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🎬 **After Rebirth, I Gave My Control-Freak Fiancé to My Stepsister**

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#video #drama #touchingdrama #heartwarmingdrama #emotionalfamilystory #AfterRebirthGaveMyControl #CinelatinoDrama
Transcript
00:00:00My billionaire fiancΓ©, Damien, did not love me. He loved control.
00:00:05In my last life, I tried to become his perfect wife, obedient, quiet, and easy to manage.
00:00:11I gave him everything, but he still chose my scheming stepsister every time.
00:00:15In the end, a car crash killed the woman he had spent years trying to cage,
00:00:19but death sent me back to the start, right before our wedding.
00:00:22This time, I will not beg for love.
00:00:24I am giving my controlling billionaire fiancΓ© to my treacherous stepsister,
00:00:28packing my bags, and leaving New York forever.
00:00:30Their perfect world is going to burn, and I will walk away free.
00:00:36Manhattan's most exclusive VIP mic club was a blur of neon lights.
00:00:40I sat in the center of a private booth,
00:00:45and with perfect intention.
00:00:48Up by the second floor rallying, a paparazzi lens was pointed straight at us.
00:00:53Good. Those photos would be on Damien Blackhood's desk before morning.
00:00:58That was the whole point.
00:01:00Damien needed a wife who was spotless, graceful, and obedient.
00:01:03So I was going to rip his perfect wife fantasy apart with my own hands.
00:01:06If the scandal was ugly enough, he would call off the engagement himself.
00:01:09Then the air around me turned ice cold.
00:01:19In that split second, I could almost hear chains pulling tight from another life.
00:01:23In my past life, I loved him to the point of madness.
00:01:26I told myself his control was love.
00:01:29Then the Blackwood family code was placed in front of me.
00:01:31No nightclubs.
00:01:32No being alone with any man.
00:01:34No leaving New York without permission.
00:01:36He froze my passport and cut off every account I had.
00:01:39Then he clasped a diamond bracelet around my wrist and called it an engagement gift.
00:01:44It was not a gift.
00:01:45It was a GPS tracker.
00:01:47He sanded me down, piece by piece, until I became something quiet and hollow.
00:01:52The perfect Mrs. Blackwood.
00:01:55Then a car crash ended my suffocating life.
00:01:59I had been reborn on the night before our wedding.
00:02:01This time, I did not want Damien.
00:02:03I wanted to be Scarlet Vale again, so the first thing I did was find my father.
00:02:08I want to call off the engagement.
00:02:09What the hell is wrong with you?
00:02:11Marrying to the Blackwood family is the greatest opportunity of your life!
00:02:14He is so perfect, let Clara marry him.
00:02:16She is the dignified, obedient one.
00:02:18The ideal Blackwood wife, right?
00:02:22You are really willing to give it up?
00:02:24I did not wait for the rest.
00:02:26I booked an international flight and moved my passport somewhere Damien's could not reach
00:02:31and called my best friend Mia.
00:02:32Come drink with me, which brought me here, to this moment.
00:02:37Who gave you the nerve to come to a place like this?
00:02:40I go where I want.
00:02:41What does that have to do with you?
00:02:58My blood ran cold.
00:03:00That bracelet.
00:03:01The same one that had locked away my freedom in my last life.
00:03:05Don't touch me!
00:03:09GPS tracking, heart rate monitor, entry and exit logs, synced in real time.
00:03:14Every step you take, I will see it.
00:03:17I want a public apology statement by tomorrow morning.
00:03:20You put diamonds on a cage and think that makes it something else?
00:03:25I held his gaze and said it clearly, one word at a time.
00:03:28I am not marrying you Damien.
00:03:30We are done.
00:03:34The car went silent.
00:03:35Damien's eyes snapped mine.
00:03:37Done?
00:03:38Done what?
00:03:39What the hell is that supposed to mean?
00:03:41For a second, I almost told him the truth.
00:03:44That the bride had already been changed.
00:03:46That Clara was the one his family would get.
00:03:49Then I stopped myself.
00:03:50I wanted him dreading every day until the wedding,
00:03:52convinced he was still stuck with me.
00:03:56Forget it.
00:03:57I was just mad.
00:04:02I'm taking you home.
00:04:04Sit properly.
00:04:05I kicked off my heels,
00:04:07pressed my bare feet into his expensive floor mat,
00:04:10and rolled the window down.
00:04:11When are you going to learn to behave like a Blackwood wife?
00:04:15Maybe in my next life.
00:04:16The rose stopped at the Vale Estate gates.
00:04:19I want that apology on my desk by nine tomorrow.
00:04:22And don't waste your time trying to take off the bracelet.
00:04:24I pushed the door open.
00:04:25I looked down at the disgusting thing locked around my wrist.
00:04:29Then you'd better watch closely.
00:04:31I slammed the door and walked inside without looking back.
00:04:34Richard, Monica, and Clara were all waiting in the living room.
00:04:37My father, his ex-mistress turned trophy wife,
00:04:40and the bastard daughter they'd spent years polishing
00:04:42into exactly the kind of obedient, presentable girl Damien wanted.
00:04:47You reek of alcohol,
00:04:48and you wore a Blackwood engagement bracelet to a nightclub.
00:04:51Have you completely lost your mind?
00:04:54Don't be too hard on her, Richard.
00:04:56Though honestly,
00:04:57I'm not sure a family like the Blackwoods
00:04:59can afford that kind of reputation.
00:05:01Scarlet,
00:05:02Dad said he already spoke with the Blackwoods.
00:05:04Are you really sure you want me to take your place?
00:05:07A hundred percent sure.
00:05:09You've always loved picking up what I throw away.
00:05:11This time I'm handing it to you myself.
00:05:14No need to sneak around for it.
00:05:17Watch your mouth!
00:05:18Clara is steadier, smarter,
00:05:20and a far better fit for the Blackwood family than you ever were!
00:05:23Perfect.
00:05:24Just don't come crying to me when the whole thing blows up in your faces.
00:05:29I only hope you won't regret this.
00:05:31I would hate to see you lose everything because of one bad mood.
00:05:38Scarlet Vale never regrets a damn thing.
00:05:44A servant came hammering on my door first thing in the morning.
00:05:47Damien was downstairs.
00:05:48He stood in the living room like last night had never happened.
00:05:51First thing he checked was my wrist.
00:05:54The bracelet.
00:05:55Green light blinking.
00:05:57Then he looked up.
00:05:58The statement.
00:05:59I didn't write one.
00:06:00Blackwoods PR team buried those photos.
00:06:02I need that statement.
00:06:03Your rules do not apply to me anymore.
00:06:05I am not signing anything.
00:06:07When are you going to learn to do or told?
00:06:08Not in this lifetime.
00:06:10Right on Cuse, Clara appeared in a white dress,
00:06:12eyes faintly red, holding a printed statement.
00:06:15Damien, please don't be angry with Scarlet.
00:06:16She was upset last night.
00:06:18I wrote the statement for her.
00:06:19Will this work?
00:06:20Damien scanned it.
00:06:22When he looked back at me, the disgust was undisguised.
00:06:25Look at Clara.
00:06:26She knows when to be graceful,
00:06:28when to step back,
00:06:29when to put the family first.
00:06:31All you do is create problems.
00:06:35Scarlet just needs more time.
00:06:37The Blackwood Charity Gala is tonight.
00:06:39I can go with her and help her get through it.
00:06:42Help me with what?
00:06:43How to smile on cue?
00:06:46How to play the innocent girl in white
00:06:48while hiding the snake underneath?
00:06:50Enough.
00:06:51Add her name and release it.
00:06:52I did not sign it.
00:06:53You went to a nightclub as the future Mrs. Blackwood.
00:06:56It stopped being your personal guest
00:06:57the second you dragged my family name into it.
00:06:59If you refuse to do the right thing,
00:07:01I will do it for you.
00:07:02Then take Clara.
00:07:03She is always so good at doing the right thing.
00:07:04You are my fiancΓ©.
00:07:06You will be at that gala tonight.
00:07:07Fine.
00:07:08This life, I was going to give him exactly what he wanted.
00:07:10Clara linked her arm through mine,
00:07:12going upstairs.
00:07:13Warm smiles.
00:07:14Nails digging into my skin.
00:07:15The second the door closed,
00:07:16I shook her off.
00:07:17Nobody is watching.
00:07:18Drop the act.
00:07:19Damien will be mine.
00:07:20On the wedding day,
00:07:20he will be grateful someone made the switch.
00:07:22A disaster like you has no business
00:07:23near the Blackwood name.
00:07:24Then why didn't you tell him just now?
00:07:25Scared that once he knows,
00:07:26he still won't want you?
00:07:27I won't just keep your mouth shut, Scarlet.
00:07:28I don't care about the you
00:07:29or your control freak fiancΓ©.
00:07:31Happy wedding.
00:07:34The Blackwood Family Charity Gala
00:07:36was packed with Manhattan's most powerful people,
00:07:39old money, new money,
00:07:40and the kind of influence that could buy both.
00:07:42I showed up deliberately
00:07:43in a floor-long thread backless gown,
00:07:46bold, unapologetic,
00:07:47and everything a Blackwood wife
00:07:48was not supposed to be.
00:07:50Clara wore white couture,
00:07:52pristine as a lily.
00:07:54When the waltz began
00:07:55and every eye in the room
00:07:56drifted toward Damis,
00:07:57Manhattan's most coveted heir
00:07:59stepped forward
00:08:00and reached right past me,
00:08:02his actual fiancΓ©,
00:08:03to offer his hand to Clara.
00:08:05The socialite crowd
00:08:06broke into sharp,
00:08:07delighted whispers.
00:08:08Did you see that?
00:08:10He chose the stepsister?
00:08:11Honestly, I get it.
00:08:13Scarlet is a walking scandal.
00:08:14Clara is everything
00:08:15a Blackwood wife should be.
00:08:17Damien led Clara onto the floor
00:08:18without looking back,
00:08:19then threw me a cold,
00:08:20parting shot.
00:08:21You do not know
00:08:22how to dance at this level.
00:08:24Stay where you are
00:08:24and watch Clara.
00:08:26Maybe you will finally
00:08:27learn something.
00:08:29I watched them
00:08:30turn beneath the chandeliers
00:08:32and felt nothing
00:08:33but revulsion.
00:08:34I slipped upstairs
00:08:35to the terrace for air,
00:08:37desperate to breathe
00:08:37something that did not
00:08:38feel like a trap.
00:08:39Of course,
00:08:40Clara followed.
00:08:41Her heels clicked up
00:08:42the stairs like she had
00:08:43been attached to my shadow
00:08:44all night.
00:08:45She wore the face
00:08:46of someone who had
00:08:46already won,
00:08:47and when she spoke,
00:08:48her voice was low
00:08:49and vicious.
00:08:50Poor Scarlet.
00:08:51Your mother could not
00:08:52beat mine,
00:08:53and now you cannot
00:08:53beat me either.
00:08:55Losing must run
00:08:56in your blood.
00:08:57She should have said
00:08:58anything else,
00:08:59anything but that.
00:09:00She had insulted
00:09:01my dead mother.
00:09:02My eyes went cold.
00:09:03Without a word,
00:09:04I drew back
00:09:05and slapped her heart
00:09:05across the face.
00:09:06The crack cut
00:09:07through the night air.
00:09:08Clara's head snapped
00:09:09to the side,
00:09:09and her cheek flushed red
00:09:10almost instantly.
00:09:12She screamed.
00:09:14You crazy bitch!
00:09:15You actually hit me?!
00:09:17I closed the distance
00:09:18and grabbed her
00:09:19by the neck.
00:09:19Hit you?
00:09:20I can do a lot worse
00:09:21than hit you.
00:09:22I trained in MMA,
00:09:24Clara.
00:09:25Taking apart a fake,
00:09:26fragile little thing
00:09:27like you would barely
00:09:28count as exercise.
00:09:29I whipped one leg up
00:09:30in a clean sidekick.
00:09:36The courtyard below
00:09:37erupted into screaming chaos.
00:09:38I straightened my dress,
00:09:40picked up my wrap,
00:09:41and turned to leave.
00:09:41But I had not made it
00:09:42three steps before
00:09:43Damien's hand clamped
00:09:45around my wrist like a vice.
00:09:46His eyes were bloodshot
00:09:47with rage,
00:09:47and his voice was cold enough
00:09:49to freeze the air between us.
00:09:50Clara fell from the terrace.
00:09:52Was it you?
00:09:53I met his eyes
00:09:54without flinching.
00:09:55Yes.
00:09:56She had it coming.
00:09:58You are beyond saving.
00:10:00Since she refuses
00:10:01to apologize,
00:10:01she needs to learn a lesson.
00:10:03Throw her into
00:10:03the estate fountain.
00:10:04No one lets her out
00:10:05until I say so.
00:10:06The bodyguards grabbed me
00:10:07before I could fight them off.
00:10:08No matter how hard
00:10:10I struggled,
00:10:10they dragged me
00:10:11across the courtyard
00:10:12and threw me
00:10:12straight into the fountain.
00:10:13The water was freezing cold,
00:10:15but it was liquid water,
00:10:17not ice.
00:10:17The spring night air
00:10:18cut like a blade,
00:10:19and the cold
00:10:20sank straight into my bones.
00:10:21Every time I clawed
00:10:23for the marble rim
00:10:23of the fountain,
00:10:24the guard standing
00:10:25along the edge
00:10:26pushed me back under
00:10:27without a word.
00:10:27The struggle drained me fast.
00:10:29Then something worse hit me.
00:10:31A sharp, familiar cramp
00:10:33twisted low in my abdomen.
00:10:34My period had come early.
00:10:36Blood seeped into
00:10:37the cold water around me,
00:10:38spreading in slow,
00:10:40dark ribbons
00:10:40beneath the surface.
00:10:41I was trembling,
00:10:42barely conscious,
00:10:43when I heard one of the guards
00:10:44call Damien.
00:10:45Sir, Miss Val just got her period.
00:10:46There is blood in the water.
00:10:47Should we keep going?
00:10:48There was a brief silence
00:10:49on the other end.
00:10:50Keep going.
00:10:50She will never learn
00:10:51if she does not suffer
00:10:52the consequences.
00:10:53In that moment,
00:10:53my blood ran colder
00:10:54than the fountain ever could.
00:10:55The despair of two lifetimes
00:10:57crashed down over me
00:10:58all at once,
00:10:59and the world went black.
00:11:04When I opened my eyes again,
00:11:06I was in a hospital room
00:11:06that smelled sharply
00:11:07of antiseptic.
00:11:08Damien was sitting
00:11:09at my bedside.
00:11:10When he saw me wake up,
00:11:11he released my hand
00:11:12with an expression
00:11:13of careful indifference.
00:11:14I spoke with your father.
00:11:15He will not give you
00:11:16any more trouble,
00:11:17but do not ever
00:11:18go after Clara.
00:11:20Clara is my father's
00:11:21precious little affair daughter.
00:11:23She is not my problem,
00:11:25and I am not promising
00:11:26you a damn thing.
