They Beg For My Return (Camila Jackson) novel Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Camila stood by the hospital bed, her gaze fixed on Emily. “Emily, it’s me. Camila. You hate me so much–you should recognize my voice, shouldn’t you?

Tve heard that some coma patients still have awareness. I wonder… can you hear me now? If you can, when are you finally going to wake up?”

She kept talking, her words spilling out one after another, but the figure lying motionless in the hospital bed remained completely unresponsive.

The sharp scent of disinfectant hung in the air, sterile and suffocating. The stark white walls and sheets only amplified the contrast between them and Emily’s frail, skeletal frame, making her look even more fragile–like she could disappear at any

moment.

Camila slowly sat down beside the bed, her eyes never leaving Emily’s pale, bloodless face.

“Do you know?” she murmured. “Everyone thinks I’m the one who hurt you. But I’m innocent. And no one knows that better than you

“You’ve been unconscious for five years…and I spent those five years rotting in prison for a crime Agnes committed.

“You have no idea what it was like in there. Her voice wavered. “They stabbed me with needles. Beat me with sticks. They) even took one of my kidneys… all because your brother wanted revenge for you. He made sure I was well taken care of

Sunlight streamed through the small gap in the curtains, scattering across the cold hospital floor. But even the warmth of daylight couldn’t drive away the suffocating chill that filled the room.

Camila took a slow, shaky breath, forcing back the lump in her throat.

“I still remember the first time I saw you, she said softly. “You had the brightest smile–like a princess straight out of a fairy tale. Back then, I envied you so much. You had a family that adored you, a life of privilege, friends who cared about you.

“And me? I returned to the Jackson family only to realize I was nothing more than an outsider. And now, I’m just a criminal. Someone for the world to spit on

She clenched her jaw. “But

“But it wasn’t me who hurt you

you. It was Agnes”

The weight of injustice pressed down on her chest, suffocating and unbearable. Tears burned in her eyes, slipping down her cheeks before she could stop them.

As she wiped her face with the back of her hand, she didn’t notice the faintest flicker of movement beneath Emily’s closed eyelids, a subtle twitch.

But Camila didn’t see it. Once she had composed herself, she stood

1. up.

“Emily, wake up soon,” she whispered. “I’ll come back to see you again. She turned and stepped out of the room.

But the moment she did, she collided with a gaze as deep and cold as a frozen lake.

The man standing before her was tall, his black suit impeccably tailored, perfectly fitted to his broad shoulders and lean waist. His sharp, chiseled features looked almost unreal–sculpted, but edged with a coldness that made him seem

untouchable

Dark brows slanted sharply above a pair of piercing, abyss–like eyes. His straight nose, his thin lips pressed into an unyielding line, the hard set of his jaw–everything about him exuded power, control and danger.

The second their eyes met, Camila’s body reacted before her mind could catch up. She shook, uncontrollably, violently. Her legs went weak, her muscles locking up in fear.

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Chapter 19

Her heart pounded furiously against her ribs, so hard it felt like it might burst through her chest. Her breaths turned

The man took a step forward, deliberate, unhurried, suffocating Camila instinctively stepped back. He moved closer. She stepped back again.

She barely realized she was retreating until her back slammed into the cold, hard surface of the hospital room door. Bang. The sound rang out in the quiet hallway

His gaze never wavered, never softened. It held her in place, pinned her down like a predator staring at cornered prey. The air around her felt thick, heavy–like she was sinking in it.

Then, slowly, he took another step forward. And before she knew it, he had forced her right back into the hospital room.

The man’s towering frame loomed over her, casting a suffocating shadow. The air in the hospital room felt frozen, locked in a tense, breathless stillness.

The only sounds were the erratic rise and fall of Camila’s breathing, her chest heaving as panic clawed at her lungs.

She had been hacked into the hospital bed, trapped, nowhere left to run

“Mr–Mr. Commor…” Her voice wavered, barely more than a whisper.

William’s sharp eyes flickered with something unreadable. His deep, icy voice carried the weight of a command. “You’re afraud of me?‘

Camila dropped her gaze, too afraid to breathe, let alone speak.

Afraid? How could she not be? She had tasted the full extent of his cruelty in prison–humiliation, torture, despair so deep it made death seem like mercy,

He had stripped her of her dignity, left her battered, broken–ensuring she never died, only suffered.

She had fought back against the Jackson family, had stood her ground despite everything. But in front of him, there was no fight left in her.

Her fingers curled tightly around the hem of her shirt, gripping it so hard her knuckles turned white.

“I–I’ve already explained everything to Miss Walker,” she said, forcing the words past the knot of fear in her throat. “Can I…. leave now?

She didn’t dare look up, but she could feel the weight of his gaze–cold, detached, utterly indifferent.

William tilted his head slightly, looking down at her like an emperor surveying an insect crawling at his feet. “Explained? His lips curled into a slow, mocking smile. “Your father promised me you’d beg to my sister–until I was satisfied.” Camila’s blood ran cold. Her head snapped up in shock, only to meet his piercing, predatory gaze. Under its weight, her body recoiled instinctively, her head howing once more.

The past came rushing back, a relentless flood of memories–prison cells, unrelenting lists, the taste of blood, the agony of never–ending torment.

The days when she had been stripped of everything–her name, her dignity, her very existence.

She had thought she could endure anything. Hat standing before William, her mind and body had already surrendered to

fear.

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Chapter 19

William took another step forward. His presence alone preced down on her like an avalanche beyond outforming