---- Chapter 15 Arthur POV: For years, | had seen Claudia as a delicate flower that needed my protection. Now, | saw her for what she was: a poisonous vine that had wrapped itself around my life, choking everything good and pure. | had let her lies and manipulations turn me into a monster. | had hurt Jody, again and again, all to soothe Claudia' s manufactured pains. | remembered the look in Jody' s eyes when | accused her of pushing Claudia, a look of such profound disappointment and betrayal that it was now seared into my memory. | had dismissed her pain, invalidated her feelings, and sided with her abuser every single time. And | had done it all willingly. The fury inside me was a white-hot inferno. | clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms. | pulled out my phone, my fingers trembling as | typed a message to my assistant. Investigate Claudia Sloan. | want to know everything she has done to Jody Campbell in the past year. Everything. | slid down the wall, the cold marble a stark contrast to the fire in my veins. The weight of my guilt was a physical thing, a crushing pressure on my chest that made it hard to breathe. If | hadn't overheard that phone call, | would still be under her spell, still believing her lies, still hating Jody for leaving me. ---- The thought was horrifying. A few minutes later, Claudia came up the stairs, her face once again a perfect mask of gentle concern. "Arthur? Are you okay?" she asked, her voice soft and sweet. | slowly got to my feet, my eyes locking onto hers. The love and affection | had once felt for her were gone, replaced by a cold, bottomless hatred. "| have to go to the office," | said, my voice flat, devoid of all emotion. | walked past her without another word, without a single glance, leaving her standing in the hallway, a confused and uneasy look on her face. | didn't go to the office. | had the driver take me to the city s most expensive shopping district. | was a man possessed, driven by a desperate, pathetic need to atone. | bought everything | knew Jody had ever wanted-the designer dresses she' d admired in magazines, the pearl necklace she' d pointed out in a shop window, the diamond earrings she' d said were the most beautiful things she' d ever seen. | went to a luxury car dealership and special-ordered the newest model of a sports car in her favorite shade of pastel pink. | would buy her forgiveness. | would surround her with so many beautiful things that she would have to come back to me. | returned to the mansion late that night and had the staff redecorate the master bedroom, filling it with my offerings. Pink roses, her favorite, were everywhere. The new clothes ---- filled the closet. The jewelry boxes sat open on the dresser, glittering under the soft light. It was a shrine to my desperation. Just as the last vase of flowers was put in place, my assistant called "Did you find her?" | asked, my voice tight with a mixture of hope and dread. "I'm sorry, sir," he said, his voice hesitant. "There' s no trace of her. Her phone is off, her credit cards are unused, and her ID hasn't been used for any travel." The floor dropped out from under me. It was like she had vanished from the face of the earth. | looked around the room, at all the beautiful, empty things | had bought for her. They were a monument to my failure. They meant nothing without her. Then, a memory surfaced. A conversation from long ago. Jody, talking about her old professor, Dr. Chaney, and a dream job at a research institute on the West Coast. An offer she had turned down for me. Hope, sharp and painful, pierced through my despair. | grabbed my car keys and ran out of the house, leaving the room full of empty promises behind me.