00:11:31Mr. Blackwood,
00:11:32Clara is getting very upset
00:11:33in the next room.
00:11:34She has been crying
00:11:35and asking for you.
00:11:38I will go check on her.
00:11:39She was hurt because of you.
00:11:41As your fiancΓ©e,
00:11:42it is only proper that I go.
00:11:47Go on, then.
00:11:48Run to your real fiancΓ©e.
00:11:49On the day I was discharged,
00:11:51Damien forced me back
00:11:52into the car
00:11:53and drove me to the Vale Estate.
00:11:54But when I pushed open
00:11:55my bedroom door,
00:11:56my blood went red.
00:11:57cold.
00:11:57Clara was sitting
00:11:58at my vanity,
00:11:59dangling a sapphire necklace
00:12:00from her fingertips.
00:12:01My mother's sapphire necklace.
00:12:03The only thing
00:12:04she had left me.
00:12:05I crossed the room
00:12:06in three steps.
00:12:07My voice stripped down
00:12:08to nothing.
00:12:09Put it down and get out.
00:12:12Yours?
00:12:14Scarlet,
00:12:14everything in this house
00:12:15is going to be mine.
00:12:25Daddy, I only wanted to look
00:12:27at Scarlet's necklace
00:12:28and she shoved me
00:12:29into the floor.
00:12:38What the hell are you smiling at?
00:12:41You love putting on a show?
00:12:42Fine.
00:12:43I will give you
00:12:43the performance of your life.
00:12:45I grabbed a metal pen
00:12:46from the vanity
00:12:47and drove it straight
00:12:48at the Clara's palm.
00:12:49Clean through.
00:12:49Pinned to the hardwood.
00:12:50You fucking psycho!
00:12:52You're all dead!
00:12:53Get this animal
00:12:54out of my house!
00:12:55You are no longer
00:12:56welcome in the Veil family.
00:12:57The servants dragged me
00:12:58to the door
00:12:59and threw my luggage
00:13:00into the mud.
00:13:01I bent down,
00:13:01pulled my mother's
00:13:02sapphire necklace
00:13:03out of the dirt
00:13:04and held it tight.
00:13:05It was raining.
00:13:05I stood soaked
00:13:06under an ornery
00:13:07until a black roll
00:13:08pulled up.
00:13:08Damien got out
00:13:09without a word,
00:13:10put me in the car
00:13:11and drove me to his house.
00:13:12He came back
00:13:12with a first aid kit
00:13:13and started treating
00:13:14the mark my father
00:13:15had left on my face.
00:13:16Then the doorbell rang.
00:13:18Clara,
00:13:19banded hand,
00:13:19fragile expression.
00:13:20She walked straight
00:13:21into Damien's arms
00:13:22like she belonged there.
00:13:23Damien,
00:13:23I had to come.
00:13:24I was worried
00:13:24what she did to me.
00:13:25She is still...
00:13:25Damien's face darkened.
00:13:26Apologize to her.
00:13:27Right now, Scarlet.
00:13:29Not a chance in hell.
00:13:30We started arguing
00:13:31by the entryway.
00:13:31Damien reached for my arm
00:13:33and I shoved him off.
00:13:34In the struggle,
00:13:34his elbow knocked
00:13:35into the glass kettle
00:13:36sitting on the side cabinet.
00:13:37The kettle reacted
00:13:38to the floor and shattered.
00:13:39Scalding water
00:13:40exploded across the marble.
00:13:41He threw himself
00:13:41around Clara
00:13:42and covered her completely.
00:13:43I was on the other side.
00:13:44The boiling water
00:13:45splashed across my legs and arms.
00:13:46My skin turned red
00:13:47almost at once
00:13:48then started to blister and peel.
00:13:49Damien checked Clara first.
00:13:51She was fine.
00:13:52Then he glanced at me on the floor,
00:13:53bent down and picked Clara up.
00:13:54Leave her.
00:13:55A little pain might teach her
00:13:56to think before she goes
00:13:57after you again.
00:13:58He left me alone on the floor
00:13:59with scalding water
00:14:00still spreading around me.
00:14:04I sat on that floor,
00:14:05holding myself together
00:14:06through the pain
00:14:07and called 911 myself.
00:14:09I got out of the hospital
00:14:10just in time
00:14:10for Clara's birthday party.
00:14:12Richard used the occasion
00:14:13to make a grand announcement.
00:14:14The majority of the Vale family's
00:14:15trust assets and shares
00:14:16would be transferred to Clara
00:14:17in front of every guest
00:14:18in the room,
00:14:19took out a velvet box
00:14:20and clasped a diamond necklace
00:14:22worth a small fortune
00:14:23around Clara's neck.
00:14:24Clara's socialite friends
00:14:25swept over with their glasses,
00:14:27making sure to spill red wine
00:14:28across my dress.
00:14:29Look at the ex-fiance.
00:14:30You clean up
00:14:31like somebody's charity project.
00:14:37The bottle shattered.
00:14:39Blood and liquor ran together.
00:14:41The room erupted in screams.
00:14:43Damien was on me in seconds,
00:14:45crushing my wrist in his grip,
00:14:46his eyes loaded with contempt.
00:14:48Scarlet,
00:14:49what the hell is wrong with you?
00:14:51Apologize to them.
00:14:52Now.
00:14:53In your dreams!
00:14:54Damien laughed,
00:14:55but there was no humor in it.
00:14:56It was the laugh of a man
00:14:57who had run out of patience completely.
00:14:59He knew exactly what I feared most.
00:15:01Since you refuse to listen,
00:15:02you can sit in the dark
00:15:03and think about what you have done.
00:15:05Lock her in the wine cellar.
00:15:06Nobody opens that door
00:15:07without my permission.
00:15:08They dragged me
00:15:08into the estates' basement wine cellar.
00:15:10Stone walls,
00:15:11no windows,
00:15:12no light.
00:15:13The heavy iron door slammed shut,
00:15:15and total darkness swallowed me whole.
00:15:18Three days and three nights.
00:15:19No water,
00:15:20no food.
00:15:21The fear nearly broke me.
00:15:23On the fourth day,
00:15:24the door finally opened,
00:15:25but it was not Damien.
00:15:27It was Clara,
00:15:28pushing in a piece of equipment
00:15:29I did not recognize.
00:15:31She was smiling
00:15:32like something out of hell.
00:15:33Damien said you needed
00:15:34to learn a real lesson,
00:15:35so I brought something
00:15:36to make sure it sticks.
00:15:37Two men in black
00:15:38dragged me to a metal chair
00:15:39and strapped me down.
00:15:40They pressed electrode pads
00:15:42to my temples.
00:15:43Clara hit the switch.
00:15:44The current ripped through me.
00:15:46The pain had no words.
00:15:48It only had sound,
00:15:49and the sound was mine.
00:15:52Then there was nothing at all.
00:15:55I woke up in the main house,
00:15:57in a proper bed.
00:15:58Damien was sitting beside me,
00:15:59frowning.
00:16:00I told you to stay in there
00:16:01and think.
00:16:02Three days.
00:16:03How are you this week?
00:16:03I opened my eyes
00:16:04and looked at him.
00:16:06Your precious Clara
00:16:07brought men into that cellar
00:16:08with an electric shock chair
00:16:09and used it on me.
00:16:10Do you believe me?
00:16:13Impossible.
00:16:14Clara's gentle.
00:16:15She would never do
00:16:15something like that.
00:16:16Scarlet,
00:16:17there is a limit
00:16:17to how far you can take a lie.
00:16:19He would never believe me.
00:16:21Fine.
00:16:21I would collect that debt
00:16:23on my own.
00:16:23That night,
00:16:24I hired a team
00:16:25and made the arrangements myself.
00:16:27That night,
00:16:27Clara had been bound,
00:16:29suspended in the open air
00:16:30through the entire night.
00:16:32Damien kicked my door in.
00:16:33The vein in his temple
00:16:34visible from across the room.
00:16:35You left Clara
00:16:36hanging off a rooftop all night.
00:16:37If it were not for the safety net
00:16:39at the base of the building,
00:16:40she would be dead.
00:16:41I sat by the window,
00:16:42trimming my nails
00:16:42without looking up.
00:16:43Damien slammed his hand
00:16:44on the table
00:16:44hard enough to rattle it.
00:16:45The wedding is in a few days.
00:16:47We are staying in this house
00:16:48until then.
00:16:49You are not going anywhere.
00:16:50Do you understand me?
00:16:51The night before the wedding,
00:16:53a still-shaking Clara
00:16:54was brought back
00:16:54to the Vale estate.
00:16:55Richard took one look at me
00:16:56and started screaming.
00:16:57Stay away from the wedding tomorrow.
00:16:58Don't you dare show your face
00:16:59and humiliate this family.
00:17:01I picked up the luggage
00:17:02I had already packed
00:17:03and smiled at him.
00:17:05Trust me,
00:17:07that suffocating circus
00:17:09is the last place
00:17:09I would ever want to be.
00:17:11You could not pay me to go.
00:17:16Wedding morning.
00:17:18When I came downstairs,
00:17:19Damien was already in the house.
00:17:21At Clara's insistence,
00:17:23the ceremony had been planned
00:17:24as an elaborate,
00:17:25old-fashioned church wedding.
00:17:27Damien couldn't see
00:17:28who was underneath it.
00:17:29He assumed his lessons
00:17:31had finally worked,
00:17:32that the sharp edges
00:17:33had been worn down,
00:17:34and the woman walking toward him
00:17:36had learned to obey.
00:17:37He stepped forward
00:17:38and took the bride's hand gently.
00:17:40Don't be nervous, Scarlet.
00:17:41I'm right here.
00:17:42I will teach you
00:17:43everything you need to know
00:17:44to become the perfect
00:17:45Mrs. Blackwood.
00:17:47Go on, Damien.
00:17:49Marry your dream wife.
00:17:50Consider it my wedding gift
00:17:51to you both.
00:17:53Once the procession left
00:17:54for St. Hart Cathedral,
00:17:55the Vale estate
00:17:56went completely quiet
00:17:59and flagged a cab to JFK.
00:18:02Inside the car,
00:18:03I pulled a small remote
00:18:04from my coat pocket
00:18:05and looked back at the house
00:18:07one last time.
00:18:08My mother had designed it.
00:18:10Now it sheltered the woman
00:18:11who had replaced her
00:18:12and the daughter
00:18:13who had spent years
00:18:14making my life hell.
00:18:15I was done with it.
00:18:20Miss, was that your house?
00:18:24Yes.
00:18:25I blew it up.
00:18:29St. Hart Cathedral.
00:18:31The vaulted ceiling
00:18:32soared overhead
00:18:32and the pipework
00:18:33and filled the nave
00:18:34and grand with something.
00:18:35Every name that mattered
00:18:35in Hatton had shown up.
00:18:37At the end of the aisle,
00:18:37Damien stood in a perfectly
00:18:38tailored suit,
00:18:39precise, untouchable,
00:18:40watching the bride
00:18:41walk toward him.
00:18:42Today's bride
00:18:42was the long usual lace veil
00:18:43fell all the way down,
00:18:44hiding her face completely.
00:18:46Damien assumed
00:18:46all those cold lessons
00:18:47had finally worked.
00:18:48He assumed I had finally
00:18:49been worn smooth
00:18:50and that the woman
00:18:50walking towards him
00:18:51had learned how to submit.
00:18:52The priest began the vows.
00:18:53Damien lowered his voice,
00:18:54speaking only to the bride
00:18:55in front of him.
00:18:56After today,
00:18:56I will personally teach you
00:18:57how to be a proper Mrs. Blackwood.
00:18:59He took the bride's hand
00:19:00and guided her toward the altar
00:19:01as camera flashes
00:19:02stirred across the room.
00:19:04Then came the moment
00:19:04everyone had been waiting for.
00:19:06The groom lifted the veil.
00:19:07Damien reached up
00:19:08with calm, certain fingers,
00:19:09caught the edge of the lace
00:19:10and swept it back.
00:19:10For one breath,
00:19:11the cathedral seemed to freeze.
00:19:13The face in front of him
00:19:14was not the one
00:19:15burned into his memory.
00:19:16It was not the proud,
00:19:17defiant face
00:19:18he had spent years
00:19:18trying to control.
00:19:19It was Clara,
00:19:21flushed with excitement,
00:19:22her eyes bright
00:19:22with smug satisfaction.
00:19:24The cathedral went silent
00:19:25for one stunned second
00:19:26before the whole room
00:19:27broke into chaos.
00:19:28Why is the younger veil daughter
00:19:29wearing the wedding dress?
00:19:30The half-smile on Damien's face
00:19:32frozen,
00:19:33then vanished completely.
00:19:34His pupils tightened
00:19:36like someone had struck him.
00:19:37In one violent motion,
00:19:38he flung the veil away
00:19:40as if it had burned his hand.
00:19:41Clara had no warning.
00:19:42The force sent her stumbling back
00:19:44and crashing to the floor,
00:19:46her headpiece crooked
00:19:47and her white gown
00:19:48tangled around her legs
00:19:49in front of the entire congregation.
00:19:52Damien's voice
00:19:53tore through the cathedral.
00:19:54Where is Scarlet?
00:19:56Tell me where she is!
00:19:59The most prestigious
00:20:00society wedding in New York
00:20:01had just turned into
00:20:02the city's biggest scandal.
00:20:05Damien,
00:20:06just finish the ceremony.
00:20:08Richard told us a few days ago
00:20:09that the bride
00:20:10was being changed to Clara.
00:20:12We thought Clara
00:20:13was more suitable,
00:20:14more composed.
00:20:15The arrangement benefits
00:20:16both families' trusts
00:20:17and shareholding,
00:20:18so we agreed to it privately.
00:20:19She had assumed
00:20:20he would be relieved.
00:20:21His reaction told her
00:20:22she had never understood
00:20:23her son at all.
00:20:24Damien's personal stint
00:20:25pushed past security
00:20:26and sprinted into the hall,
00:20:27his face drained of color.
00:20:28Sir, it is bad.
00:20:29The veil estate
00:20:30exploded half an hour ago.
00:20:31The entire mansion is gone.
00:20:33There is nothing left but rubble.
00:20:34That sentence
00:20:35snapped the last thread
00:20:36of Damien's composure.
00:20:37If I had not come to the wedding,
00:20:39I had to be at the estate.
00:20:40That reckless
00:20:41insane woman.
00:20:42Did she burn herself
00:20:43alive in there?
00:20:44It was enormous
00:20:44and bottomless,
00:20:45the kind of fear
00:20:46that only came
00:20:46when loss
00:20:47had already reached
00:20:48for your throat.
00:20:48He shoved his mother aside,
00:20:50ignored every voice
00:20:51calling after him
00:20:52and ran.
00:20:53The black rolls
00:20:53tore through red lights
00:20:54one after another
00:20:55before screeching to a stop
00:20:56in front of what remained
00:20:57of the veil estate.
00:20:59Damien stumbled out of the car
00:21:00and stood before
00:21:01the scorched ruins,
00:21:02feeling as if something
00:21:03had been carved
00:21:04straight out of his chest.
