---- Chapter 16 Ethan had paid the hospital well. His instructions were simple: "Give her the full experience." Ilene was stripped of her designer clothes and forced into a rough, grey hospital gown. She was thrown into a ward with severely disturbed patients. She refused to take the medication, screaming that she wasn't sick. The nurses held her down and forced the bitter pills down her throat. At night, the other patients would torment her, pulling her from her bed, stealing her food. Her screams for help went unanswered. She quickly descended into a real madness, her days and nights a blur of terror and medication-induced fog. She would huddle in a corner, muttering to herself, her eyes wide and vacant. The beautiful, manipulative Ilene Wolf was gone, replaced by a broken, terrified shell of a woman. She had gotten what she had so often pretended to want: a life sentence in a world of insanity. Ethan received daily reports from the hospital director. He read about her suffering with a detached, cold satisfaction. ---- But the revenge did nothing to ease the aching void in his own heart. He spent every waking moment, every dollar he had, searching for Aurora. He hired investigators, tracked IP addresses, followed every faint lead. But she was a ghost. He went back to her old art studio, a place he hadn't visited in years. It was dusty and abandoned. He found an old, unfinished canvas on an easel. It was a portrait of him, from when they first met. His face was smiling, his eyes full of love and hope. He sank to the floor, the painting a testament to everything he had destroyed. Two years passed. Ethan Bruce, the brilliant CEO, became a recluse. His company faltered. He lost his fortune. He lost everything. He lived alone in the vast, empty villa, a prisoner of his own memories. One day, an old art magazine arrived in the mail, addressed to Aurora. He was about to throw it away when a picture on the cover caught his eye. It was a new masterpiece that was taking the art world by storm. The painting was called "Rebirth." It depicted a woman, ---- her back covered in scars, walking out of a dark, thorny forest and into a field of brilliant sunlight. The artist was a mysterious newcomer who went by the single name, "Rory." But it was the man standing next to her in the photo that made Ethan's heart stop. Casper Morse. A renowned art curator. His arm was wrapped around her waist, and he was looking down at her with an expression of pure, unadulterated love. And Aurora... she was smiling. A genuine, radiant smile that reached her eyes. She looked happy. She looked free. Ethan dropped the magazine, his hands shaking. He had found her. And he had lost her, all over again, in the same, gut-wrenching moment. He looked around the empty, silent house. He thought of Ilene, rotting in her padded cell. He thought of the life he had thrown away. He had won his war. He had punished his enemies. But he was the one left with a life sentence. A life without her. He picked up the magazine again and looked at her smiling face. ---- "Goodbye, Rory," he whispered to the picture. And for the first time in two years, he felt a strange sense of peace. She was happy. And that would have to be enough. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!