That wasn't enough for her. From somewhere, she produced a small knife and dragged the blade deep across my cheek.
"Everyone says I look like you. Let's see who says that now."
"A disfigured woman, tossed on the side of the road, and nobody would even glance twice."
"Kenneth will never want you again!"
My screams, my cries for help, Kenneth heard none of it.
He kept his back to me the entire time, until Eleanor walked to his side.
"Betty, think about what you've done."
"Tomorrow, I'll let you out."
Kenneth disappeared, and the door slammed shut. The last sliver of light vanished with him.
Thirteen years ago, he brought the only light my life had ever known.
Thirteen years later, he took it all away.
I crawled across the floor and reached for the forgotten phone, dialing the number I knew by heart.
"Mom, I want to come home."
On the other end, alarms blared.
I lay on the ground and sank into the dark again.
The next morning, Kenneth arrived at the Syndicate to find his men scattered across the entrance, sprawled out on the ground.
"What the hell happened?"
Kenneth was livid.
"S-someone came looking for trouble. They took her, they took Betty!"
His breath stopped. His fingertips wouldn't stop trembling. Kenneth tore through the building and reached the cellar door.
She was gone.
A pool of blood stained the floor, so stark it made his stomach lurch. Kenneth screamed until his throat cracked.
"Where did all this blood come from?!"