00:21:05He screamed my name
00:21:06into the rubble
00:21:07until his voice broke.
00:21:08Then he shoved past
00:21:09the emergency crew
00:21:11and tore into the debris
00:21:12with his bare hands.
00:21:13The entire structure
00:21:14could have caved in
00:21:15at any second,
00:21:16but he did not stop.
00:21:17Get off me!
00:21:18She might still be in there!
00:21:20Let me through!
00:21:23His designer suit
00:21:24was shredded
00:21:25where the debris
00:21:25had caught it,
00:21:26but he did not notice.
00:21:27Reeb Arm sliced
00:21:28his palms open.
00:21:29Smoldering cinders
00:21:30burned blisters
00:21:30straight into his skin.
00:21:31Blood dripped into the sut,
00:21:33but he did not flinch once.
00:21:34There was only one thought
00:21:35left in him.
00:21:37He had to find her.
00:21:38His voice had gone raw.
00:21:40Scarlet, answer me!
00:21:42Come out here!
00:21:43I will never make you
00:21:44write another apology.
00:21:45I will never lock you
00:21:47down again.
00:21:48Whatever you want,
00:21:49I will give it to you.
00:21:50Just answer me.
00:21:52In the area
00:21:53where my bedroom had been,
00:21:54he finally dug out
00:21:55a small jewelry box,
00:21:56warped and half-melted,
00:21:57with the blackwood crest
00:21:58barely recognizable
00:21:59on the surface.
00:22:00His hands shook
00:22:00as he pried it open.
00:22:01Inside lay a diamond necklace,
00:22:03fused it into a molten shape.
00:22:04He closed his fist around it.
00:22:05The scorched,
00:22:06twisted metal
00:22:07cut into his palm,
00:22:08but he held on anyway.
00:22:09Guilt hit him like drowning,
00:22:10cold and total,
00:22:11with no way back
00:22:12to the surface.
00:22:13For the first time,
00:22:14he understood
00:22:14what his control
00:22:15had done to the woman
00:22:16he to love.
00:22:17I had always been bright,
00:22:18defiant,
00:22:19but he had spent years
00:22:20trying to grind
00:22:20that fire out of me.
00:22:21His certainty,
00:22:22his rules,
00:22:23and his need to own
00:22:24every part of my life
00:22:25had driven me to this.
00:22:26Then his assistant
00:22:26came sprinting across
00:22:27the debris field,
00:22:28holding a tablet
00:22:29and barely able to breathe.
00:22:30Sir, we found something.
00:22:32You need to see this.
00:22:33It was security footage
00:22:34from a discreet camera
00:22:35at a side exit
00:22:36near the estate.
00:22:36The timestamp was
00:22:37ten minutes before
00:22:38the explosion.
00:22:39A slender figure
00:22:40in a plain coat,
00:22:41pulling a small carry-on,
00:22:42walked out of the Vale estate
00:22:43at an easy pace.
00:22:44She flacked a cab
00:22:45on the street.
00:22:46Just before getting in,
00:22:47she looked back at the house,
00:22:48raised her hand,
00:22:49and pressed something.
00:22:50Behind her,
00:22:50the fireball rose.
00:22:51The image was grainy,
00:22:52but Damien Crawford
00:22:53knew that face
00:22:54had burned into him
00:22:54for years.
00:22:55It was me,
00:22:56alive and untouched,
00:22:57walking out of the house
00:22:58by my own choice.
00:23:02Relief and a deeper,
00:23:03darker panic
00:23:04hit him at the same time,
00:23:05nearly knocking him
00:23:06off his feet.
00:23:06She was alive.
00:23:08That was everything.
00:23:09But she had done this
00:23:10with clear eyes
00:23:10and steady hands.
00:23:11She had blown up
00:23:11the house she had grown up in,
00:23:12set up a wedding day decoy,
00:23:13and walked away
00:23:14without looking back.
00:23:15This was not a tantrum,
00:23:16and it was not a cry
00:23:17for attention.
00:23:18She truly did not want him.
00:23:19She hated him enough
00:23:20to erase her old life
00:23:22in one morning,
00:23:22and she had meant
00:23:23every word she said.
00:23:24Damien pulled himself up
00:23:25from the wreckage,
00:23:26his eyes shot through
00:23:27with red,
00:23:27and his voice scraped raw.
00:23:29But there was something
00:23:29in it now beyond rage,
00:23:31something dangerously
00:23:32close to desperation.
00:23:33Listen to me.
00:23:33Use every private
00:23:34aviation resource
00:23:35and every security network
00:23:36the Blackwood family has.
00:23:38I want every private
00:23:39terminal and border crossing
00:23:40in this country locked down.
00:23:41He locked eyes
00:23:41with his assistant.
00:23:42Track that cab.
00:23:43Pull passenger manifels
00:23:44and facial recognition data
00:23:45from every transatlantic departure.
00:23:47Search every route,
00:23:48every airport name
00:23:48she could have used.
00:23:49I want her found,
00:23:50and I want her found now!
00:23:52After giving the orders,
00:23:53he drove straight to the Four Seasons
00:23:54where Richard's family
00:23:55had taken a suite.
00:23:56Inside,
00:23:56Richard, Monica
00:23:57and a shaken,
00:23:58pale-faced Clara
00:23:59were still trying to recover
00:24:00from the morning's disasters.
00:24:02Damien kicked the door open
00:24:03and walked in
00:24:04like something feral.
00:24:05Hands raised,
00:24:05were scrambled.
00:24:06Damien, please,
00:24:06let me explain.
00:24:07Scarlet refused
00:24:08the marriage herself.
00:24:08She voluntarily handed
00:24:09the contract over to Clara.
00:24:10We had no choice.
00:24:11Clara is gracious,
00:24:12she is well-behaved,
00:24:13and she is far more appropriate
00:24:14for you than that wreckage.
00:24:15She handled it over.
00:24:16Damien laughed.
00:24:17Low and terrible
00:24:18was the look
00:24:19you gave something
00:24:20already dead.
00:24:21Do you have any idea
00:24:22what you have done?
00:24:22Do you think
00:24:23I am some piece of property
00:24:24your family can pass around
00:24:25whenever it suits you?
00:24:26He overturned
00:24:27the marble coffee table.
00:24:28Shards scattered
00:24:29across the carpet.
00:24:31There is one woman
00:24:32who carries the name
00:24:33Damien Blacko's wife.
00:24:35That woman is Scarlet
00:24:36and has always been Scarlet.
00:24:38Now tell me where she is.
00:24:43Clara had been terrified
00:24:44from the moment
00:24:45Damien walked in.
00:24:46But watching him
00:24:47fall apart like this
00:24:48over the woman
00:24:49who had run away
00:24:50made her envy
00:24:51curdle into something vicious.
00:24:53It became stronger
00:24:54than fear.
00:24:55She threw herself forward
00:24:56and grabbed the leg
00:24:57of his trousers,
00:24:59looking up at him
00:25:00with tears
00:25:00streaming down her face.
00:25:03Damien,
00:25:04what does she have
00:25:05that I do not?
00:25:05I love you more
00:25:06than she ever did.
00:25:08I will follow
00:25:09every rule
00:25:10in that family code.
00:25:11I will be the perfect
00:25:12Mrs. Blackwood.
00:25:16Just look at me, please.
00:25:18Look at me for once.
00:25:20Damien looked down at her.
00:25:21There was nothing in his eyes.
00:25:23Not anger,
00:25:23not pity,
00:25:24just naked,
00:25:25undisguised disgust.
00:25:26He stepped back,
00:25:27then kicked her away from him.
00:25:28Clara crashed into the corner
00:25:29of the sofa
00:25:30and gasped from the impact.
00:25:31Do not ever compare yourself
00:25:33to her.
00:25:35You do not even get
00:25:36to come close
00:25:36to a single hair
00:25:37on her head.
00:25:38The only reason you
00:25:39and your entire family
00:25:40ever mattered to me
00:25:41was because of Scarlet.
00:25:43Without her,
00:25:44you are nothing.
00:25:45I would waste
00:25:45a second looking at her.
00:25:46He did not stay
00:25:47to hear Richard
00:25:48and Monica beg.
00:25:49Clara!
00:25:53He walked out.
00:25:54Back at Blackwood Tower,
00:25:56in the top floor office.
00:25:58He moved through the dark
00:25:59like something trapped
00:26:00in a cage,
00:26:02pacing because he could not stop
00:26:04and could not think.
00:26:06Hours later,
00:26:07his assistant came in
00:26:08looking worse than before,
00:26:09holding a file
00:26:10with both hands.
00:26:11Sir, we found new records.
00:26:13Miss Vale filed an expedited
00:26:15single-entry exit visa
00:26:16through a private channel
00:26:18one week before
00:26:18the nightclub incident.
00:26:20One week before
00:26:22the nightclub?
00:26:23His feet stopped moving.
00:26:25The realization
00:26:26hit him like ice water.
00:26:28The nightclub,
00:26:29the dancer,
00:26:30the paparazzi,
00:26:31and even the bracelet
00:26:32had all been part
00:26:33of the same plan.
00:26:35Every time she pushed him,
00:26:37provoked him,
00:26:38and refused him.
00:26:40It had never been recklessness.
00:26:42It had never been a tantrum
00:26:43or some desperate game
00:26:45for attention.
00:26:46She had planned
00:26:46everything carefully,
00:26:48putting every piece in place
00:26:49long before he had ever
00:26:50thought she was capable of it.
00:26:52She had not stumbled
00:26:53into freedom
00:26:54by accident.
00:26:55She had built her escape
00:26:57step by step,
00:26:58and she had never once
00:26:59intended to come back.
00:27:03Damien braced himself
00:27:04against his desk,
00:27:06his knuckles turning
00:27:07white from the pressure.
00:27:08He stared at the date
00:27:09on the file as if it were
00:27:11the last thing left
00:27:11in the world.
00:27:13His stomach twisted
00:27:14violently,
00:27:15and regret hit him
00:27:16so hard it felt
00:27:17almost physical.
00:27:19He suddenly remembered
00:27:20how different I had been
00:27:21during those days.
00:27:22I had screamed
00:27:23the same thing at him
00:27:24again and again.
00:27:25I told him I was not
00:27:27marrying him.
00:27:27I told him we were done.
00:27:29Back then,
00:27:29he had thought it was
00:27:30just a spoiled heiress
00:27:31throwing a tantrum.
00:27:32He thought all he had to do
00:27:34was snap a tracking bracelet
00:27:35around my wrist,
00:27:36lock me up for a few days,
00:27:38force me to sign
00:27:39a public statement,
00:27:40and I would stay trapped
00:27:42inside that beautiful cage.
00:27:44But the truth was
00:27:45that I had already decided
00:27:47I did not want him anymore.
00:27:50Was it the insane family code
00:27:51that had driven me away?
00:27:53Was it the way he kept
00:27:54taking Clara's side
00:27:55and blaming me
00:27:56every single time?
00:27:59Was it the night he threw me
00:28:01into that freezing fountain
00:28:02while I was bleeding?
00:28:04Or was it the simple fact
00:28:06that he had never once
00:28:07believed me?
00:28:08The question spread
00:28:09through Damien's mind
00:28:11like poison,
00:28:12but none of it changed
00:28:13the only thing
00:28:14he cared about now.
00:28:15No matter what it took,
00:28:18even if he had to use
00:28:19every dirty trick
00:28:20the Blackwood family had,
00:28:22he had to get me back.
00:28:24Even if I hated him,
00:28:25even if I resented him,
00:28:26even if I made him suffer
00:28:27for the rest of his life,
00:28:29he was going to keep me
00:28:30by his side forever.
00:28:34Keep searching.
00:28:35Don't stop until you find it.
00:28:37He told him to use
00:28:38every connection
00:28:38the Blackwood family had,
00:28:40from finance circles
00:28:42to private security networks.
00:28:44He did not care
00:28:45what it cost.
00:28:45He did not care
00:28:46who they had to pressure.
00:28:48They were going to find me.
00:28:52The entire month
00:28:53that followed
00:28:54turned into a manhunt.
00:28:55I had vanished
00:28:56without a trace.
00:28:57There was no record of me
00:28:58on any private jet manifest,
00:29:00no ferry log,
00:29:01and no clean departure route
00:29:02anyone could find.
00:29:04Anxiety burned
00:29:05through Damien's nerves
00:29:06every second of every day.
00:29:07Since he could not
00:29:08take that rage out on me,
00:29:09he poured all of it
00:29:10onto the already broken
00:29:11Bale family.
00:29:15Blackwood Group
00:29:16launched a full-scale
00:29:17commercial attack
00:29:18on the Bale businesses.
00:29:19Their methods were merciless,
00:29:21and they left
00:29:21no room for survival.
00:29:23The Bale company
00:29:24had already been
00:29:25falling apart.
00:29:26Within two weeks,
00:29:27its assets were liquidated,
00:29:29its stock price collapsed,
00:29:31and bankruptcy
00:29:32was waiting at the door.
00:29:38Richard was completely
00:29:39losing his mind.
00:29:41He went to Blackwood Tower
00:29:43several times,
00:29:44begging for a meeting,
00:29:45but he could not even
00:29:46get past the elevator
00:29:47on the ground floor.
00:29:48After the bankruptcy,
00:29:50Clara became the easiest
00:29:51target for Damien's despair.
00:29:56She could not accept it.
00:29:59She kept trying to use
00:30:01the media to get
00:30:01Damien's attention.
00:30:03She even stood outside
00:30:04Blackwood Tower
00:30:04in the pouring rain,
00:30:06waiting there like someone
00:30:07with nowhere else to go.
00:30:08Finally,
00:30:09she threw herself in front
00:30:10of Damien's stretch limousine,
00:30:11and refused to move.
00:30:13Move.
00:30:14Clara pressed her face
00:30:15against the rain streak window,
00:30:17crying so hard
00:30:18she could barely speak.
00:30:20She begged Damien
00:30:21to stop destroying
00:30:22the Bale family.
00:30:23She said she was sorry.
00:30:25I promised I would find
00:30:26that bitch Scarlet
00:30:27and bring her back.
00:30:29All I wanted was for him
00:30:31to look at me.
00:30:32The window rolled down
00:30:33only a crick,
00:30:34revealed Damien's cold,
00:30:35hollow face
00:30:36and the stubble
00:30:37along his jaw.
00:30:37He did not even
00:30:38give her a proper look.
00:30:42Get her out of my way.
00:30:47The guards got out
00:30:49and dragged Clara away
00:30:50like she was nothing,
00:30:51ignoring her screams.
00:30:55The limousine drove off,
00:30:56leaving Clara
00:30:57sitting in the mud,
00:30:59sobbing in the rain.
00:31:00Damien closed his eyes
00:31:01and let the alcohol
00:31:02and sleepless nights
00:31:03swallow him whole.
00:31:05He had started relying
00:31:06on heavy doses
00:31:07of sleeping pills
00:31:08just to get a few hours
00:31:09of rest.
