Cecil pulled her tight against him, then turned and glared at me with pure venom.
"Listen to what she's saying! She's been thinking of you at every turn, and this is how you repay her? I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't forget."
Without hesitation, he pulled off his belt and bound my wrists behind me to the radiator pipe.
The leather bit deep, raising purple-red welts, the kind of pain that doesn't stop at the skin.
"I'm warning you. Upset Ruby one more time, and I will make you wish you were dead."
Vivian handed him a syringe.
Cecil drove the needle into my arm without a second's pause, found the vein, and blood flowed out.
"Ruby got a scare. She needs blood work and a compatibility screen. Consider it an honor."
They drew a full tube of my blood and took it.
My vision blacked out. I hit the floor.
The heavy iron door ground shut behind them, lock grinding into place.
Darkness again.
:00:00.
The countdown ticked. Every second counting down what was left of me.
I closed my eyes, and the faces of eight children I never held surfaced behind my lids—eight lives torn away before they ever drew breath.
I hated Cecil for his cruelty. Hated Ruby for her poisonous heart. Hated Vivian for standing by and letting all of it happen.
And I hated myself for being too weak to stop it.
But what could I do?
I was locked in a basement where no one could hear me, no matter how loud I screamed.
Was I really going to watch them walk free? Watch my child become Ruby's toy?
No. Never.
My eyes snapped open. Nothing in them but hate.
Even if it killed me, I would drag every one of them to hell with me.
I thrashed against the leather strap binding my wrist, throwing everything I had into it.
The strap cut deep into the flesh, and blood ran down my wrist, staining the radiator pipe red.
Pain. Pain that drilled straight through the bone.
I didn't stop. I clenched my teeth and pulled with every ounce of strength left in my body.
A quiet snap. The strap broke.
I crashed to the floor, gasping in ragged, heaving breaths.
My wrist was raw and shredded.
I staggered up and groped through the dark, searching for a way out.
The basement was crammed with junk.
I lost count of how many times I tripped. My arms and legs were a mess of bruises.
Finally, my hands found a window.
Iron bars sealed it shut, leaving only thin gaps between them.
I pressed myself against the sill and strained to see outside.