Her breath hitches. She closes her eyes for a moment, as if drawing strength, or perhaps just summoning the courage to speak the unspeakable. When she opens them, the pain is etched deeper than ever. “They came,” she says, her voice growing slightly stronger, yet still trembling. “Magnus. Conrad. They told me I’d damaged myself, that I’d devalued myself.”
I don’t say anything. I keep my face neutral, though I marvel at the fact Conrad was smart enough to involve his brother. Conrad by himself is a brute, but Magnus, Magnus would have put the fear of God into her.
And poor little Grace wouldn’t have stood a chance against the pair of them.
It makes me wonder if I should throw Conrad a little cookie, a little tip for using his own initiative and thinking outside the box. But then, usually when he does that, shit hits the fan and not in a good way. No, Conrad had a lucky guess this time, but even a broken clock is right twice a day. It doesn’t make him a smart man. It doesn’t alter the fact that most days he’s a bull, smashing his way through life, not caring what precious pieces he destroys with his big old clown feet.
“They, they pierced me,” she whispers, the word hanging in the air like a curse. “With… with needles. They, they put them in me, in places that I…” Her hand goes up, clutching at her neck and as it does, it pulls the fabric flat against her chest. For the first time, I see the outline of the diamonds dangling from her nipples. I know the other piercing is far more intimate. I picked it out myself, knowing exactly how her body would react once she is all healed.
Poor thing. She doesn’t have a clue that all of this might feel like a violation now, but really, it’s a gift. One she’ll thank me for in the years to come.
“Grace,” I say, my voice thick with emotion I can barely contain. “You’re safe now. You’re with me. Nothing else is going to happen to you.”
She looks at me, her eyes swimming with tears. “You don’t understand,” she whispers, her voice raspy. “They can come back, any time they want. They turned the camera off…” She glances at it, clearly with no idea that I too have ensured they’re not working whenever I visit. Afterall, why would I reveal my hand so obviously?
“They’re going to come back.” She says more hysterically.
“They won’t come back.” I say, pulling her into my arms, feeling as her body gives in to me, as she all but collapses into my chest. “I will speak to them. I will ensure they do not come back.”
She sniffs, clearly knowing me well enough to know that I won’t do this favour for nothing.
“I need you to believe me.” I say reassuringly. “And I need a promise from you in exchange.”
She pulls back enough to look at me. Her eyes search mine, filled with a dawning, fragile hope mixed with profound caution. “What, what do you need?”
I take a deep breath, steeling myself. This is the crucial moment, the foundation of everything that comes next because how she responds to this will tell me how she’ll respond to her treatment further down the road. How easily I will be able to manipulate her, how easily I’ll be able to break her down and remould her.
“I need you to promise me,” I say, my voice firm. “Promise me you won’t hurt yourself, not anymore. You hear me? You are safe, you are strong. You are going to be okay, but you have to promise me you won’t do anything to break yourself. Promise me.”
Her gaze darts away for a second, then back. She blinks as if gathering her strength, clearly pushing down the remnants of her fear and despair.
“But I can’t do this. I can’t stay here…”
“You can, Grace. You’re far stronger than you realise. Just focus on the now, on each day. Don’t think about what is coming. You can’t fight that. You have to accept what you have, what cards life and God has drawn for you.”
She chews her lip, looking like she might just burst into tears.
“Promise me, Grace. Promise me you won’t try anything stupid again, and I’ll make sure no one else gets in here. Not Magnus, not Conrad, not any of your father’s old buddies either…” I add as an extra threat to keep her up at night. “I’ll ensure no one but me is allowed to see you.”
In a voice so soft it’s almost a whisper, so fragile it could shatter, she says the words. “O-okay,” she murmurs. “Okay. I… I promise.”
It’s not a strong word, not confident, but it’s enough to give me what I want. What I need.
2 years and 3 months until auction
The cold starts deep in my bones, a relentless shiver that shakes me loose even as I lie frozen beneath the heavy blanket.
It’s not just cold, though; it’swrong.
There’s a pressure behind my eyes, a heavy ache in my chest, and my throat feels like jagged rocks are being scraped across it every time I try to swallow. I’m gasping for air, pulling ragged breaths into lungs that burn with each intake. My teeth chatter uncontrollably, a miserable counterpoint to the frantic thumping of my heart against my ribs.
It’s dark. Utter, suffocating darkness. My eyes sting, trying desperately to adjust, but there’s nothing to see.
Just the suffocating blackness pressing in from all sides, and the silence. A deep, heavy silence that somehow amplifies my own terrified breathing. I’m alone in this. I know it.
The walls seem to groan softly, but it echoes like the sound of my own disintegration.
I’m sick. Really sick.