00:31:10But every time
00:31:11he fell asleep,
00:31:12the same nightmares
00:31:13came back.
00:31:15He saw me in the fountain,
00:31:16bleeding and pale.
00:31:18He heard me screaming
00:31:18in the wine cellar
00:31:19while the current
00:31:20tore through me.
00:31:24He saw the explosion
00:31:25and the fire
00:31:26swallowing the Bale estate.
00:31:27Every time,
00:31:28he woke up drenched
00:31:29in cold sweat,
00:31:30his heart pounding
00:31:31with terror and regret.
00:31:33He became darker
00:31:34and more violent
00:31:35with each passing day.
00:31:37Everyone in Blackwood's
00:31:38upper management
00:31:39walked on eggshells
00:31:40around him.
00:31:41One week later,
00:31:42Damien's mother
00:31:43forced him to attend
00:31:44a top-teal private
00:31:45charity gala
00:31:46in Manhattan.
00:31:47No one had expected
00:31:48that after Scarlet Vale
00:31:49left,
00:31:49she would take the soul
00:31:50of Manhattan's
00:31:51most powerful air
00:31:52with her.
00:31:52Damien stood in a corner
00:31:53with a glass of whiskey,
00:31:54staring blankly
00:31:55at the dance floor.
00:31:56Then for one second,
00:31:56he thought he saw
00:31:57a familiar figure
00:31:58in a bright red dress,
00:31:59laughing with that proud,
00:32:00dazzling profile
00:32:00he could not forget.
00:32:03He called my name.
00:32:04His heart almost stopped.
00:32:06He lost every trace
00:32:07of composure,
00:32:08pushed through the crowd
00:32:09of politicians
00:32:10and billionaires,
00:32:11and grabbed
00:32:11the woman's wrist.
00:32:15What the hell
00:32:16are you doing?
00:32:16Let go of me!
00:32:17It was not me.
00:32:18The light in Damien's eyes
00:32:19went out instantly,
00:32:20replaced by despair
00:32:20and humiliation.
00:32:21He released her
00:32:22as if all the strength
00:32:23had left his body.
00:32:24The wealthy guests
00:32:24around him stared
00:32:25with confusion
00:32:26and thinly hidden mockery.
00:32:27Sir, please,
00:32:28you need to be careful.
00:32:29This is not appropriate.
00:32:31It does not meet
00:32:31Blackwood family standards.
00:32:33Damien repeated the word
00:32:34with a bitter laugh.
00:32:36Standards?
00:32:37To hell with the standards.
00:32:38I do not care
00:32:39about any of it anymore.
00:32:41I only want scarlet.
00:32:43Then he pulled his fist back
00:32:44and slammed it
00:32:45into the decorative
00:32:46stone pillar beside him.
00:32:48His knuckles
00:32:48split open immediately
00:32:50and blood ran
00:32:51down the column.
00:32:52But he did not feel
00:32:53the physical pain.
00:32:55All he felt
00:32:56was the hollow space
00:32:57in his chest
00:32:57where something vital
00:32:58used to be.
00:33:02Another week passed.
00:33:05The thick curtains
00:33:06were drawn shut.
00:33:07The ashtrays
00:33:08were overflowing
00:33:09with cigar beats.
00:33:10The air smelled
00:33:11of tobacco
00:33:12and bitter coffee.
00:33:14Inside the top floor
00:33:15office of Blackwood Tower,
00:33:16the atmosphere
00:33:17was so heavy
00:33:18it felt like the silence
00:33:19before a storm.
00:33:20Damien had been sitting
00:33:21there for five days
00:33:22without real sleep.
00:33:23Every hour felt
00:33:24like torture.
00:33:25His desk was covered
00:33:26with reports
00:33:26from private investigators
00:33:27and they all said
00:33:28the same thing.
00:33:32They could not find me.
00:33:34Just as he was about
00:33:35to lose the last
00:33:36of his sanity,
00:33:37his assistant
00:33:38walked in carefully
00:33:39with a black coffee.
00:33:43He swallowed hard
00:33:44before speaking.
00:33:45Sir,
00:33:46we have new information.
00:33:48We cross-checked
00:33:49blurry facial matches
00:33:50from every non-standard
00:33:51exit channel
00:33:52over the past
00:33:52three months.
00:33:53We found someone
00:33:54who looks a lot
00:33:55like Miss Vale.
00:33:56Damien's head snapped up,
00:33:57his blood-shart eyes
00:33:59locked onto the assistant
00:34:00like a starving wolf.
00:34:01The assistant
00:34:02quickly continued.
00:34:15Damien grabbed the
00:34:16classified file
00:34:17from his assistant,
00:34:18his fingers shaking
00:34:19so badly
00:34:20from desperation
00:34:21and excitement
00:34:21that he could barely
00:34:22hold it steady.
00:34:23He stared at the
00:34:24enlarged surveillance photo.
00:34:26The image was blurry,
00:34:28but it showed someone
00:34:29in a coat
00:34:30walking towards
00:34:31a quieter boarding gate
00:34:32with a small suitcase.
00:34:34The figure was familiar
00:34:35enough to burn
00:34:36through his bones.
00:34:37He knew it was
00:34:38a new lead on me.
00:34:40Hope lit up
00:34:40the near-extinction
00:34:41madness in his eyes
00:34:42like the last lifeline
00:34:43thrown to a drowning man.
00:34:45Where was the
00:34:46connecting flight going?
00:34:47We are still working on it.
00:34:49Heathrow transit records
00:34:50are complicated,
00:34:51and she seems to have
00:34:52avoided the major
00:34:53national flights
00:34:53that required
00:34:54strepter identity checks.
00:34:55She chose smaller,
00:34:57cheaper airlines
00:34:57that attracted less attention.
00:34:59It will take time.
00:35:00We do not have time.
00:35:03Get the jet ready.
00:35:04We are leaving
00:35:05for Heathrow right now.
00:35:06Yes, sir.
00:35:07Sir, the Federal Reserve
00:35:08board meeting
00:35:09is this afternoon.
00:35:10Cancel it.
00:35:11Cancel everything.
00:35:12Nothing matters
00:35:13more than finding her.
00:35:14Three hours later,
00:35:15the Blackwood family's
00:35:16private jet tore
00:35:17through the clouds
00:35:18above Manhattan
00:35:18and landed at
00:35:19Heathrow's airport
00:35:20in London.
00:35:21The plane had not
00:35:22even fully stopped
00:35:22before Damien
00:35:23was already opening
00:35:24the door.
00:35:25He could not wait
00:35:25for the stairs
00:35:26to lower all the way
00:35:27and jump down.
00:35:28His tie was crooked,
00:35:29his shirt collar
00:35:29was torn open
00:35:30and deep circles
00:35:31shadowed his eyes.
00:35:32Messy stubble
00:35:33covered his jaw.
00:35:34He looked nothing
00:35:34like the perfectly dressed,
00:35:35untouchable CEO
00:35:36he used to be.
00:35:37Damien repeated
00:35:38the city name
00:35:38under his breath
00:35:39as he ran through
00:35:40the crowded airport,
00:35:41his sharp eyes
00:35:42scanning every woman
00:35:43he passed.
00:35:44Finally,
00:35:44he saw the boarding gate
00:35:45just as it was
00:35:46about to close.
00:35:49Damien's eyes
00:35:50locked onto the end
00:35:51of the boarding line.
00:35:52The slender figure
00:35:53in a cream linen dress,
00:35:54wide-breamed hat
00:35:55and sunglasses
00:35:56was the woman
00:35:57he had been hunting
00:35:57for an entire month.
00:35:59Scarlet?
00:36:00He ran toward her,
00:36:02not caring that
00:36:02travelers around him
00:36:03were staring in shock.
00:36:05He grabbed my wrist
00:36:06and held on
00:36:07like his life
00:36:07depended on it.
00:36:08My body went stiff.
00:36:13Let go of me,
00:36:14Mr. Blackwood.
00:36:15Grabbing a woman
00:36:16in public like this
00:36:16is not very appropriate,
00:36:17is it?
00:36:18I thought your precious
00:36:19family code
00:36:20cared about appearances.
00:36:21The cold sarcasm
00:36:22in my voice
00:36:23hit Damien like ice water,
00:36:25but he did not
00:36:26care anymore.
00:36:27Scarlet,
00:36:28come back with me.
00:36:29Please.
00:36:30I know I was wrong.
00:36:31I screwed up.
00:36:32I will fix it.
00:36:33Just come home with me.
00:36:35I laughed
00:36:36and pried his fingers
00:36:37off me,
00:36:38one by one.
00:36:41Come back to what?
00:36:42That cage
00:36:43with three thousand
00:36:44stupid rules?
00:36:45Am I supposed to go back
00:36:46and play Mrs. Blackwood again?
00:36:48His face turned paler.
00:36:49I looked at him
00:36:50with open disgust.
00:36:52Did you forget
00:36:53your perfect bride
00:36:53is Clara now?
00:36:55Your sweet,
00:36:56sensible little bride
00:36:57is waiting for you.
00:36:58Chasing your ex-fiance
00:36:59through an airport
00:37:00is a bad look, Damien.
00:37:02The man who had once
00:37:02been Manhattan's coldest
00:37:04and most untouchable heir
00:37:05fell to his knees
00:37:05in that foreign airport,
00:37:06surrounded by cameras
00:37:07and strangers,
00:37:08looking smaller than dirt.
00:37:10Damien looked up at me
00:37:11and tears finally broke through.
00:37:13The wedding did not count.
00:37:14I never wanted her.
00:37:15I do not care about
00:37:17the family code anymore.
00:37:18If you come back with me,
00:37:19you can do whatever you want.
00:37:20I will agree to anything.
00:37:22Just do not leave me like this.
00:37:24I took a step back
00:37:25as if avoiding
00:37:25something filthy.
00:37:27Your apology came too late
00:37:29and honestly,
00:37:31I do not need it.
00:37:32Then I turned around,
00:37:33handed my boarding pass
00:37:34to the gate agent
00:37:35and walked straight
00:37:36into the jet bridge
00:37:37with my back straight.
00:37:38Damien tried to follow,
00:37:40but airport security
00:37:41and his assistant
00:37:42held him back.
00:37:43Scarlett!
00:37:45He screamed my name
00:37:46toward the closing door,
00:37:47sounding like a man
00:37:48being torn apart.
00:37:53Three months later,
00:37:55in Monaco,
00:37:55inside the Monte Carlo Casino,
00:37:57money and desire
00:37:58blurred together
00:37:58under the glittering lights.
00:38:00The sound of poker chips
00:38:01never stopped.
00:38:01At a crowded Bacarmo table,
00:38:03every man nearby
00:38:04had his eyes fixed
00:38:05on the woman
00:38:05sitting across
00:38:06from the dealer.
00:38:09That woman was me.
00:38:11I wore a black silk slip dress
00:38:13with thin straps
00:38:14and a high clip
00:38:15that revealed
00:38:16my pale ankles
00:38:17and silver heels.
00:38:19The next round
00:38:19of cards came out.
00:38:20I barely glanced
00:38:22at my hand
00:38:22before tapping
00:38:23my fingers lightly
00:38:24on the table.
00:38:26Raise.
00:38:27Player wins.
00:38:29Then he pushed
00:38:30a mountain of chips
00:38:31toward me.
00:38:31The crowd around us
00:38:33broke into amazed whispers.
00:38:35They said the socialite
00:38:36from New York
00:38:36had won seven hands
00:38:37in a row.
00:38:38They said my psychological
00:38:39game was terrifying.
00:38:41I took a sip of champagne
00:38:43and almost laughed
00:38:44at the irony.
00:38:45This was not luck.
00:38:46It was probability,
00:38:47statistics and psychology.
00:38:49All the things
00:38:50Damien had once
00:38:51forced me to learn
00:38:51so I could become
00:38:52the perfect high society wife.
00:38:54I never thought
00:38:55those lessons
00:38:55would become my best weapon
00:38:57for burning through money
00:38:58in a place like this.
00:38:59Just as I was about
00:39:00to place another bet,
00:39:01a drunk local heir
00:39:02named Charles
00:39:03shoved through the crowd.
00:39:04His face was red
00:39:05from losing too much money
00:39:06and he reeked of alcohol.
00:39:08Come play with me tonight.
00:39:11I will split my winnings
00:39:12with you.
00:39:13Before his hand
00:39:14could touch me,
00:39:15I stepped back
00:39:15and lifted my right foot
00:39:16in its seven centimeter heel.
00:39:18Then I kicked him hard
00:39:19and precisely between the legs,
00:39:21using every bit of strength
00:39:22I had built
00:39:23through years of training.
00:39:25I was about to leave
00:39:26with my chip card
00:39:27when the crowd
00:39:27suddenly parted.
00:39:28A young mixtape man
00:39:29walked toward me
00:39:30with his hands in his pockets.
00:39:31He wore a black suit
00:39:32with the top three buttons undone,
00:39:33looking relaxed and arrogant
00:39:35in a way that came naturally
00:39:36to men who had never been told no.
00:39:37A limited edition watch
00:39:38gleamed on his wrist.
00:39:39It was Nathaniel.
00:39:43Nathaniel had an unlit cigar
00:39:44between his lips.
00:39:45He used the polished tip
00:39:46of his shoe
00:39:46to nudge Charles,
00:39:47who was still curled up
00:39:48on the floor groaning.
00:39:49His expression
00:39:50was pure contempt.
00:39:50You put your hands
00:39:51on someone I am interested in
00:39:53in my casino.
00:39:54That is not flirting, Charles.
00:39:56That is a death wish.
00:39:59If I ever see you near her again,
00:40:01what she broke tonight
00:40:03will be the least
00:40:04of your problems.
00:40:05Charles scrambled away
00:40:06with the help of his friends,
00:40:07too scared to look back.
00:40:08Then Nathaniel turned to me.
00:40:10His deep,
00:40:11flirtious eyes landed on mine,
00:40:12and he did not bother
00:40:13hiding his interest.
00:40:14He stepped forward naturally,
00:40:15slid one arm around my waist,
00:40:17and pulled me closer
00:40:17with a confidence
00:40:18that was almost insulting.
00:40:20His hold was intimate,
00:40:21possessive,
00:40:21and far too practiced.
00:40:23My body tensed,
00:40:24and I tried to pull away,
00:40:25but his arm stayed relaxed
00:40:26while still leaving
00:40:27no room to escape.
00:40:28He lowered his head
00:40:29close to my ear,
00:40:30his warm breath
00:40:31brushing my skin.
00:40:32I have been watching
00:40:33the little wild cat
00:40:34from New York
00:40:34for a while now.
00:40:35Those claws are impressive.
00:40:37Then he lifted his head
00:40:38and announced it
00:40:39to the whole casino
00:40:40with the kenless arrogance
00:40:41of a spoiled playboy.
00:40:42Damien Blackwood
00:40:43was blind enough
00:40:44not to want her.
00:40:45Lucky me,
00:40:46because I do.
00:40:48The Monaco socialists
00:40:49watching from nearby
00:40:50immediately started
00:40:51buzzing with gossip.
