THE HEIRESS VOW - Chapter 159

Chapter 159: Betrayed
The cell was suffocating. Dampness clung to the air, a cold, oppressive weight that settled deep into Ava’s bones. The stone walls, rough and unyielding, absorbed the little light that filtered through the small barred window high above, leaving her in near-complete darkness. She had been in dark places before, but this was different. This wasn’t just a cell—it was a tomb, meant to bury her alive, to strip her of hope and leave her with nothing but the gnawing fear that clawed at the edges of her sanity.

Ava sat in the corner, her knees drawn to her chest, her breath coming in shallow, measured gasps as she tried to keep the rising panic at bay. Every part of her wanted to scream, to rage against the bars that held her captive, but she knew better. Screaming wouldn’t help. Screaming would only waste what little strength she had left, strength she needed to survive.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor outside, slow and deliberate, each one a hammer driving a nail deeper into the coffin of her despair. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to be strong, to face whatever was coming with the same resolve that had kept her alive through countless battles, through betrayals and losses that would have broken a lesser person.

But this was different. This was worse.

The footsteps stopped, and for a long moment, there was only silence. Ava’s heart pounded in her chest, a frantic rhythm that matched the rush of blood in her ears. And then, with a loud creak, the door to her cell swung open.

Light flooded the small space, blinding her momentarily. She blinked against it, trying to make out the figure that stood silhouetted in the doorway. As her vision adjusted, her breath caught in her throat. It wasn’t just any figure. It was him.

“Dorian,” Ava whispered, her voice raw with disbelief and the sting of betrayal.

He stepped into the cell, closing the door behind him with a quiet click that seemed to seal her fate. His expression was unreadable, his eyes dark and inscrutable as they locked onto hers. For a moment, they simply stared at each other, the air between them thick with unspoken words, with the weight of what had been done.

“Why?” The word slipped from Ava’s lips, a question as much as a plea. She wanted to understand, needed to understand how the man she had trusted with her life, with everything, could have done this to her.

Dorian’s jaw tightened, a flicker of something—guilt, perhaps—flashing in his eyes before it was quickly buried beneath a mask of cold detachment. “It had to be done,” he said, his voice as steady as it was unyielding. “You were becoming a liability, Ava. Too unpredictable. Too dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” Ava’s voice rose, incredulous, as she pushed herself to her feet, the adrenaline momentarily drowning out her exhaustion. “I was fighting for us! For all of us!”

“Fighting for yourself,” Dorian corrected, his tone devoid of the warmth that had once characterized their conversations. “You’ve always been driven by your own fears, your own pain. It was only a matter of time before that put us all at risk.”

Ava shook her head, trying to comprehend the twisted logic he was presenting. “You can’t seriously believe that.”

Dorian took a step closer, his presence suddenly towering, oppressive. “I believe in survival, Ava. I believe in doing whatever it takes to ensure that I survive. And if that means sacrificing you, then so be it.”

His words struck her like a physical blow, leaving her breathless, reeling. The man she had once trusted with her deepest secrets, her most vulnerable moments, was gone. In his place was a stranger, a cold, calculating stranger who saw her as nothing more than an obstacle in his path.

Ava’s gaze hardened, her hands curling into fists at her sides. “You’ve made a mistake, Dorian. You think you’ve won, but you’ve only made me stronger.”

Dorian’s lips twisted into a mocking smile. “Is that so? And what, exactly, do you plan to do from in here, Ava? You’re trapped. Alone. No one’s coming for you.”

She wanted to lash out, to wipe that smug expression from his face, but she knew that giving in to her anger would only play into his hands. Instead, she took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm, to think clearly. There had to be a way out of this, some weakness in his plan that she could exploit.

“You underestimate me,” she said, her voice steady despite the turmoil churning inside her. “I’ve faced worse than this, and I’ve survived. I’ll survive this too.”

