Chapter 224 Breaking Chains
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Marcus closed his eyes briefly before saying, “Mr. Fullbuster, wait here. I’ll bring Jess down.”
But Anneliese had already lost her patience. She pulled free of Jonathan and strode inside. “No need! I’ll get her myself.”
Marcus‘ expression shifted, but no one dared to stop her this time. He moved as if to follow, only for Jonathan to raise an arm and block him.
Anneliese found Jessica on the second floor in one of the bedrooms. The moment she pushed the door open, rage shook her to the core. “Jess!”
The Jessica who had always been so fiery and full of life was now a broken sight.
She had been forced into a frilly pink princess dress that clashed completely with her nature. Her hair was a tangled mess, a strip of tape sealed her mouth, and her wrists and ankles were cuffed to the four corners of the bed.
She looked less like a person and more like a doll, stripped of soul.
At the sound of her name, Jessica turned her head weakly toward the door. Her eyes, dulled at first, flickered with a fragile light. Her lashes trembled, and she curved her brows in a faint smile, though tears slipped silently into her hair.
Pain stabbed Anneliese’s chest. She rushed forward, hands shaking as she grabbed the keys off the nightstand and unlocked every shackle. Clenching her teeth against her fury, she pulled Jessica upright and carefully tore away the tape. “It might hurt. Bear with it.”
Jessica’s lashes lowered in a brief smile, and then the tape was gone. Her voice came out hoarse and weak. “I’m fine…”
Jessica had been adopted by the Johnson Family at six years old, full of hope. But the Johnsons were a devouring household. They hadn’t wanted her as a daughter–they had chosen her because she resembled their late daughter, Queenie Johnson, who had died in a car accident.
Jessica had been a replacement in the truest sense. From the day she entered the Johnson home, she had been forced to become Queenie. She had been drilled in every smile and gesture, her hobbies, her tone, even forced to wear princess dresses and speak in Queenie’s exact cadence. She had even endured two cosmetic surgeries to perfect the illusion.
When she succeeded, she was fed. When she faltered, she was locked away or whipped. Her
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Chapter 224 Breaking Chains
true self was erased–her nature, her joys, her sorrows were not permitted.
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By 18, Marcus‘ twisted desire for control over her had become frighteningly clear. Jessica had resisted, but Marcus‘ wife, Faye Thorne, had accused her of seduction and beaten her nearly to death on multiple occasions. Jessica had finally escaped, crafting a false identity and living free for three years. Until the day before, when Marcus had found her.
Strong–willed as she was, she had already resolved that if Marcus dared touch her, she would rather die with him. But Anneliese had reached her in time.
“Good…” Anneliese’s voice cracked. “That’s all that matters. We’re leaving.”
She helped Jessica up, and the sight of the raw, bloodied welts around her wrists and ankles nearly broke her. Rage coiled sharp and deadly inside her–she could have gutted Marcus with her bare hands.
“Annie, find me some scissors.” Jessica’s voice rasped. She hadn’t eaten or drunk for a day and night, her body limp with weakness.
Anneliese asked nothing, quickly finding scissors and handing them over.
Jessica’s hair had always been short. Now it reached her waist, extensions Marcus had forced on her. She hacked at it in jagged cuts, letting it fall in uneven heaps. Then she turned the scissors on the dress. Anneliese tore away the frills for her, then stripped off her own down jacket and wrapped it around Jessica’s shoulders. Together, they stepped out.
At the top of the stairs, Marcus appeared.
Jessica froze, her body trembling violently, her face drained of color. Years of confinement, whips, ice–cell punishments–her fear of him was etched into her very bones.
Anneliese saw it all. This was Jessica–the fiercest, bravest woman she knew—and still Marcus could reduce her to terror. Fury boiled up in her chest. She marched forward and slapped him hard across the face.
Smack!
Marcus hadn’t expected it. He hadn’t even dodged, and the blow landed square, leaving an angry red print on his cheek, knocking his glasses askew. His eyes darkened, vicious, and his hand shot out toward Anneliese. “How dare
you-”
“Annie!” Jessica cried out, terrified, darting from behind to clutch Anneliese tightly.
But Marcus‘ hand was never going to land on her face.
