Thrown to the Dogs: The Fallen Star’s Bloody Revenge Chapter 01

Thrown to the Dogs: The Fallen Star’s Bloody Revenge Chapter 01 They Wanted Me Alive, Just Ruined
I was once one of the biggest A-list actors in the entertainment industry. My films had grossed over 10 billion dollars at the box office, and my career was at its peak.
Then, the day before an awards ceremony, someone dumped me into a dogfighting ring.
By the time they found me, the fighting dogs had torn away half my face. Several of my fingers were gone, and both my arms had been badly mauled.
My billionaire wife, Vivienne, blamed herself for missing my emergency call. She swore she would have every last one of those dogs put down to make it up to me.
My son brought in the best medical team and reconstructive surgeons in the country. He promised me they would fix everything and that I wouldn’t be left with a single scar.
But on the way to the hospital, I overheard the two of them talking.
“Mom, you can relax now, right? Dad’s face is completely ruined. He looks like a monster. He’ll never be able to go back to acting or compete with Mr. Prescott for roles again.
“But aren’t you afraid he’ll leave you?”
Vivienne held my hand.
Her touch was gentle, but the words that came out of her mouth were anything but.
“Those roles were Nolan’s to begin with. Your father was the one who kept trying to take them from him. He got what he deserved.
“Besides, look at him now. He’s useless. Who else would want him besides me?”
…
My world was pitch-black.
I couldn’t open my eyes or move a muscle, yet every word they said reached me with terrifying clarity.
“Mom, what if Dad finds out?” my son asked. “What if he hates you?”
Vivienne fell silent for a moment before answering without a trace of concern.
“Your dad loves me too much. He could never bring himself to hate me.
“And I’ll make it up to him. A house, a car—whatever he wants, I can give him.
“Besides, doesn’t he love children? I’m already pregnant with Nolan’s baby. He can consider that my consolation prize to him.”
She was pregnant with Nolan’s baby?
Then what the hell was I to her?
I screamed inside.
I didn’t want a house.
I didn’t want a car.
And I sure as hell didn’t want another man’s child.
I wanted my body back.
I wanted to be normal again.
Just then, the doctor who had been examining me finally spoke.
“Mr. Mercer is in very bad shape. He needs treatment immediately, or he’ll be left with severe, lasting complications.”
Vivienne responded calmly.
“Is there still any chance Julian’s face can be repaired?”
The doctor looked over the test results before reluctantly nodding.
“With careful treatment and reconstructive surgery, there’s a slim chance we can restore his appearance to some extent. But we can’t guarantee the outcome.”
A spark of hope flared inside me.
I desperately tried to open my eyes and pull myself out of the darkness.
There was still a chance.
I could still be saved.
Then Vivienne spoke again.
And that tiny spark of hope was crushed in an instant.
“Is the sulfuric acid I told you to prepare ready?”
The doctor froze.
Vivienne continued in the same cold voice.
“Pour it over his wounds and the untouched half of his face.
“I want him completely disfigured. There can’t be any chance of him recovering. Ever.”
The doctor gasped.
Even my son tried to stop her.
“Mom, that’s enough. This is way too cruel. What if something really happens to Dad?”
Vivienne let out a careless laugh.
“Relax. He is harder to kill than that.
“But I have to destroy his face and crush any thought he has of returning to the entertainment industry. I can’t let him get in Nolan’s way again.”
Not long after, someone followed her order.
Sulfuric acid splashed across my open wounds.
Then it hit the untouched side of my face.
The agony ripped me straight out of unconsciousness.
My eyes flew open.
Chunks of burned flesh sloughed off my face and hit the floor.
The stench of burned flesh and blood filled the entire room.
I screamed and thrashed wildly.
“Help me! Please, help me!
“I can’t take it anymore! It hurts! It hurts so much!”
For one brief moment, guilt flashed across Vivienne’s face.
But she didn’t stop them.
Neither did my son.
The two people I loved most pinned me down and let the acid eat into my face.
I stared at them.
And for the first time, I barely recognized who they had become.
One was the woman I had been married to for years.
The other was the son I had raised with my own hands.
Yet now, for another man, they were willing to do this to me.
They held me down so hard that one of my arms snapped.
A fresh wave of pain tore through me.
My vision slowly faded to black, and every breath became harder than the last.
“Doctor!” my son cried. “What’s wrong with him? He can’t breathe!”
“He’s showing signs of shock. His condition is crashing. He may not make it—”
Vivienne and my son cut the doctor off.
“Then save him!” Vivienne snapped.
For the first time, panic crept into her voice.
“I don’t care what you have to do. You can’t let him die!”
“Dad, hang in there!” my son pleaded. “I won’t let anything happen to you!”
Cold sweat rolled down my forehead and seeped into my wounds.
The sharp sting cleared my head for a moment.
And somehow, I almost laughed.
Wasn’t this exactly what they wanted?
They had destroyed my face.
They had made sure I would never return to the life I once had.
So why were they acting scared now?
Shouldn’t they be hoping I died on the operating table?