Dorian’s smile faltered, just for a moment, but it was enough for Ava to see the doubt that lingered beneath his confident exterior. He knew, as well as she did, that she was not someone to be underestimated. She had come too far, fought too hard, to be brought down by one man’s betrayal.

“You’re stubborn,” he said, his tone laced with frustration. “That’s always been your downfall, Ava. You don’t know when to quit.”

“Maybe,” she conceded, her gaze never wavering from his. “But it’s also what makes me dangerous. It’s what’s kept me alive.”

The tension between them crackled like electricity, each word, each glance, charged with the weight of their shared history, their fractured bond. There was no going back now, no undoing the damage that had been done. They were enemies, in every sense of the word, and only one of them would walk away from this.

But Ava wasn’t ready to give up. Not yet. Not ever.

“Why are you really doing this, Dorian?” she asked, her voice softer now, probing. “Is it really about survival, or is there something more?”

Dorian’s eyes flickered, the barest hint of hesitation crossing his features before he quickly masked it. “This is the only way,” he said, but there was a tremor in his voice, a crack in the facade that betrayed the doubt he was trying so hard to conceal.

Ava seized on that moment of weakness, pressing further. “What did they promise you? Power? Wealth? Or was it something more personal?”

He looked away, his jaw clenched, and Ava knew she had hit a nerve. Whoever had manipulated him into betraying her, into betraying everything they had once stood for, had played on his deepest fears, his most desperate desires. But what could have driven him to this? What could have made him believe that turning on her was his only option?

“They said… they said it was the only way to save us,” Dorian admitted, his voice barely above a whisper, as if saying the words aloud would make them real, would seal his fate.

Ava’s heart twisted in her chest. “Save us from what?”

“From you,” he replied, his gaze meeting hers once more, and this time, there was no mask, no pretense. Only raw, naked fear. “They told me you were the real threat, that if I didn’t stop you, everything we’ve worked for would be destroyed.”

Ava’s breath caught in her throat as the pieces began to fall into place. She had been betrayed, not just by Dorian, but by someone far more sinister, someone who had used his fear, his loyalty, against him. But who? And why?

“Who told you that?” she demanded, her voice sharp, urgent. “Who made you believe that I was the enemy?”

Dorian hesitated, the conflict clear in his eyes. He was struggling, torn between the loyalty he still felt toward her and the fear that had driven him to this point. But before he could answer, the door to the cell swung open once more, and the figure that stepped through the threshold sent a chill down Ava’s spine.

Malik.

Of course, it was Malik. The man who had haunted her nightmares, who had twisted the knife in her back more times than she could count, who had always been one step ahead, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

“Dorian,” Malik purred, his voice a sickening blend of satisfaction and mockery. “You’ve done well. I knew you had it in you.”

Ava’s gaze flicked to Dorian, searching for any sign of the man she had once known, the man who had fought beside her, who had been her closest ally. But all she saw was defeat, resignation. He had played his part, and now, he was nothing more than a pawn in Malik’s game.

“You,” Ava hissed, her hands trembling with barely contained fury. “You did this. You turned him against me.”

Malik chuckled, a sound that sent a shiver of pure loathing down Ava’s spine. “Oh, Ava, you give me far too much credit. Dorian was more than willing to do what needed to be done. All I did was… give him a little push.”

Ava’s mind raced, the implications of Malik’s words crashing down on her like a tidal wave. Dorian’s betrayal, the plan that had led her into this trap—it had all been orchestrated, manipulated by Malik, the puppet master who had been pulling the strings from the shadows.

“You won’t get away with this,” Ava said, her voice trembling with the intensity of her resolve. “I’ll stop you. I’ll make sure you never hurt anyone else.”

Malik’s smile widened, his eyes gleaming with malicious delight. “You’re welcome to try, my dear. But we both know how this ends. You’re alone, outnumbered, and trapped. There’s no one left to save you.”

Ava’s heart sank as Malik’s words echoed through the cell, the cold, hard truth of her situation sinking in. She was alone. Betrayed. And the only one who could save her now was herself.