00:40:53Everyone knew Nathaniel
00:40:54had impossibly high standards,
00:40:55and now he was publicly
00:40:57chasing a runaway bride
00:40:58from New York.
00:40:59I looked up at him,
00:41:01met his burning gaze,
00:41:02and smiled.
00:41:05I appreciate the offer,
00:41:07but do I look like
00:41:08I need a man
00:41:09to get whatever I want?
00:41:10Nathaniel did not get angry.
00:41:12Instead,
00:41:13he pulled me a little closer,
00:41:14and the admiration
00:41:15in his eyes
00:41:16almost overflowed.
00:41:17That mouth of yours
00:41:19is dangerous.
00:41:20I like dangerous.
00:41:25I stayed in Monaco
00:41:26for a while,
00:41:26and Nathaniel kept his word.
00:41:28He pursued me loudly,
00:41:29aggressively,
00:41:29and with absolutely no shame.
00:41:31The next morning,
00:41:32a limited edition
00:41:32bright yellow Lamborghini
00:41:33was parked outside
00:41:34my apartment building.
00:41:35The keys were delivered
00:41:36with a card
00:41:36written in messy handwriting.
00:41:37It was just a way
00:41:38to get around.
00:41:39If you crash it,
00:41:40I will pay for it.
00:41:41A few days later,
00:41:42he rented a massive luxury yacht
00:41:43and threw an extravagant party
00:41:44on the water,
00:41:45insisting that I be
00:41:46the center of it.
00:41:52Have fun anywhere you want.
00:41:54Use my name
00:41:55if anyone gets in your way.
00:41:57He took me skydiving,
00:41:58deep sea diving,
00:41:59and even snuck us
00:42:00onto an F1 track
00:42:01to race cars
00:42:02in the middle of the night.
00:42:03He did every crazy,
00:42:04dangerous,
00:42:04reckless thing with me,
00:42:05and none of it
00:42:06had anything to do
00:42:07with family codes,
00:42:08rules,
00:42:08or proper behavior.
00:42:09What got to me most
00:42:10was that he never asked me
00:42:11to be gentle,
00:42:12quiet,
00:42:12or obedient.
00:42:13He never wanted me
00:42:14to behave.
00:42:14Whenever I pushed
00:42:15a race car up to
00:42:15200 miles per hour
00:42:17showing every wild edge
00:42:18I had,
00:42:18he sat in the passenger seat
00:42:20whistling and cheering
00:42:20like he had never
00:42:21seen anything better.
00:42:22After we landed
00:42:23on the soft sand
00:42:23from a 10,000 meter skydive,
00:42:25Nathaniel pulled off
00:42:26his goggles.
00:42:27His hair was a mess
00:42:28and he was smoking
00:42:28a cigarette while looking
00:42:29at my flushed face
00:42:30with a chalky smile.
00:42:31This is how you are
00:42:31supposed to live,
00:42:32Scarlett.
00:42:33Wild,
00:42:33loud,
00:42:33and impossible to leash.
00:42:35It suits you a hell
00:42:35of a lot better
00:42:36than playing some
00:42:36polished fake heiress
00:42:37in New York.
00:42:38Looking at this
00:42:38loud, arrogant man,
00:42:40I felt something inside
00:42:41me start to loosen.
00:42:41A frozen part of my heart,
00:42:43locked away by Damien
00:42:44for two lifetimes,
00:42:45began to thaw
00:42:46just a little.
00:42:46When I was with Nathaniel,
00:42:47I did not have to pretend.
00:42:48I did not have to be careful.
00:42:49I could let every
00:42:50sharp edge show.
00:42:51One night,
00:42:52we were playing a huge game
00:42:53of Texas Hold Us
00:42:53at a private club
00:42:54and I had lost
00:42:55several hands in a row.
00:42:56I was hesitating
00:42:57over whether to call
00:42:57the bet when Nathaniel
00:42:58lazily pushed more
00:42:59than half of his
00:43:00hips towards me.
00:43:01Call it.
00:43:01Do not get scared now.
00:43:02If you lose,
00:43:03it is on me.
00:43:04If you win,
00:43:05it's your fun money.
00:43:06On the way home
00:43:07that night,
00:43:07with the wind blowing
00:43:08through the car,
00:43:09he was quiet for once.
00:43:11Then,
00:43:12he said something
00:43:13I did not expect.
00:43:15You know,
00:43:16we met a long time ago.
00:43:21I turned my head
00:43:23in surprise
00:43:23and looked at
00:43:24his handsome profile.
00:43:28Nathaniel kept his eyes
00:43:30on the road
00:43:30and let out
00:43:31a bitter laugh.
00:43:32Years ago,
00:43:33I had a horse track
00:43:34in New York.
00:43:36You were 18.
00:43:38Richard,
00:43:39Monica,
00:43:39and Clara
00:43:40there,
00:43:40and they embarrassed
00:43:40to embarrass you
00:43:41in front of half
00:43:42the social crowd.
00:43:43Do you remember
00:43:44what you did?
00:43:46You jumped your horse
00:43:47over the highest obstacle
00:43:48and beat the guy
00:43:49who had been looking
00:43:49down on you all day.
00:43:51You were sitting
00:43:52on that horse,
00:43:53laughing like you
00:43:53owned the whole world,
00:43:54loud,
00:43:55arrogant,
00:43:56impossible to ignore.
00:43:57I remember thinking,
00:43:58damn,
00:43:59that girl is something else.
00:44:02I was stunned.
00:44:04I had almost forgotten
00:44:05that miserable day
00:44:06when Richard had tried
00:44:08so hard to humiliate me.
00:44:10Too bad your eyes
00:44:11were only on that
00:44:12fake gentleman,
00:44:13Damien Blackwood.
00:44:15I was wild
00:44:16back then too,
00:44:17but I knew one thing.
00:44:18You cannot force
00:44:19someone to want you.
00:44:21So I did not step in
00:44:23just to get rejected.
00:44:26His words
00:44:27landed like a stone
00:44:28dropped into
00:44:28the dead still lake
00:44:29of my heart.
00:44:31So there had been
00:44:32someone watching
00:44:33the real Scarlet Vals
00:44:34all along,
00:44:35even when I had
00:44:36not known it.
00:44:37What truly changed
00:44:38the way I saw him
00:44:38happened during
00:44:39a dirt bike accident.
00:44:40We were racing
00:44:41on a mountain road
00:44:42in southern Europe.
00:44:43On the way down,
00:44:43the pavement was wet
00:44:44and I was going too fast.
00:44:45My tire lost traction
00:44:46on a sharp turn
00:44:47and both my bike
00:44:48and I flew toward
00:44:48a steep drop
00:44:49hundreds of feet below.
00:44:51In that split second,
00:44:53Nathaniel was right behind me.
00:44:54He did not hesitate.
00:44:55He hit the gas
00:44:55and shot toward me
00:44:56using his heavier bike
00:44:57to slam into mine
00:44:58and change the direction
00:44:59of my fall.
00:44:59But because of the force
00:45:00and the rebound,
00:45:01he and his bike
00:45:02went tumbling down
00:45:02the steep slope instead.
00:45:03When I scrambled down the hill
00:45:03and found him among the rocks,
00:45:04his right leg was pinned
00:45:05under the heavy bike.
00:45:06Blood covered his forehead
00:45:07and his face
00:45:08was white from pain.
00:45:09Do not cry.
00:45:10I am too damn tough
00:45:11to die like this.
00:45:12Even then,
00:45:13he forced an ugly,
00:45:14cocky smile
00:45:14like he was still trying
00:45:15to make me feel better.
00:45:18In the private hospital
00:45:20in Monaco,
00:45:20Nathaniel had thick bandages
00:45:21wrapped around his head
00:45:22and a cased on his right arm,
00:45:23but he still acted
00:45:24like the same wild,
00:45:25carenless trouble mare.
00:45:26He lay in the hospital bed,
00:45:28looking at me
00:45:29as I sat beside him
00:45:29with slightly red eyes.
00:45:31For once,
00:45:31he put away
00:45:32all his cocky,
00:45:33unserious attitude.
00:45:34His deep,
00:45:35flurchous eyes
00:45:36locked onto mine
00:45:37with a seriousness
00:45:38I had never seen
00:45:39from him before.
00:45:40I know you've been hurt.
00:45:42I know Black Hill
00:45:43broke you
00:45:44with his rules and chains.
00:45:48I am not asking you
00:45:49to get over it for me.
00:45:50Take all the time you need.
00:45:52I can wait.
00:45:54I can wait.
00:45:56When you are ready
00:45:57to want someone again,
00:45:59I want you to think
00:46:00of me first.
00:46:00His honesty,
00:46:01the way he had risked
00:46:02his life to save me
00:46:03and the way he accepted
00:46:04every wild part of me
00:46:05without trying to change it
00:46:06all hit me at once.
00:46:07It felt like hot sunlight
00:46:08breaking through
00:46:08the frozen walls
00:46:09around my heart.
00:46:10For this time,
00:46:10I did not answer
00:46:11with something sharp.
00:46:12I only lowered my eyes
00:46:13and felt some of those
00:46:14cold hard chains
00:46:14inside me begin to crack.
00:46:16But the peace
00:46:16did not last long.
00:46:18A few days later,
00:46:19the nightmare
00:46:19found me again.
00:46:21Late one night,
00:46:22after I had been out
00:46:23dancing with Mia,
00:46:24I was walking back
00:46:25to my apartment
00:46:25when the air around me
00:46:26turned cold
00:46:27in a way I knew too well.
00:46:29A thin,
00:46:29worn out figure
00:46:30stood under the shadow
00:46:31of a streetlight.
00:46:31His eyes red
00:46:32with endless obsession.
00:46:33Damien Blackwood.
00:46:34He looked terrifying.
00:46:35His suit was wrinkled,
00:46:36his eyes were bloodshot
00:46:37and violent desperation
00:46:38seemed to radiate
00:46:39from his entire body,
00:46:40like he was one step away
00:46:41from losing his mind.
00:46:42He stepped forward
00:46:42and grabbed my arm,
00:46:43squeezing so hard
00:46:44it felt like he was
00:46:45trying to break it.
00:46:46His voice was rough,
00:46:47like sandpaper
00:46:48dragged over concrete.
00:46:50Scarlet,
00:46:50are you done playing games?
00:46:52Come back with me.
00:46:54Now.
00:46:56Let go of me,
00:46:57Mr. Blackwood.
00:46:58Do we even know each other?
00:47:10Just as Damien
00:47:11was about to force me
00:47:12into his car,
00:47:13a hand with long
00:47:13defined fingers
00:47:14and a limited edition watch
00:47:16cut through the air
00:47:16faster than anyone expected.
00:47:18It caught Damien's wrist
00:47:19with a sharp smack
00:47:20and held tight.
00:47:24A Blackwood CEO
00:47:25should know better
00:47:26than to put his hands
00:47:27on my woman in public.
00:47:30Even a three-year-old
00:47:31knows you cannot force
00:47:32someone to want you.
00:47:33He twisted Damien's wrist
00:47:35with sudden explosive strength,
00:47:37forcing him to let go of me.
00:47:39At the same time,
00:47:41he slid his arm around my waist
00:47:43and pulled me behind him,
00:47:44natural and protective.
00:47:46Damien's eyes shot
00:47:47to Nathaniel's hand
00:47:48on my waist
00:47:49like poison daggers.
00:47:50The jealousy and rage
00:47:52burned through
00:47:52the last thread of sanity
00:47:53the New York air had left.
00:47:55Damien's veins
00:47:56stood out on his forehead
00:47:57and he spat Nathaniel's name
00:47:58through his teeth.
00:47:59Take your hands off her.
00:48:01You are a spoiled piece of trash
00:48:03who changes women
00:48:04more often than cars.
00:48:06Do not touch her
00:48:07with your filthy hands.
00:48:09If you do not let go,
00:48:11I will destroy
00:48:12your entire family in Europe.
00:48:18I am a mess, sure.
00:48:20I sleep around
00:48:21and I have never
00:48:22pretended to be a saint.
00:48:23Then his tones
00:48:24changed completely
00:48:25and every word
00:48:27came out cold and poisoned.
00:48:28But I have never
00:48:29been sick enough
00:48:30to make a woman
00:48:31write a 10,000 word
00:48:32tumblet apology.
00:48:33I have never locked her
00:48:34in a dark wine cellar
00:48:35for three days
00:48:36without food but water.
00:48:38I have never thrown her
00:48:39into a freezing fountain
00:48:40at a gallery.
00:48:42Watched her bleed
00:48:42in the water
00:48:43and then told my guards
00:48:45to keep going
00:48:45because she needed
00:48:46to learn a lesson.
00:48:54So tell me, Blackwood,
00:48:56what the hell
00:48:57kind of man
00:48:58do you think you are?
00:49:03Every word out
00:49:04of Nathaniel's mouth
00:49:04cut open the guilt
00:49:05Damien had been
00:49:06trying not to face.
00:49:07Right there
00:49:08on a foreign street,
00:49:09Nathaniel stripped away
00:49:10every pathetic excuse
00:49:11Damien had ever made
00:49:12about love,
00:49:13discipline,
00:49:13and protection,
00:49:14leaving him with nothing
00:49:15to hide behind.
00:49:16The color drained
00:49:17from Damien's face.
00:49:18His lips trembled
00:49:19and he tried to argue back
00:49:20but his throat was so dry
00:49:22that not a single word
00:49:23came out.
00:49:24Two months of guilt
00:49:25and regret crashed
00:49:25over him all at once.
00:49:27His vision went dark
00:49:28and he could barely stand.
00:49:30Then he snapped.
00:49:32Shut up.
00:49:34His voice was hazy
00:49:35and shaking.
00:49:39Shut your mouth!
00:49:41The last thread
00:49:42holding him to get broke.
00:49:43He pulled his fist back
00:49:45and charged forward
00:49:45trying to tear me away
00:49:47from Nathaniel.
00:49:48Nathaniel had run out
00:49:49of patience.
00:49:50His eyes went cold
00:49:52and he lunged forward
00:49:53throwing a punch
00:49:54straight at Damien.
00:49:55Two powerful men
00:49:56who were used to
00:49:57commanding boardrooms
00:49:58and making entire markets move
00:49:59started brawling
00:50:00on the streets of Monaco
00:50:01like common street thugs.
00:50:02The heavy sound
00:50:03of fists hitting flesh
00:50:04and the raw grails of age
00:50:05made casino guests
00:50:06scream and scattered.
00:50:07In the chaos,
00:50:08Damien used that reckless
00:50:10almost suicidal force
00:50:11to break through the guards
00:50:12and reach me again.
00:50:14Come with me.
00:50:15I am not losing you again.
00:50:17He grabbed my shoulders
00:50:18with his bloody hands,
00:50:19his eyes obsessive
00:50:21and unhinged.
00:50:22Damien forced me
00:50:22into the black armored car
00:50:24waiting on the street
00:50:25and ordered his men
00:50:26to clear up hay.
