19Will you say it now, hag?

01:28:21I won't say it!

01:28:23I won't!

01:28:26Mother!

01:28:28Mother!

01:28:28Stop!

01:28:47More fire!

01:29:08What is that?

01:29:10Increase the flames!

01:29:12Everyone, add fire!

01:29:19The new dragon lord.

01:29:21The king of the world.

01:29:24The king of the world.

01:29:32You.

01:29:33You.

01:29:36The king of the world.

01:29:39You.

01:29:41The king of the world.

01:29:56Let's go!

01:29:57The king of the world.

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