The Ex-Wife They Begged To Keep - Chapter 82: Chapter 82

The stabbing pain at the back of her neck sent Serena's vision spinning out of control. Her instincts kicked in, and she fumbled for her phone with trembling fingers, managing to hit the call button. "Keith..." she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Her consciousness faded fast, and everything went completely black.
Keith was buried in paperwork in his study when his phone suddenly buzzed. He glanced at the screen and saw Serena's name. "Hey Serena, what's up?" he answered.
All he could hear was Serena's faint breathing on the other end. Keith set down his documents and stood up, immediately concerned. "Serena, what's going on? Did something happen?" His voice was filled with worry.
Her breathing grew weaker and weaker until it finally faded away completely. The only sound left on the line was heavy, labored breathing that definitely wasn't hers.
"Seri? Seri? Where are you? Are you okay?" Keith's voice was tight with panic. He waited desperately for an answer, but all he could hear was soft rustling sounds, like someone quietly moving things around.
Keith switched to speaker and pressed the phone closer to his ear, holding his breath as he strained to catch any clue from those faint noises.
Serena's eyes snapped open as a sharp pain shot through her head. Her vision blurred as she tried to figure out where she was.
She found herself on the rooftop of a high-rise building. The night wind whipped around her, making her clothes snap and flutter in the gusts.
The dim lights revealed the world around her. The city's bright nightscape sparkled in the distance, while nearby, cold metal railings caught the light. A bottomless pit stretched out below her feet.
Serena was tied tight to a freezing iron chair with a small round table placed in front of her. A champagne glass sat on the table, trembling slightly, its surface covered in water droplets.
Erika sat across from her, watching Serena's messy appearance with cold satisfaction. "Finally awake?" Erika sat across from her, watching Serena's messy appearance with cold satisfaction. "Finally awake?"
Serena tried to move her wrists, but the ropes were too tight. There was no way she could break free. "Erika, what are you trying to do?"
Erika picked up the champagne glass with smooth elegance. She swirled it around so the bubbly liquid shimmered and moved inside. "What do you think? Why don't you take a guess?" Erika taunted, her voice dripping with mockery.
"Erika, if you go through with this, you'll only destroy yourself," Serena warned.
Erika's face twisted with rage when she heard those words. She suddenly reached out and grabbed a handful of Serena's hair, snarling. "Shut up!"
Serena winced at the sharp pain but forced herself to stay quiet.
Erika stood up and walked over to the table, picking up a knife that caught the dim light with a cold gleam. She turned back to Serena with a vicious look in her eyes and slowly traced the blade across Serena's face.
"J-just calm down, okay?" Serena's voice shook as she tried to keep her terror under control. Cold sweat broke out across her forehead, and her whole body trembled.
"Calm down?" Erika laughed sweetly, but there was nothing sweet about the sound. She pressed the knife right against Serena's cheek.
Serena stared at her in pure fear, pressing her cracked lips together as she forced herself to breathe steadily. She couldn't take her eyes off Erika's hand as she waved the knife around.
"Erika, why are you doing this? Why did you take me here? What do you actually want?" Serena managed to ask, though her voice was barely steady.
Erika suddenly burst into wild laughter that echoed through the room. Without warning, she hurled her champagne glass to the ground. The sharp crack of shattering glass cut through the night air.
She pointed an accusing finger at Serena and sneered, "Why does everyone always choose you? Why do you get to have everything while I get nothing?"
Serena's face went pale as a sheet. "Erika, just calm down. You can still stop this before it goes too far."
"Stop? That's rich!" Erika burst into hysterical laughter, her voice taking on a wild, unhinged edge.
Suddenly, Erika grabbed the champagne bottle from the floor and dumped the entire contents over Serena's head. The ice-cold liquid cascaded down her hair and soaked into her clothes.
"You think I'm scared of you? You think I'd ever let you walk away from this? Listen carefully—you're not making it out of here alive tonight," Erika sneered, her words dripping with venom.
The champagne had completely drenched Serena's outfit, and the wet fabric clung to her skin like ice. The night wind cut right through her, making her whole body shake with cold. She couldn't stop her teeth from chattering.
Watching Serena tremble and shiver, Erika only laughed harder. Her laughter grew more deranged and triumphant with each passing second. She crouched down and brought her face inches from Serena's, her voice dropping to a disturbing whisper.
"What's wrong? Finally scared now? Too bad it's too late for that," she said. "Having second thoughts? Should've considered that earlier. Where's all that attitude you had before? What happened to acting so tough?"
"Erika, I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding between us. If you tell me what this is really about, we can work it out," Serena said, fighting to keep her voice steady and not wanting to set Erika off even more.
'She's completely lost it right now. If I try to fight her directly, this is going to end badly,' Serena thought, searching for a way out of this mess.
Erika's laughter turned wild and completely unhinged when she heard Serena's words.
"Talk? What the hell is there left to talk about? You stole everything from me! You destroyed my reputation and left me with absolutely nothing! I hate you so much I want you dead!" she screamed, her voice dripping with pure venom.
She suddenly raised the knife and pointed the tip directly at Serena's face. "Tonight, I'm going to destroy you! I'll make you wish you were never born.
"I want you to know exactly what it feels like to be crushed under someone's boot!"
Serena's heart dropped. Erika had completely snapped—there was no reasoning with her now.
The only thing that mattered was stalling for time and hoping someone would come to help.
With Erika waving that knife around, there was no way Serena could fight back directly. She had to be smart about this—get Erika to drop her guard and look for a chance to run.
"Did Stacey put you up to this?" Serena asked carefully, watching Erika's face closely for any reaction.
When Serena mentioned Stacey, something flickered in Erika's eyes for just a moment, but the wild, unhinged look quickly returned.
"Don't try to turn us against each other! This is all your fault!" Erika roared. Without warning, she slashed the knife toward Serena's face.
Serena felt the cold rush of air as the blade whizzed past her cheek. She instinctively squeezed her eyes shut and jerked her head to the side, and the knife sliced through a few strands of her hair before they fluttered to the ground.
Erika had missed her target. She flipped the knife around in her hand, gripping it backward, and with her face twisted in pure rage, she raised it high again. The blade was aimed straight at Serena's face.
"Wait!" Serena suddenly shouted, her voice cutting through the tension and stopping Erika cold.
Erika's hand froze mid-strike, the knife's tip hovering less than an inch from Serena's face.
Serena could feel the blade's icy chill, but she forced herself to stay calm.
"Erika, just think about this for one second. Stacey is using you! She wants you to get rid of me so she can swoop in and take everything for herself. Can't you see she's playing you?" Serena's voice was urgent, desperate. "Wake up!"
"So what if she is? I don't give a damn! All I want is to destroy you. I couldn't care less who wins in the end," Erika spat back, her voice thick with hatred.
Serena was pinned against the cold metal chair, her hands bound tightly behind her back. The rough rope had already cut deep into her wrists, and blood trickled down from the wounds.
She stared up at Erika in horror, meeting those wild, twisted eyes that madness had completely consumed. The next second, Erika raised the knife and brought it slashing down toward Serena.
Terror flooded Serena's mind as she squeezed her eyes shut in complete despair, her lashes trembling as she waited for the blade to hit.
But then, loud crash echoed through the room as something powerful burst through the door.