Chapter 24
611words
She was done.
The game was over, and she had no reason to keep playing.
She'd already sent Nolan's most confidential company files to his biggest rival.
They didn't waste time.
In one clean hit, they cut off Nolan's last lifeline.
By the time he came to, his entire world would be gone.
Kayden had helped her pack up everything ahead of time.
And when she saw him—really saw him—Hailey finally let herself fall.
Exhausted, pale, she leaned into him, holding on like she might fall apart.
Kayden rubbed her back gently. "It's over now."
Hailey had one last stop—to take him with her to visit her parents' graves.
To let them rest.
But as they left the cemetery, her smile dropped.
In the distance, a figure swayed on unsteady legs.
"Should I call you Laurel... or Hailey?" Nolan laughed, bitter and broken.
"Does it matter?" Her voice was flat.
Made no difference who she was. The ending between them never changed.
That blank look in her eyes hit harder than any slap.
His fingers might've been stitched back together, but they'd never be whole.
"I'm sorry..." Tears slid down his cheeks. "Hailey, I know I messed up. Please. Forgive me. I'll do anything—just come back.
"I can't breathe without you. I regret everything. I was stupid. I should've taken it out on me, not your parents.
"Hurt me. Punish me. Just... don't walk away.
"Hailey, don't you remember those nights—?"
Kayden laughed under his breath, sharp and cold.
"You seriously think that was Hailey?"
Nolan froze. "What are you talking about?!"
"Nolan Thorne," Kayden said, voice low and deadly, "after everything you did, you really think you deserve forgiveness? One sorry isn't gonna cut it. Who's paying for what you did to her?"
Hailey didn't say a word.
Her eyes stayed steady—same as in the warehouse.
No flicker. No feeling.
Sorry wasn't gonna cut it.
She wanted him to drown in what he'd made her live through.
The shame. The powerlessness. Watching her own family fall apart.
Forgiveness? Not a chance.
Nolan went pale, like the life got sucked out of him.
"If you'd just stay... please, stay..."
He lunged, fingers barely grazing her coat.
Hailey slipped her arm through Kayden's and walked off.
She'd worn the mask long enough. Faked it. Suffered. Schemed—just to get close.
Now? It was finally done.
***
Hailey vanished. Nolan snapped.
He sent people hunting for her, but Thorne Corp was falling apart fast.
Everyone was quitting. Bailing. Jumping ship.
Then came the blackmail—explicit pics, zero mercy.
That's when Kayden's words finally hit.
Those nights? That wasn't Hailey.
It was a nightclub call girl.
And she had an STD.
When she couldn't pay for treatment, she tried to squeeze him for cash.
Nolan didn't pay. Not a cent. But later, he found out—he was infected too.
He spiraled. Straight-up ghost mode.
Then bam—a car slammed into him on his way to the hospital.
The driver? Jordyn.
Full-on deranged.
They diagnosed her with a mental disorder and locked her in a psych ward.
It was like she'd wiped Nolan from her brain.
Didn't remember him. Didn't remember Vanessa. Didn't remember the chaos.
All she remembered? Being the baby Hart.
Their parents' little angel. Her sister's everything.
She remembered how Hailey gave her every dress she ever wanted, turned her into a real-life doll.
Meanwhile, Nolan was out cold in a hospital bed.
Both legs gone.
Skin covered in sores and oozing nodules.
A nurse walked by, nose scrunched, shutting the door fast.
"So gross. He used to be hot. What a waste."
"Tch. That's karma for guys like him."