00:50:27Clear the way, now!
00:50:30Drive to the private airport.
00:50:32Now, we are leaving
00:50:33for New York.
00:50:36By the time Nathaniel
00:50:37ran back into the street
00:50:38with blood on his face,
00:50:40all he could see
00:50:40were the taillights
00:50:41disappearing toward the coast.
00:50:46Find Blackwood's
00:50:47private flight path
00:50:48across the Atlantic.
00:50:49Get my people ready.
00:50:51I am going to New York
00:50:52and I am tearing
00:50:53his tower down
00:50:54if I have to.
00:50:56Twelve hours later,
00:50:57the Gulf Ray
00:50:57landed a heavily guarded
00:50:58private estate
00:50:59outside New York City,
00:51:00completely isolated
00:51:01from the outside world.
00:51:02It was Damien's
00:51:03most hidden asset,
00:51:04a beautiful golden cage
00:51:05built with the best
00:51:06security systems
00:51:07money could buy.
00:51:08I was locked inside
00:51:09the luxurious living room,
00:51:10but I stayed
00:51:11completely silent.
00:51:12I did not cry.
00:51:13I did not scream.
00:51:15I did not make a scene.
00:51:16I only looked at Damien
00:51:18with a coldness
00:51:18that made it clear
00:51:19he was already dead to me.
00:51:22Damien's heart cracked
00:51:23piece by piece
00:51:24under that look.
00:51:25He desperately wanted
00:51:26to make things right.
00:51:28Then he suddenly remembered
00:51:30that I had once mentioned
00:51:31liking a certain
00:51:32French dessert.
00:51:33He had never been
00:51:34in a kitchen in his life,
00:51:35but he took off his jacket
00:51:36and walked into the kitchen
00:51:37anyway,
00:51:38clumsily cutting ingredients
00:51:39with his ruined hands.
00:51:40Hot oil splashed up
00:51:41and burned blisters
00:51:42across the backs
00:51:43of his hands
00:51:43that he did not
00:51:44seem to notice.
00:51:45An hour later,
00:51:45he came out
00:51:46carrying a plate of dessert
00:51:47that looked terrible
00:51:47and slightly burnt.
00:51:49He walked up to me
00:51:50with a tired,
00:51:50worn-out face
00:51:51that carried
00:51:51a pathetic kind of hope.
00:51:53His whole body
00:51:53was shaking.
00:51:54His eyes were red
00:51:55and he could barely stand
00:51:56as it held the plate
00:51:57out to me.
00:51:58I used to say
00:51:58you like this.
00:51:59I made it myself.
00:52:00Please, Scarlett,
00:52:01just try one bite.
00:52:03I leaned against the couch,
00:52:04completely different,
00:52:05and did not even bother
00:52:06to look at him.
00:52:07I treated him
00:52:07like he was invisible.
00:52:08Damien's heart sank deeper
00:52:09into that frozen silence
00:52:11until there was nothing
00:52:11left but despair.
00:52:13All his pride fell away
00:52:14as he dropped to his knees
00:52:15in front of me
00:52:15and looked up like a beggar.
00:52:16I know that now.
00:52:17I do want the family code
00:52:18anymore.
00:52:18I will never lock you down again.
00:52:19Just do not look at me
00:52:20like I'm already dead.
00:52:21It's driving me insane.
00:52:22Why you can't forgive me?
00:52:26I finally turned my head
00:52:28and looked at his broken face.
00:52:31Beneath my calm surface
00:52:32was the frozen cold
00:52:34of two lifetimes.
00:52:35You really want to know why?
00:52:37Fine, Damien.
00:52:38I will tell you.
00:52:40I looked at him without blinking
00:52:41because at the charity gala,
00:52:44you let your guards
00:52:45throw me into a freezing fountain.
00:52:47You knew I was bleeding
00:52:49and when they asked
00:52:50if they should stop,
00:52:51you told them to keep going.
00:52:54His face went white
00:52:55because in the pouring rain,
00:52:57you brought me back
00:52:58to your mansion
00:52:59but the second Clara
00:53:00put on her innocent little act,
00:53:02you protected her
00:53:03from the boiling water
00:53:04and left me on the floor
00:53:06while my skin peeled off.
00:53:08His breathing turned unsteady
00:53:09because you locked me
00:53:10in that dark wine cellar
00:53:12and gave Clara
00:53:13the perfect chance
00:53:14to torture me
00:53:14with an electroshock chair.
00:53:16When I told you
00:53:17the truth
00:53:17with injuries
00:53:18all over my body,
00:53:19you called me a liar.
00:53:22His face went pale.
00:53:24Every time you had to choose
00:53:25between me and Clara,
00:53:26you chose her.
00:53:29You chose your family's reputation.
00:53:31You chose control
00:53:33and now you are kneeling here
00:53:34asking me to believe
00:53:35you loved me?
00:53:37Every word struck Damien
00:53:39like a judgment.
00:53:40Damien's face
00:53:40was completely pale.
00:53:42His body shook so hard
00:53:43he could barely stay upright.
00:53:44He tried to argue
00:53:45to say I had misunderstood
00:53:46but in front of those brutal facts,
00:53:48he realized words meant nothing.
00:53:50Regret tore through him.
00:53:51He tried to stand
00:53:52but accidentally knocked over the bag
00:53:54tucked between the couch hips.
00:53:56Everything inside spilled
00:53:57onto the floor.
00:53:58As he scrambled to pick it up,
00:54:00his fingers touched
00:54:01a medical file
00:54:01hidden deep inside.
00:54:07Damien opened the medical report
00:54:08from the private hospital
00:54:10in Monaco
00:54:10before he could think better of it.
00:54:12Large area deep second degree burns
00:54:14with severe PSTD
00:54:15cause prolonged psychological
00:54:16combustible pressure.
00:54:18Burns.
00:54:19Boiling water.
00:54:22He stared at the date
00:54:23on the report.
00:54:24It was the same day
00:54:25he had knocked over the hot water
00:54:27and carried Clara away
00:54:28from the mansion.
00:54:29That was how badly
00:54:30I had been hurt.
00:54:31It had not only been my body,
00:54:33my mind had been damaged too.
00:54:35And what had he been doing then
00:54:36the man who claimed to love me?
00:54:38He had been holding Clara,
00:54:39the person at the center
00:54:41of all of it
00:54:42asking if she was okay.
00:54:43Meanwhile,
00:54:44he had left me
00:54:44in boiling water to suffer.
00:54:46Damien completely lost control.
00:54:47He punched the wall so hard
00:54:48that the crack of his knuckles
00:54:49breaking was audible.
00:54:51Blood splattered across the wall
00:54:52but the physical pain
00:54:53was nothing compared
00:54:54to the feeling of his heart
00:54:55being crushed piece by piece.
00:54:56He crawled back to my feet
00:54:57like a dying dog
00:54:58and grabbed the hem of my dress
00:55:00with his broken,
00:55:00bleeding hand.
00:55:02His voice was wrecked
00:55:03as he apologized
00:55:04over and over again.
00:55:05I did not know
00:55:06it was that bad.
00:55:08Scarlett,
00:55:08I swear I did not know.
00:55:10Kill me if you want.
00:55:11Take a knife
00:55:12and do it right now.
00:55:13Just give me one chance.
00:55:15Please.
00:55:17Just one chance.
00:55:20I looked down at him,
00:55:21my long lashes
00:55:22casting cold shadows
00:55:24over my eyes.
00:55:25There was no emotion
00:55:26in them at all.
00:55:27I heard your apology, Damien.
00:55:30I just do not forgive you.
00:55:35At that moment,
00:55:37the roar of Moletter cycle engines
00:55:38screaming security alarms
00:55:40exploded outside the villa.
00:55:41Through the chaos of guards
00:55:42yelling and fighting,
00:55:44the thick bulletproof front door
00:55:45of the living room
00:55:46was slammed open
00:55:47from the outside.
00:55:48Nathaniel burst in
00:55:48covered in injuries,
00:55:50his eyes wild with rage,
00:55:51carrying the kind of fury
00:55:52that looked ready to kill.
00:55:55Nathaniel strode in
00:55:56over the shattered glass,
00:55:58his black leather jacket
00:55:59stained with the blood
00:56:00of Damien's guards.
00:56:02The usual lazy charm
00:56:03in his eyes was gone,
00:56:05replaced by something
00:56:06savage and deadly.
00:56:10He pulled me behind him
00:56:11in one swift motion.
00:56:14His right fist trembled
00:56:16from the force
00:56:17he was barely holding back.
00:56:22Damien Blackwood,
00:56:23you really had the nerve
00:56:24to take her
00:56:25right under my nose.
00:56:26You think because
00:56:27your family runs New York,
00:56:29I cannot touch you.
00:56:31Damien was still on the floor,
00:56:32his broken hand
00:56:33hung at his side,
00:56:34blood dripping
00:56:34from his fingertips
00:56:35onto the expensive
00:56:36wool carpet.
00:56:37Slowly he stood.
00:56:38His proud,
00:56:39untouchable spine
00:56:40looked bent now,
00:56:40but the moment
00:56:41he saw Nathaniel,
00:56:42jealousy and violence
00:56:43flared back to life
00:56:44in his hollow eyes.
00:56:45Let her go.
00:56:47Nathaniel,
00:56:47this is New York.
00:56:52This is my territory.
00:56:54When the council
00:56:55I'm assailed,
00:56:56you are not
00:56:57taking her anywhere.
00:56:59Nathaniel looked
00:57:00as if he had just heard
00:57:01the funniest thing
00:57:02in the world.
00:57:06He stepped forward
00:57:07and grabbed Damien
00:57:08by the collar,
00:57:09lifting him
00:57:10with brutal force.
00:57:11Your territory?
00:57:12Look outside.
00:57:15Beyond the windows,
00:57:16countless armored vehicles
00:57:17flashed with warning
00:57:18lights surrounding
00:57:19the private estate.
00:57:20Nathaniel's men
00:57:21had already formed
00:57:22a standoff
00:57:23with Blackwood's guards.
00:57:24look.
00:57:24I am not just taking her
00:57:26out of here today.
00:57:29I am going to go
00:57:30and collect.
00:57:31I select the life
00:57:32you should have lost
00:57:33in Monaco,
00:57:34right here in New York.
00:57:39Damien did not fight back.
00:57:41He let Nathaniel
00:57:42hold him by the collar,
00:57:43but his eyes
00:57:43stayed locked on my face
00:57:45over Nathaniel's shoulder.
00:57:46There was no trace
00:57:47of his old arrogance
00:57:48left in that look,
00:57:49only a plea so desperate
00:57:51it had sunk
00:57:51into his bones.
00:57:53Scarlet,
00:57:54do not go.
00:57:55I am begging you.
00:57:58Stay,
00:57:59even if all you want
00:58:00is to kill me.
00:58:01I looked at him
00:58:02without emotion,
00:58:03as if I were looking
00:58:04at something already dead.
00:58:06Damien,
00:58:07the moment you threw yourself
00:58:09in front of Clara,
00:58:10we became enemies
00:58:11in both lifetimes.
00:58:12Do not make me hate you
00:58:13more than I already do.
00:58:15Then I turned
00:58:16and took Nathaniel's
00:58:17blooded hand myself.
00:58:19Nathaniel,
00:58:20let's go.
00:58:21Nathaniel froze
00:58:22for half a second,
00:58:23then clasped my hand tightly,
00:58:25locking his fingers
00:58:26with mine.
00:58:26With a look of disgust,
00:58:28he shoved Damien away
00:58:29as if pushing aside trash.
00:58:30Damien staggered back
00:58:32and crashed
00:58:32into the luxury
00:58:33wine cabinet behind him.
00:58:35Countless bottles
00:58:36shattered across the floor,
00:58:37and dark red wine
00:58:38spread over the wreckage
00:58:39like blood.
00:58:42He sat collapsed
00:58:43in the ruin,
00:58:44able to do nothing
00:58:44but watch as Nathaniel shielded me
00:58:46and led me out
00:58:47of that beautiful golden cage
00:58:49without looking back.
00:58:51Nathaniel shielded me
00:58:52and led me out
00:58:53without looking back.
00:58:58The door slammed shut
00:59:00behind us.
00:59:01Behind it,
00:59:02came Damien's
00:59:03broken,
00:59:04desperate growl.
00:59:13The suffocating gloom
00:59:14of New York
00:59:15was left behind
00:59:16on the other side
00:59:17of the Atlantic.
00:59:19Nathaniel did not
00:59:20take me back to Modico
00:59:21in its glittering,
00:59:22noisy world
00:59:22of money and pleasure.
00:59:24Instead,
00:59:24he put me on his private jet
00:59:25and flew me straight
00:59:26to an extremely private estate
00:59:28in the south of France.
00:59:29The estate sat deep
00:59:31in the quiet
00:59:31Provence countryside,
00:59:32far away from the world.
00:59:36When I opened the windows,
00:59:38I could see
00:59:39endless fields
00:59:40of lavender.
00:59:41The air smelled clean,
00:59:43full of grass,
00:59:44sunlight,
00:59:45and peace.
00:59:46There was no Richard Will
00:59:47calculating what I was worth.
00:59:49There was no Damien Blackfield
00:59:50haunting me
00:59:51with his obsession.
00:59:52There was only a silence
00:59:53gentle enough
00:59:54to make breathing
00:59:54feel easy again.
00:59:56Cancel all meetings.
00:59:58Nathaniel threw away
00:59:59every bit of his
01:00:00southern European
01:00:00playboy image
01:00:01and became surprisingly patient.
01:00:04He canceled business
01:00:05mootings,
01:00:06turned down parties,
01:00:07and simply sat with me
01:00:08during breakfast
01:00:09in the flower-filled garden.
01:00:11At sunset,
01:00:12he would lie
01:00:13half on the grass
01:00:13beneath the grapefines
01:00:14with a book in his hand.
01:00:16Every now and then,
01:00:17he would look up
01:00:18and flash me
01:00:19that lazy,
01:00:20troublemaking smile.
01:00:21He never mentioned
01:00:22New York.
01:00:22He never mentioned
01:00:23Damien Blackwood.
01:00:24He never mentioned
01:00:25any part of the past
01:00:27that hurt me.
01:00:28With that strange,
01:00:29reckless tenderness
01:00:30only he had,
01:00:31he slowly chased
01:00:32the shadows
01:00:33of my last life
01:00:33from between my brows.
01:00:38The skin burned
01:00:39by deep second-degree scalds
01:00:41still arced at night,
01:00:42and the PTSD
01:00:43left by my past life
01:00:45often dragged me awake
01:00:46from nightmares.
01:00:47Every time I sat up
01:00:48covered in cold sweat,
01:00:49I saw a faint light
01:00:50glowing outside
01:00:51on the terrace.
01:00:52Nathaniel was always there,
01:00:53guarding my bedroom
01:00:54from the soap
01:00:54outside the glass doors.
01:00:55He held an old guitar
01:00:56in his arms,
01:00:57his long fingers
01:00:58moving over the strings.
