“You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?”
I refused to answer him. Finally, when I’d cracked my eyes open, he was crouched down beside me and moved the hair off my face.
“Aren’t you glad to see me?” He ran a finger down my cheek. I would wake up from this anytime now, and he’d be gone. Maybe I’d be back at Fort Hill, and Gracie would be safe.
“What do you want from me?”
“The same thing you wanted from me. Revenge.”
“You can’t hide forever, you know. Someone is going to catch up with you eventually,” I warned.
“I’ve managed this long, haven’t I? I fooled everyone, even you,” he gloated.
“Where’s Gracie?” I asked breathlessly.
“She’s confused and devastated. But I’ll fix that. There’s nothing lies can’t fix, right, Lissy?”
This man was a psychopath.
“I saw you die.” I sobbed. “I killed you.”
“You could have, except you didn’t. Did you check if I was breathing? Did you see them bag me?”
“But they convicted me?”
“It’s all about knowing the right people, Lissy.”
He dragged me by my hair into a sitting position. Stepping away from me, he flipped a switch, and the room flooded with light. Looking at him, I noticed he’d had some work done. His nose appeared different, his chin too. The slash on his face left a scar, giving him a deadly look. His hair was cropped to about an inch, and he’d bulked up since the last time I saw him.
“Let’s see the damage, shall we?”
He unbuttoned his shirt and letting it fall, I saw the marks, the ones from the wounds I’d inflicted.
“You just missed, you know… my heart and vital organs. It took a lot of fixing. My sternum was cracked, my skull too.” He turned around, and I noticed the scar on his head. “But I survived.”
“Where am I?”
“Where nobody will find you. Not even him.”
I looked up. “Where is Luke?”
“It was tragic really, what happened to him, burned alive like that. Still, he was a hero after rescuing so many orphans from that burning house. It was an orphanage, you know.”
“You’re a liar!” I shouted. Luke couldn’t be dead. He saved me, saved Gracie. I wouldn’t let Malcolm plant those lies in my head.
He shrugged, pulling on his shirt. “I can’t expect you to believe me.”
“What will you do to me?”
“I have several ideas, sweetheart, but I have a funeral to attend.”
“A funeral?”
“Yes, yours.” He smirked.
“Malcolm,Malcolm!” I started screaming, straining against the restraints on my hands. When I toppled over, all he did was wink and walked away.
“Be good now, Lissy.”
