I think Charlotte is about to collapse.
“And what of your sister, Desta?”
“Our mother told us when she came to visit that Marie had told her she’d killed Desta when she was a baby, shortly after she was taken. We had been holding out hope that this wasn’t the case, that Marie had lied to our mother, but there have been no signs of her, and the police officer Rowan spoke with told him that Marie had lived in the home alone for years and years.”
Charlotte nods absently as she absorbs this information.
“I’m greatly sorry for your loss, Sebastian,” she manages.
“Thank you. I can see how upset you are for me, and I appreciate your care and concern more than you know.” My fingers turn to ice as I reach out and touch her cheek, drawing her back to the moment, back to me. “I hope you’re able to enjoy your day off. I look forward to seeing you this evening.”
She offers me a wan smile. “Me too, Sebastian.”
With that, I leave her here, kiss my children goodbye, and head for my car, Javier meeting me along the way. The children, Emily, Rowan, and Althea, all climb into the large SUV, and one by one, our vehicles leave the palace. A mile down the road, we stop, and Rowan climbs into our car, leaving Althea and Emily to continue on.
Javier meets my eyes as the three of us sit in the car. He shifts to his phone, watching Charlotte through the tracking app on her phone and the device he placed in her car overnight.
Now we wait.
32
BELLAMY
The worst part about this place—other than the fact that I’m trapped with no way out—is the silence. I screamed my ass off for the better part of yesterday, but considering we drove for a while to get here and went down a pretty rough road, I’m guessing this structure is in the Middle of Nowhere, Messalina.
That’s actually not a difficult place to come by in this country either, so I know it’s very likely that there is no one around for miles and miles. At least no one close enough to hear me scream and come to my rescue.
I tried getting creative and tapping into old movies I’ve seen. Ones where the main character takes the bed linens, ties them in a knot to create a rope, somehow manages to affix it to the window, and then scales the wall to climb out.
I tried that.
I stripped the rough fabric from the mattress, knotted the ends together, and created a makeshift rope that I tossed toward the unreachable window, praying it’d catch on something. It took about a dozen tries to even get the rope near thewindow, and when I was able to hit it, the rope simply bounced off the glass and fell back down onto the bed.
Probably because there is nothing up there for it to latch on to. The window is this tiny, crud-covered piece of glass that seems to have been cemented in there somewhat recently as there are still fingerprints on it. Even if I somehow got the rope up there and climbed my pregnant ass up the wall, I’m not even sure I’d be able to break the window or punch it out, and even then, I’m not sure I’d fit out of it, because I’m pregnant with twins and my proportions are a hot mess.
Which means I’m fully stuck here until Charlotte decides to come back and feed and water me like I’m a pet.Ifthat even happens. For all I know, she could be cozying up to Sebastian, who is angry I left him, and that could be that.
Bellamy forgotten.
Except I know that won’t happen. I know Sebastian won’t do that, and when he realizes I’m gone and not just “taking a break,” he’ll move heaven and hell to come find me.
At least I hope he will.
Part of me already knows he’ll use this as another example of the curse. It’ll be another reason to push me away and out of his life. If that happens, I don’t know what I’ll do other than be the most heartbroken woman on the planet. But I can’t think like that right now. I have to stay positive. I have to try to imagine Sebastian will figure this all out and come looking for me.
But, until then, I can’t sit idly like a damsel in distress and hope the king rescues me. As my life has proven, this isn’t a fairy tale. This is life and death. Again.
I sigh at that as I take in the room for the hundredth time, searching for something, anything, that can help. I can’t rip the sink off the wall and the toilet is all one unit too, so that’s useless as a weapon. All I can do with the sheets is throw them at her or strangle her with them, but I’m not sure that’s the bestthing to do. Plus, I have a belly to think about, and I can’t use my body for leverage if I do strangle her.
And I can’t believe this is where my thoughts are.
“Bellamy, a year ago at this time, you were a single lady, teaching English, broke as a joke, but at least you weren’t trapped in a goddamn fortress.”
I think the time alone along with the overproduction of adrenaline is getting to me.
“Come on!” I shout, needing to fill the silence. “There has to be something here I can use.”
I sit on the bed, the slats creaking under my weight, and immediately I shoot back off and stare down at it. It’s made of wood. There are only two feet since the other side is built into the stone, but the feet are wood as are the slats. I rip the flimsy mattress off and stare at the slats. They’re thin and look like they’re easy to snap. Not substantial enough for my needs.