01:00:59The melodies
01:01:00were never perfect,
01:01:01but somehow
01:01:01they were gentle enough
01:01:02to calm my heart.
01:01:05Nightmare again,
01:01:06wildcat?
01:01:07Do not be scared.
01:01:09I am right here.
01:01:10Not even God
01:01:11gets past me tonight.
01:01:16Paint whatever you want.
01:01:18Turn my face
01:01:18into a pig
01:01:19if it makes you happy.
01:01:23During the years,
01:01:24Damien controlled me.
01:01:26Painting had been dismissed
01:01:27as a useless distraction,
01:01:29but here,
01:01:30it was freedom.
01:01:31It belonged
01:01:32to Scarletta Vale.
01:01:35Under Nathaniel's
01:01:36shameless indulgements
01:01:37and steady companionship,
01:01:39I smiled more and more.
01:01:40It was the kind of joy
01:01:42that came from being
01:01:42accepted without conditions
01:01:44and encouraged
01:01:44to release every part of myself.
01:01:46One day,
01:01:47he secretly arranged
01:01:48a 10,000 meter skydive.
01:01:49The Hellifter climbed
01:01:50higher and higher
01:01:51with a violent roar.
01:01:52Beneath us were
01:01:53the jewel blue Mediterranean
01:01:54and the distant line
01:01:55of the Alps.
01:01:56Wind poured in
01:01:56through the open cabin door,
01:01:58whipping my hair into chaos.
01:01:59The instructor checked
01:02:00our gear one final time.
01:02:01I looked at the shrinking world
01:02:03outside the door,
01:02:04took a deep breath,
01:02:05and felt the brightest
01:02:05rush of anticipation
01:02:06I had known
01:02:07since my rebirth.
01:02:08Nathaniel home
01:02:09hailed my tightly,
01:02:09his palm burning hot
01:02:11out against mine.
01:02:12He leaned close to my ear
01:02:13and shouted over the engine.
01:02:15He grinned,
01:02:15wild and dazzling.
01:02:16Just as the green light
01:02:17came on
01:02:18and the instructor
01:02:18signaled that we were
01:02:19ready to jump,
01:02:20he suddenly gestured
01:02:21for him to wait.
01:02:22He turned to me
01:02:22and stared straight
01:02:23into my eyes,
01:02:24deep and burning.
01:02:25Above the deafening engine,
01:02:26his voice somehow
01:02:27reached me clearly.
01:02:28Scarlet,
01:02:29before we jump,
01:02:30Scarlet Vale,
01:02:31I know you are hurt.
01:02:33I know that bastard
01:02:34in New York
01:02:34broke something in you.
01:02:35I am not gonna feed
01:02:37you pretty lies.
01:02:37I am asking you straight.
01:02:39Give me a chance.
01:02:44Let me take care of you.
01:02:47Everything Damien Blackwood
01:02:48did to you,
01:02:49I will spend the rest
01:02:49of my life
01:02:51helping you heal from it.
01:02:54If the sky falls,
01:02:56I will hold it up for you.
01:02:57If you want to walk
01:02:58through the world
01:02:59like you own it,
01:02:59I will clear the road.
01:03:01If you want the stars,
01:03:02I will build you
01:03:02a damn ladder.
01:03:04I have never been
01:03:05this serious
01:03:05about anyone,
01:03:06Scarlet.
01:03:08I choose you.
01:03:09His conflation
01:03:10was direct,
01:03:11arrogant,
01:03:11and rough around
01:03:12the edges just like him,
01:03:13but it burned through
01:03:14me like sunlight,
01:03:15melting the deepest
01:03:16ice inside my heart.
01:03:17There was no prophet
01:03:18binding us together,
01:03:19no rules,
01:03:20no cage,
01:03:21only the purest
01:03:22kind of desire
01:03:23to love someone
01:03:23as they were.
01:03:24I looked into
01:03:25those flirtious eyes,
01:03:26now filled with
01:03:27love and nervousness,
01:03:29and the string
01:03:29that had been pulled
01:03:30in my heart
01:03:31for two lives
01:03:32finally snapped loose.
01:03:34The heavy chains
01:03:35were scattered
01:03:35by the wind
01:03:36around 10,000 meters
01:03:37above the earth.
01:03:39Yes!
01:03:40I will give you
01:03:41that chance!
01:03:42Alright, loveards,
01:03:43time to jump!
01:03:55The wind thundered
01:03:56past my ears
01:03:57as I opened
01:03:58my arms to freedom.
01:03:59This time,
01:04:00my guardian
01:04:00was falling beside me.
01:04:05The sun in southern
01:04:06France was warm
01:04:08and gentle,
01:04:08but the top floor
01:04:10of Blackwood Tower
01:04:11in New York,
01:04:11the heavy curtains
01:04:12were drawn tight,
01:04:13shutting out
01:04:13every trace of daylight.
01:04:15Damien Sack collapsed
01:04:15in his oversized
01:04:16leather chair,
01:04:17surrounded by
01:04:18empty vodka bottles.
01:04:19He had grown
01:04:19painfully thin,
01:04:20his face was hangered,
01:04:22his eyes sunken,
01:04:23and the hair he had
01:04:23once kept perfectly styled
01:04:24for the sake of the
01:04:25family code now hung
01:04:26in a mess.
01:04:26His phone screen
01:04:27was still lit.
01:04:28On it was a blurry
01:04:28Pemperazzi photo
01:04:29taken in southern France.
01:04:30Sunlight poured over
01:04:31an outdoor cafe.
01:04:32I was wearing
01:04:33a bright yellow dress,
01:04:34laughing with Nathaniel
01:04:35a spoonful of ice cream.
01:04:36Nathaniel was looking
01:04:37at me with open affection,
01:04:38gently tapping my nose
01:04:39with his finger.
01:04:39The photo was beautiful
01:04:40enough to hurt.
01:04:41Scarlet,
01:04:42I only found out recently
01:04:43that Clara used
01:04:44an electroshock chair
01:04:45on you in the wine feller.
01:04:46I have locked her away.
01:04:48I will make her pay back
01:04:49every bit of pain
01:04:50she caused you.
01:04:54Scarlet.
01:04:56Scarlet.
01:04:57Scarlet.
01:04:59Tears mixed with blood
01:05:01at the corner of his mouth.
01:05:03He whispered my name
01:05:04like a prayer
01:05:05and a punishment.
01:05:07I was smiling,
01:05:09bright and unrhynd,
01:05:10but that happiness
01:05:11no longer belonged to him.
01:05:13That place beside me
01:05:15should have been his.
01:05:16He was the one
01:05:17who had pushed me away
01:05:18with those damned rules.
01:05:29He wrote like a madman.
01:05:31Sometimes his handwriting
01:05:33was messy.
01:05:34Sometimes it was
01:05:35painfully neat.
01:05:36Before long,
01:05:37the white paper
01:05:38was covered in tear marks
01:05:39and bloody fingerprints
01:05:41from his broken hand.
01:05:43He wrote about
01:05:43how stupid he had been
01:05:45to believe
01:05:45the Vale family's act.
01:05:46He wrote about
01:05:47forcing me
01:05:48to write apologies,
01:05:49locking me in the wine cellar.
01:05:50I bled and bound me
01:05:51standing right
01:05:52and spilled about
01:05:52then hot water
01:05:53to protect Clara
01:05:54while leaving me
01:05:55with second degree burns
01:05:56and PTSD.
01:05:58Scarlet,
01:05:58I only found out recently
01:06:00that Clara used
01:06:00an electroshock chair
01:06:01on you in the wine cellar.
01:06:03I have locked her away.
01:06:05I will make her pay back
01:06:06every bit of pain
01:06:07she caused you.
01:06:15The letter was sent
01:06:16by international courier
01:06:17to southern France
01:06:18and eventually reached my hands.
01:06:21I did not read
01:06:22a single line.
01:06:23I threw it straight
01:06:24into the roaring fireplace.
01:06:26The pages curled
01:06:27and flailed in the flames
01:06:29and turned to ash.
01:06:36No answer ever came.
01:06:41After the letter was sent,
01:06:42no reply came back.
01:06:44Damien's last bit of hope
01:06:45died completely.
01:06:47Ignoring the furious objections
01:06:48of his private doctor,
01:06:50he tore the IV from his hand
01:06:51and booked the nearest flight
01:06:53to the south of France.
01:06:54Through the Blackwood family's
01:06:55underground channels in Europe,
01:06:57he eventually located
01:06:58the quiet estate
01:06:58surrounded by lavender fields.
01:07:00But he did not dare go near it.
01:07:02He was afraid of disturbing me.
01:07:04Even more than that,
01:07:05he was afraid of seeing
01:07:06the disgust in my eyes.
01:07:08So he stayed outside
01:07:09the thorny fence
01:07:09like a ghost,
01:07:10watching from far away
01:07:11day and night.
01:07:12He saw Nathaniel's Lamborghini
01:07:13come and go.
01:07:14He saw us walking
01:07:15hand in hand
01:07:15along the country road
01:07:16at sunset.
01:07:17At night,
01:07:17he saw Nathaniel's shadow
01:07:18on the second floor balcony
01:07:19as he gently held me
01:07:20in his arms.
01:07:21Every scene was a dull knife,
01:07:23slowly cutting through
01:07:24his body and soul.
01:07:25One day,
01:07:26a violent storm
01:07:26broke over southern France.
01:07:28Lightning split
01:07:28the night sky.
01:07:29Damien stood outside
01:07:30the fence without moving,
01:07:31letting the cold rain
01:07:32soak him through.
01:07:33He was running a fever
01:07:34of 104 degrees,
01:07:35his body burning
01:07:36under the creasing rain,
01:07:37but he stood there
01:07:38like a statue
01:07:39and refused to leave.
01:07:42In his sick,
01:07:43desperate mind,
01:07:44he imagined that
01:07:46maybe the rain
01:07:46was heavy enough
01:07:47to soften my heart.
01:07:49Maybe I would come out
01:07:50with an umbrella
01:07:51and look at him
01:07:52just once.
01:07:53Only when his body
01:07:54finally gave out
01:07:56did he collapse
01:07:56into the muddy water.
01:07:58Before he lost
01:07:59consciousness completely,
01:08:01he thought he saw
01:08:02the curtain move
01:08:03in a second floor window.
01:08:12scarlet,
01:08:14let me see her.
01:08:17Keep dreaming,
01:08:18Blackwood.
01:08:19She does not
01:08:20want to see you.
01:08:22She would feel dirty
01:08:23wasting even one second
01:08:24on you.
01:08:29She told me to give you
01:08:30four words.
01:08:32No forgiveness.
01:08:35No pity.
01:08:36No return.
01:08:42Keep whatever dignity
01:08:43the Blackwood family
01:08:44still has.
01:08:45Every word struck Damien
01:08:47like an icepook
01:08:48through the heart,
01:08:49shattering the last bit
01:08:50of hope left in him.
01:08:51He understood.
01:08:52I was not even willing
01:08:54to waste hatred
01:08:54on him anymore.
01:08:56Between us,
01:08:56everything had ended
01:08:57in the second
01:08:57of the car crash
01:08:58in my last life
01:08:59and in the moment
01:09:00he ordered the guards
01:09:00to keep me in the fountain
01:09:01in this life.
01:09:03After his fever broke,
01:09:04he was put on a plane
01:09:05back to New York
01:09:06by Nathaniel's private guards.
01:09:09He left like a puppet
01:09:10with its soul pulled out.
01:09:18Damien's forced departure
01:09:19did not stop
01:09:20the next storm
01:09:20from arriving.
01:09:22After recovering
01:09:23in southern France,
01:09:24I was no longer
01:09:25the weak woman
01:09:25from my past life
01:09:26who could only endure pain.
01:09:28With Nathaniel's
01:09:28financial power
01:09:29and international
01:09:30underground network
01:09:31behind me,
01:09:32I personally planned
01:09:32the final reckoning
01:09:33against the Vail family.
01:09:35Using hackers,
01:09:35I gathered hard evidence
01:09:36of Richard's years
01:09:37of tax evasion,
01:09:38money laundering,
01:09:39embezzlement
01:09:40of my mother's trust assets,
01:09:41and massive commercial
01:09:42brubbering.
01:09:43Then I anonymously
01:09:44submit everything
01:09:44to the highest federal
01:09:45prosecutors in New York.
01:09:49The evidence
01:09:50was overwhelming.
01:09:51Richard was arrested
01:09:52by federal agents
01:09:53during a Vail group
01:09:54board meeting
01:09:55right in front of the cameras
01:09:56and the entire press.
01:09:58The Vail family trust
01:09:59and company
01:09:59collapsed overnight.
01:10:01Their assets were seized
01:10:02and liquidated,
01:10:03and bankruptcy
01:10:04followed almost immediately.
01:10:05In the visiting room
01:10:07of New York's
01:10:07first federal prison,
01:10:08I sat behind
01:10:09thick bulletproof glass
01:10:10and looked coldly
01:10:11at Richard.
01:10:12He had gone
01:10:12white-haired overnight.
01:10:13He looked old,
01:10:14broken, and frantic.
01:10:16Scarlett, I am your father!
01:10:17My blood runs in your veins!
01:10:19You sent your own father
01:10:20to hell with your own hands!
01:10:21You'll pay for this!
01:10:22Pay for it?
01:10:23Richard, did you think
01:10:24about payback
01:10:24when you brought Monica
01:10:25into my mother's house?
01:10:26Did you think about it
01:10:27when you let
01:10:28try to sell me
01:10:28into the Blackwood family
01:10:29like a piece of property?
01:10:33This is your payback.
01:10:35Spend the rest of your life
01:10:37repenting in there.
01:10:43Monica could not survive
01:10:45the shock of the Vail family
01:10:46collapsing overnight.
01:10:48Her mind broke completely,
01:10:49and she was forced
01:10:51into the cheapest
01:10:52psychiatric hospital
01:10:53in New York.
01:10:54Every day,
01:10:55she wandered
01:10:56with tangled hair,
01:10:57muttering nonsense
01:10:58to herself.
01:11:04Damien, please save
01:11:05my mother.
01:11:06Please save the Vail family.
01:11:08I know I was wrong.
01:11:09I will bring Scarlett
01:11:10back if you want.
01:11:10I will beg that bitch
01:11:11to come back.
01:11:12Just look at me once.
01:11:14The iron gate
01:11:14slowly opened.
01:11:16Damien came out
01:11:17with a cane.
01:11:19He looked down
01:11:20at the woman
01:11:20kneeling at his feet
01:11:21like she was
01:11:22filth on the road.
01:11:23There was no emotion
01:11:24in his eyes,
01:11:25only disgust.
01:11:27Love?
01:11:28Clara,
01:11:29I know exactly
01:11:30how you and Monica
01:11:30schemed your way
01:11:31through Manhattan society
01:11:32and bullied Scarlett
01:11:33for years.
01:11:34I did not touch you
01:11:35before because
01:11:36you were not worth
01:11:37dirtying my hands.
01:11:39Also,
01:11:40I was saving you
01:11:41for Scarlett.
