My two captors dropped me at my door, all of us needing a little space for the night.
As they left me, Leo pulled me into a tight hug and kissed the top of my head. “Goodnight, Princess. My door is open if you decide you want company.”
She made her way to her own bedroom, ready to take solace in her minimalist space for the night.
But Spencer wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me close. Putting her hands on my jaw, she kissed me softly on the lips. I could feel her body release, some of the tension she’d been carrying falling away.
Softly, Spencer pulled away. “Goodnight, Bunny.”
“Goodnight.” I managed before slipping into my room and closing the door.
Leaning against the wood, I listened as her steps drifted down the hallway. I sucked a deep breath into my lungs, forcing the air into my body.
There was a lot to grapple with now. More had been revealed to me than I’d expected. Despite Dom’s hatred of me, I thought she’d have a couple small lies to confess to. An entire decade of plotting and manipulating wasn’t even on my mind.
I hadn’t even considered how much time was lost to the pits of my mind, how much I’d erased. For a moment, I closed my eyes and tried to call the memories forward.
There was only an empty, dark cavern. A flicker of a face like a shadow on the wall.
But now I knew the truth — the things my mind wanted to forget.
What really scared me was how much of my memory, my childhood was in Dom’s hands.
I’d gotten the answers I’d been hunting for, running down every hallway to stir the lost fragments from the locked filing cabinet in my brain.
It had only raised more questions. And I wasn’t so sure Dom would be an open book.
More than anything, I still wasn’t sure if the truth had been worth it.
47
KIERA
I wasn’tsure when I’d fallen asleep. My pounding heart and racing thoughts had threatened to keep me up all night. All I remembered were countless hours lying on my back, watching the moonlit shadows of the trees sway against my ceiling.
And then at some point… darkness.
It couldn’t have been long. As I rolled out of bed and peeked outside, I saw the sun had barely risen. It was an earlier start than I’d like, but now that I was up, there was no way my anxious mind would fall back asleep.
Maybe I can sneak some food in before this hellish day kicks off.
Pulling on Leo’s big shirt and a pair of black pajama shorts, I headed down to the kitchen, taking care to keep quiet on the stairs. Knowing what this house was, everything made more sense — including why I knew just how to move around these steps without making them creak.
Walking down the hall, I could hear the fridge door open.So much for my quiet morning.
But as I braced myself for one of Spencer and Leo’s lavish breakfasts, I was surprised to see none other than my nightmare incarnate digging through the fridge.
I still couldn’t believe it was her — Madeline. She existed as a hazy memory in the dark recesses of my mind. She wasn’t supposed to be here, to be grown. And knowing that Dom was the monster she’d grown into strained the comfort of her memory into something sickening.
How is any of this real?
As I hovered in the doorway, Dom’s shirtless back was faced to me. I still had a chance to slip out of here unnoticed, to keep the peace.
But I couldn’t bring myself to walk away. As much as she tried to deny it, a piece of this house belonged to me too. And I wouldn’t let her fury run me off again so easily.
Keeping my footsteps light, I crossed the threshold and took a seat at the island. But still, Dom didn’t turn.Maybe she didn’t hear me?
Whatever the reason, I tried to savor the fleeting feeling of power it gave me.
