The sentence was the beginning of Natalia’s and Amelia’s misery. Natalia wasn’t taken care of by the Orlov family. The psych ward she was sent to was one run by the Voss family, and Yelena made sure Natalia regretted ever being born.

Natalia was forced under medication and treatments that made her question her reality. She wasn’t insane, but after just a month of being in there, Natalia was completely emaciated and stared at the walls, apologising every day.

Electric shocks, being whipped until her muscles showed, being forced to kneel on nails and pins under the burning sun and cold winter, starvation, drug testing that burned her veins, you name it. Any inhumane treatment you could imagine, she was subjected to it. There wasn’t a part of her that wasn’t injured.

She was tortured until she was close to death’s door. At times she saw Raphael standing at the other end, and just when death was about to snatch her, she was revived. The Voss family had some of the best medicine, and those medications made sure she didn’t die.

So many days she prayed she would close her eyes and just die, but death wasn’t merciful. She was kept in a padded room with her mouth gagged, taking away any chance of her committing suicide.

She was never leaving. A fate worse than death.

*******

Shrill screams filled the soundproof room. A woman who looked more like a haggard old figure, her dark hair had gone completely grey in just months.

Her blank, blind air looked like a void. She was strapped onto an electrocution stand, volts of electricity ran over her body in waves. Enough to torture but not kill her. Each time her body was close to giving up, the electrocution stopped for a second for her to breathe, only for it to start all over again.

She couldn’t even starve herself to death. They would force IVs into her.

Natalia’s heavy panting filled the room. Her body was drenched, her eyes devoid of tears. At this point, she couldn’t even cry anymore. It was pointless.

She was waiting for the next round of shock, but it didn’t come. Instead, the door was pushed open. Natalia’s stomach dropped. She wasn’t relieved. If anything, she was terrified.

The shock session normally lasted longer. Fear gripped her mind. Why did they stop earlier? Her heart started racing, but she had no way of knowing because she was blind.

Footsteps drew closer, but they sounded different. She hadn’t heard such elegant footsteps around here before. Natalia could immediately tell it was a lady with measured steps from a privileged, high-standing background.

The footsteps stopped in front of her, and she could feel a sharp gaze on her. Silence filled the room, but each passing second felt like torture.

"Do you want to die?" the person asked. An aged voice with an elegant accent. Every manner screamed money. Natalia’s stomach dropped. She had a good idea who this was. Her eyes started tearing up all over again.

She thought she couldn’t cry anymore, but she was wrong. Once dying was mentioned, she couldn’t help it because it didn’t feel like a punishment but a reward.

But would they be so merciful? Natalia wanted to speak. She wanted to beg, even though she knew it was useless.

A heavy sigh followed. "I can’t hear you," the person said disappointedly. "It must be difficult being gagged. We can cut off your tongue to make things better," the person suggested.

Another voice spoke up, sounding considerate, but the words were laced with knives. "If her tongue is cut, she wouldn’t be able to taste the food we provide."

Natalia’s heart started racing. She wanted her tongue cut. She didn’t want to taste those sour and bitter excuses for food. She was forced to take bitter healing tonics too. She tried moving her head, which was strapped down, to beg. They should cut it off.

"That makes a valid point," the elegant voice agreed. "Too bad. Well, dear Natalia, I hope you are happy with our hospitality," she chimed.

"You didn’t try to kill her once but twice. After everything, Natalia, was it worth it? The power you built in blood..." Natalia stopped shaking.

Yelena. She finally realised who it was. Yelena continued, "Your perfect heir is dead, your bastard is revealed, and here you are begging for death. Maybe if you had let Nadia have Ronan, you might have married into another family..." Yelena chimed, then stopped.

"Oh, I remember—you had no right to stop it. Instead, those old geezers wanted you to marry. You instigated Katerina against Nadia, leading her and Avelina to torment my daughter..." Yelena’s voice was devoid of emotion.

"Don’t bother begging for death. I will ensure you live for at least 10 more years," Yelena snorted, then glanced at the director.

"Make sure the honourable guest is taken care of. I will drop by periodically to ensure she is alive." Yelena’s emphasis on alive sent chills down Natalia’s spine.

The footsteps faded, and the door shut. It didn’t even take five seconds before the shock started again. Natalia screamed, but it came out haunting with her mouth gagged...

It was hell. At some point, she lost track of time. Her mind drifted to the first day she saw Nadia.

Natalia had decided to drop over at Volkov Apex to discuss some business associated with the marriage. That day, her eyes caught a slender figure standing by the reception.

Even if her eyes didn’t want to linger, she couldn’t help it. The lady was gorgeous. Soft blonde curls and bright blue eyes. Honestly, if Lucien took his looks from his mother, he would have been even more lethal.

At first sight, she felt envious of Nadia. She looked so pure, one would never guess she was the ruthless Orlov princess. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Natalia snorted, about to ignore her, but her footsteps halted when she overheard Nadia.

"I am here to see Ronan. Tell him it is Nadia. I am someone important," she had said. Natalia turned towards her and forced a smile.

"Pardon me. Are you here for Ronan?" she asked. Nadia’s eyes sparkled with innocence. She nodded eagerly.

"What’s your relationship with him?" Nadia froze. Natalia smiled. She had heard Ronan had a fling while he was away. Seeing Nadia couldn’t answer, she said it herself. "You must be the amnesiac ex-girlfriend."

The look on Nadia’s face said it all. Natalia’s fist clenched. It wasn’t that she was ugly. Natalia was stunning in her own way, but Nadia... something about her smile made Natalia feel scared and insecure.