01:11:44Now that she has
01:11:45made her move,
01:11:46I am satisfied.
01:11:47Get this disgusting
01:11:48woman out of my sight.
01:11:54After that,
01:11:55a filthy,
01:11:55ragged woman
01:11:56appeared on the
01:11:57underground streets
01:11:57of Manhattan.
01:11:58She smelled rotten,
01:11:59laughed at strangers,
01:12:00and screamed at shadows.
01:12:02Damien had his men
01:12:03watch her from a distance.
01:12:04He did not allow her
01:12:05to die.
01:12:05He made sure
01:12:06she stayed alive
01:12:07long enough
01:12:07to suffer every humiliation
01:12:08the bottom of society
01:12:09had to offer.
01:12:10It was exactly
01:12:11what I had wanted
01:12:12for her.
01:12:12She would live
01:12:13like a rat in the gutter,
01:12:14slowly and painful.
01:12:17After hearing
01:12:18how everything ended,
01:12:19I stood before
01:12:20the floor to clear
01:12:20windows of the estate
01:12:21in southern France
01:12:22and watched the sun
01:12:23sink below the horizon.
01:12:24For the first time,
01:12:25my heart felt
01:12:26strangely calm.
01:12:27The nightmare
01:12:27and karma
01:12:28that had followed me
01:12:29through two lifetimes
01:12:29had finally come to an end.
01:12:31Bad people
01:12:32got what they deserved.
01:12:33From now on, baby,
01:12:34let me be the only one
01:12:35who gets to spoil you.
01:12:36Over the next half year,
01:12:38Nathaniel and I
01:12:38grew closer and closer.
01:12:40We traveled
01:12:40from country to country,
01:12:42enjoying our freedom
01:12:42and love
01:12:43anywhere in the world
01:12:44we wanted.
01:12:45We both thought
01:12:45the blood and storms
01:12:46were finally behind us.
01:13:04But no one expected
01:13:06Clara,
01:13:06who had long gone mad
01:13:08and been forgotten
01:13:08in the trash-filled corners
01:13:10of New York,
01:13:10to be planning
01:13:11one last act of revenge.
01:13:27Nathaniel reacted instantly.
01:13:29With a low growl,
01:13:29he shoved open the car door
01:13:30and threw him himself
01:13:31into the fight,
01:13:31doing everything he could
01:13:32to protect me.
01:13:33But there were too many of them
01:13:34and they had come prepared.
01:13:35Nathaniel was soon
01:13:36cut across the arm
01:13:36while shielding me,
01:13:37then forced to the ground
01:13:38under several guns.
01:13:39His face was covered in blood
01:13:41and his eyes were wild
01:13:42with rage.
01:13:42Do not touch her!
01:13:44Let her go!
01:13:51A burst of crazed applause
01:13:53rang out.
01:13:53Clara slowly stepped out
01:13:54from behind one of the vants.
01:13:55She wore a filthy,
01:13:56torn dress stained with grime.
01:13:57Her hair was a tangled mess
01:13:58and her eyes were cloudy
01:13:59and insane.
01:14:00In her hand,
01:14:00she gripped a loaded glock.
01:14:01Her ruined face twisted
01:14:02like something out of a nightmare
01:14:03as she laughed at me.
01:14:04Barlet, you bitch.
01:14:05I have requested
01:14:06nicely and paid all the under.
01:14:07Get the hundred times
01:14:08with thousands over.
01:14:09You and the man you love
01:14:10are both going to hell today!
01:14:11At that deadly moment,
01:14:12just as one of the thugs
01:14:13was about to pull the trigger,
01:14:14the roar of an engine
01:14:15ripped through the sea wind.
01:14:16A black armored SUV
01:14:17came crashing in from behind,
01:14:19ramping the van,
01:14:19blocking the road
01:14:20and screeched to a stop
01:14:21in the middle of the chaos.
01:14:22A thin figure with a slight limp
01:14:23stepped out,
01:14:24carrying an automatic rifle
01:14:26and surrounded by cold,
01:14:27murderous and tate.
01:14:28Damien.
01:14:29He had been following my movements
01:14:30from a distance all along.
01:14:31When he found out
01:14:32Clara had disappeared
01:14:33under strange circumstances,
01:14:34he sensed something was wrong
01:14:35and tracked the rived route here
01:14:37for the scene.
01:14:42Let her go, Clara.
01:14:44Get that filthy gun
01:14:45away from her head.
01:14:52Damien, you came too?
01:14:54Good.
01:14:54Perfect.
01:14:55The head of the Blackwood family
01:14:57and Nathaniel's family
01:14:58are both here.
01:14:59I can send all of you
01:15:00to hell together.
01:15:01What do you want?
01:15:02I will give you
01:15:04every Blackwood trust,
01:15:05every share,
01:15:06every asset I have.
01:15:08Take my life if you want.
01:15:10Just let Scarlet go.
01:15:13I do not want anything anymore.
01:15:15I want her to suffer.
01:15:18I want you,
01:15:19the high and mighty king
01:15:20of Manhattan,
01:15:21to watch with your own eyes
01:15:22while I tear her apart.
01:15:25Watching both men suffer
01:15:26because of me
01:15:27tore my heart open
01:15:28and tears blurred my vision.
01:15:29Stop!
01:15:30Nathaniel Damien,
01:15:31just go.
01:15:32Do not worry about me.
01:15:33You want her alive?
01:15:33Fine.
01:15:34Damien,
01:15:34King of Manhattan,
01:15:35get on your knees.
01:15:36Kneel and beg me.
01:15:37Damien looked at my
01:15:38deathly pale face
01:15:39and did not hesitate
01:15:39for even a second.
01:15:40He threw away the rifle
01:15:41in his hand
01:15:42and dropped to his knees
01:15:43on rough gravel-covered road.
01:15:44The heavy sound of his bones
01:15:45hitting the ground
01:15:45tore through the sea wind.
01:15:46This was a man
01:15:47who had been pathologically proud
01:15:48in both lifetimes,
01:15:49a man who had never
01:15:50lowered his head to anyone.
01:15:51For my life,
01:15:52he threw away
01:15:52every last bit of dignity.
01:16:00Look at you.
01:16:01You finally know
01:16:02what it feels like.
01:16:04Beat him.
01:16:05Beat him until
01:16:06he cannot move.
01:16:09The thugs rushed forward.
01:16:11Iron rods and fists
01:16:12fell on Damien like rain.
01:16:13He curled tightly
01:16:14around himself,
01:16:15blood pouring
01:16:15from his mouth,
01:16:16but he stubbornly
01:16:17kept his body
01:16:17angled toward me,
01:16:18blocking the sand
01:16:19and gravel
01:16:19that flew in my direction.
01:16:20Stop!
01:16:22Please stop!
01:16:25Please stop!
01:16:36In that split second,
01:16:38no one saw
01:16:38where Damien found
01:16:39the strength.
01:16:40Like a black panther
01:16:41burning through
01:16:41its last breath,
01:16:42he threw himself up
01:16:43from the ground
01:16:43and slammed me
01:16:44with the ounce of life
01:16:44he had left.
01:16:45He knocked me hard
01:16:46onto the road
01:16:46and covered completely
01:16:47with his broad,
01:16:48bloodied back,
01:16:48leaving no gap
01:16:49between me and the bullet.
01:16:50The sound that followed
01:16:51tore into his back,
01:16:52exploding only a few
01:16:53millimeters from his heart.
01:16:55Blood sprayed
01:16:55across the air
01:16:56and instantly stained
01:16:58my white dress,
01:16:59a shocking red.
01:17:05For a moment,
01:17:06the whole world
01:17:06seemed to stop.
01:17:07Damien's heavy body
01:17:08pressed down over mine.
01:17:09With impossible effort,
01:17:10he slowly raised his head.
01:17:12His deathly plale face
01:17:13was covered in blood
01:17:14when he saw that
01:17:14I was safe
01:17:15queer creme with him,
01:17:16without a cloud
01:17:17picture of his mouth
01:17:17lifted into a relieved smile.
01:17:19In that smile
01:17:19was a kind of longing
01:17:20and regret
01:17:20I had never seen
01:17:21from him in either lifetime.
01:17:22He struggled to raise
01:17:23his bleeding hand
01:17:24as if he wanted
01:17:25to touch my face
01:17:26one last time,
01:17:27but his fingers
01:17:28shook violently
01:17:28in the air,
01:17:29never quite reaching me,
01:17:30before falling wheatly
01:17:31into the mud.
01:17:33He looked at me
01:17:33as the light in his eyes
01:17:35began to scatter.
01:17:36Scarlet,
01:17:37I am sorry.
01:17:41This time,
01:17:42I finally protected you.
01:17:45Live well with Nathaniel.
01:17:48Goodbye.
01:17:59Damien!
01:18:08But I only held
01:18:09the blood-covered man-in-arms,
01:18:11tears streaming down my face.
01:18:12Did I hate him?
01:18:13Did I resent him?
01:18:14The moment that bullet
01:18:15tore through his body,
01:18:16the chains from my past life
01:18:17and the hatred from this life
01:18:18were shattered with it.
01:18:19With his own life,
01:18:20he completed a redemption
01:18:21that had come two life teams
01:18:22too late.
01:18:26Above the Southeast Asian island,
01:18:27the roar of a rescue helicopter
01:18:29tore through the humid air.
01:18:30A team of top international medics
01:18:32carefully lifted Damien,
01:18:33covered in blood
01:18:34and deep in shock,
01:18:35onto a stretcher.
01:18:35His face had turned acid,
01:18:37almost like a corpse.
01:18:38His breathing and heartbeat
01:18:39were so weak
01:18:39the machines could barely detect them.
01:18:41I stood beside the helicopter,
01:18:43his warm blood still
01:18:43on my face and clothes.
01:18:45My fate's been trolling soon,
01:18:46wrapped in bandages
01:18:47and looking grim.
01:18:47Poor self threw the pain
01:18:48of his fractures
01:18:49and pulled me hard
01:18:49into his arms,
01:18:50using his broad chest
01:18:51to hold me up.
01:18:52His eyes were complicated
01:18:53as he watched Damien
01:18:53always despised
01:18:54he'd really been willing
01:18:55to trade his life
01:18:56for my freedom.
01:18:57The helicopter rushed
01:18:58toward the nearest
01:18:58international medical center.
01:19:00The doors of the operating room
01:19:02stayed shut,
01:19:03and the red light above them
01:19:05burned for 12 full hours.
01:19:08Nathania and I
01:19:09waited in the hallway
01:19:10as time stretched
01:19:11until it felt like a century.
01:19:15The surgery succeeded.
01:19:17The bullet is out,
01:19:18but he's not out of danger.
01:19:20Recovery will be long,
01:19:21but damage is severe,
01:19:23irreversible.
01:19:34Damien remained unconscious
01:19:36in the sterile ICU
01:19:37for more than half a month.
01:19:39During that time,
01:19:40with no one in control
01:19:41of Blackwood Group,
01:19:42rival financial powers
01:19:43in New York
01:19:43began tearing into it.
01:19:44The stock price plunged,
01:19:45and the company started
01:19:46from the inside.
01:19:47Through Nathaniel's
01:19:47underground channels,
01:19:48Iannoy passed Damien's
01:19:49confidential medical trial
01:19:50to a relatively loyal elder
01:19:51inside the Blackwood family.
01:19:53That elder stepped in
01:19:54and barely stabilized
01:19:55the chaos in New York.
01:19:56Half a month later,
01:19:57Damien finally opened his eyes
01:19:58to the beeping
01:19:59of medical machines.
01:20:00His vision slowly focused
01:20:02until he's standing
01:20:03outside the satiral glass.
01:20:04Our eyes met,
01:20:05and the air in the room
01:20:06seemed to freeze.
01:20:07My gaze was complicated.
01:20:08There was concern in it.
01:20:09There was release.
01:20:10There was no love left.
01:20:11There was no hatred left either.
01:20:13Damien wore an oxygen mask.
01:20:14His dry lips parted
01:20:15as if he wanted to say my name,
01:20:17but only a weak,
01:20:18hoary breath came out.
01:20:19He saw the calm in my eyes.
01:20:20He also saw Nathaniel behind me,
01:20:22covered in casts and bandages
01:20:23still gripping my shoulder
01:20:24in a posture of absolute protection.
01:20:26Damien understood,
01:20:27but the last faint,
01:20:28impossible hope in his soul
01:20:29went out like a candle in the wind.
01:20:31Two silent lines of tears
01:20:32slid from the corners of his eyes
01:20:34into his hair.
01:20:34He had used his life to save me.
01:20:37Whatever remained between us
01:20:38had died with that redemption.
01:20:41Three months later,
01:20:42at Geneva International Airport
01:20:44in Switzerland,
01:20:45morning fog covered up the runway
01:20:46bound for one of Switzerland's
01:20:47top private rehabilitation plants
01:20:49waited in silence.
01:20:50Damien could barely sit
01:20:51in a wheelchair now.
01:20:52He looked older and thinner
01:20:53than any disability
01:20:53in his left leg.
01:20:54For the rest of his life,
01:20:55he would have to rely on a cane
01:20:56and a wheelchair to move.
01:20:57His body had been drained
01:20:58almost beyond repair.
01:21:00He never tried to contact me again.
01:21:02He even refused visits
01:21:03from the core members
01:21:04of the Blackwood family.
01:21:05Before boarding,
01:21:06he calmly signed
01:21:07every equity transfer document
01:21:09and full management
01:21:10authorization agreement,
01:21:11handing away the business empire
01:21:13he had once treated
01:21:14as his life.
01:21:14He sold all of his
01:21:16Manhattan properties,
01:21:17poured every dollar
01:21:17into a newly established
01:21:19Global Wildlife
01:21:19and Freedom Photography Trust.
01:21:21It was an anonymous gift
01:21:23that would benefit me forever
01:21:24without requiring my signature.
01:21:25The medical plane's engines roared.
01:21:27Damien leaned beside the window
01:21:28and looked out at the endless,
01:21:29freezing white cloud sea
01:21:30above the Alps.
01:21:31His eyes held nothing
01:21:32but quiet acceptance
01:21:33and deathly stillness.
01:21:34He had finally removed himself
01:21:35from my world.
01:21:36Scarlet, I love you.
01:21:37Not because I want to lock you
01:21:38in a house like some pretty bird
01:21:40and not because
01:21:40what you're following
01:21:41on any damn family rules.
01:21:43I love you exactly like this.
01:21:44Wild, proud, bright
01:21:45and impossible to tame.
01:21:47Let me be the man
01:21:48who protects you
01:21:49for the rest of your life.
01:21:50Marry me.
01:21:56Yes.
01:21:57I will marry you.
01:21:59The last light of sunset
01:22:00wrapped around us in gold
01:22:01as he pulled me into his arms.
01:22:03The chains for my past life
01:22:05were finally broken.
01:22:06In this life,
01:22:07I finally had the wide open sky
01:22:08I deserved.
01:22:09Good night.
01:22:10I'm glad there.
01:22:10You guys were crying.
01:22:11Have a lot of money.
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