"I know I was wrong! I'm begging you!"
All I wanted... my only wish... was to take Darcy and leave the Carter family forever.
I had pleaded until my voice broke.
"Please... let him go. Let Darcy live."
I could never forget Darcy's eyes—that loyal, aching gaze that broke me more than any knife ever could. Nor could I forget the rage carved into my very bones, a fury that burned anew every time I looked at Noreen.
All I had left for her was hatred—not yet extinguished, but smoldering, waiting to ignite.
"Noreen," I said, each word bitten out, "you're nothing more than a dog Maxwell keeps on a leash. If Mr. Edward could see you now, he'd claw his way out of his coffin to drag you down with him."
"The Carter family is finished—and it's all on you."
Her hand shot out, fingers crushing my throat. Air vanished from my lungs, oxygen draining as her bloodshot eyes locked onto mine.
"Colin," she hissed, voice twisted with madness, "don't think for a second I won't kill you!"
She hurled me to the ground. Champagne glass shards dug into my skin, slicing me open in a hundred places. Agony shot through me, but before I could catch my breath, her hand fisted in my hair and yanked my head back.