Chapter 11
ELEVEN
The room wasn’t familiar this time.
It appeared to be the same underground area that I’d walked into earlier. A dim yellow bulb illuminated the place, and I was lying on the concrete floor with nothing but a jug of water left on the side.
My legs felt numb and fractured. I couldn’t move them an inch even if I tried, but the plaster covering my legs meant a doctor had been allowed to treat me.
Clearly, there were some people working under the Montgomery’s who chose to remain silent. Maybe they had a family doctor who took care of all the dirty work for a hefty payment.
I ran a hand through my hair and it felt greasy. My stomach growled as I realized I must have starved for a long time. It was my bad luck that the room did not even have a window, so it wasn’t possible for me to guess if it was daytime or night. Days could have passed as I lay here in this prison. Perhaps I’d slipped into a coma, I couldn’t tell.
The pain in my legs was worse than before and even though I hadn’t seen Dayana hit me, I was positive I’d heard her voice. She’d hit my legs repeatedly with the bat.
These people were monsters.
They had made sure that I couldn’t plan an escape for another few weeks. They enjoyed feeding off weakness and fear, and that’s the last thing I wanted to give them.
I could pretend to obey their orders and strategize my next move.
Just then, I heard the locks turning, so I backed up against the wall.
It was Devin who walked through the door, followed by a maid holding a tray in her hand. She didn’t even blink when she saw me on the floor, as if this was a daily occurrence and something that was not worth dwelling upon.
The scent of food wafted towards me, only intensifying my hunger. I could kill for a morsel of the food on that tray, and that’s exactly what they wanted; for me, to be starved and so desperate for food that I’d agree to do anything.
He sat down on the floor a few feet away from me, a stoic expression on his face. His apple-green eyes studied me warily.
Unlike the few times I’d seen him before, he wore casuals and he looked relatively younger like some attractive man I’d see walking down the street, and not the powerful man in control of a billion-dollar conglomerate that I’d met on the first day.
Devin waved a hand of dismissal at the maid. “You may leave now, Penelope.”
Penelope bowed and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. He held the tray of food in his hand. I sneaked a peek inside the plate and there was chicken roast indeed, with mashed potatoes and a thick piece of oozing lasagna.
You’re fucking kidding me!
This was torture, knowing he wouldn’t let me have food. He might have just brought it down here to tease me with it.
“You’re hungry, aren’t you?” Devin asked me in the same honey laced voice
I glanced away; I couldn’t stand looking at it anymore.
I didn’t answer him.
“Susan told me you loved lasagna.”
“I would have also loved to see you dead.” I retorted.
He laughed the way one would laugh at a joke that their best friend cracked. “You’re funny, and I like the fact that you’re still strong regardless of the situation you’re in. We’ve had employees crying and begging for their life. I’m glad we took you on board.”
“What do you want, Devin?”
The tray of food careened over to me when he gave it a slight push.
“Eat your chow. We’ll talk after that.” I stared at the plate of food in front of me.
What if he’d poisoned it or planned to drug me with it?
Reading my thoughts, he flashed me that sly smile again. “If we wanted you dead, you’d be six feet underground by now. The food isn’t poisoned.” He stated, pulling the plate towards him and sampling a bite of each before setting it down. “See? I haven’t dropped dead. If you won’t eat your dinner, that’s fine. I have people who can force it down your throat. The choice remains yours.”
I picked up the plate and began eating it slowly. It was so good; I was going to cry. Devin watched me silently as I ate and after I was done, he handed me a glass of water that I chugged down.
Emotions tightened in my throat as I asked him, “You’re not letting me go, are you?”
“If you do as I say, you’ll be free.” He blinked at me. “You have my word.”
“What do you want?” I questioned for the second time.
“Your co-operation,” He answered, looking me dead in the eye. “I need your help, Millie. That’s all I’m asking. In exchange, you’re never getting hurt again, or mistreated by any of us. If you show me I can trust you blindly, I’ll even take off the tracker.”
“What do you mean by co-operation? What is it you need from me?”
“You’ll know soon enough. In the meantime, please take good care of my brother. It appears like he’s taken quite a liking to you.”
“Can you take me back to my room?” I asked.
Devin laughed again, “It’s funny how you appreciate little things in your life when you’re put in a situation like this.” His eyes twinkled with cruelty. “Like I said, you need to earn it. If you show me you’re a good, obedient girl, then we’ll take you upstairs.”
So I was going to be stuck here for a while.
Before leaving, he stopped and turned. “Sorry about what my sister did to you. Don’t take it too personally.”
Before leaving, he turned off the lights, plunging the room into pitch blackness.
By the sixth day, they’d completely broken me, and I don’t mean physically.
It seemed like my soul had left my body and wandered elsewhere. When I fell asleep, they splashed a bucket of cold water over my body. I was far too numb to notice who was doing it. I ate the food when I got it. A maid would allow me to use the bathroom and shower.
The nights were the longest. It was pitch black and sometimes they left the dim light on. It would turn on and off constantly sometimes, and that gave me a headache. I think it was being done on purpose. I was soaked, trembling, starving, and teetering on the brink of insanity.
Sometimes, it was hard to even gather thoughts. I wondered if I was dead or living.
I heard the lock turning again, and I didn’t know what day it was. It was probably some maid again. Instead, I saw a tall, enormous figure approaching me.
Devin.
This time, he didn’t stop a few feet away. He hunched lower to my crouched form and touched my cheek. I screamed and thrashed until he got hold of both of my hands in a firm grip and said something. The voice was so distant, and my head felt so light and my eyes couldn’t even see clearly because of tears. But I could recognize the familiar scent of the perfume.
“Millie…it’s me.”
I opened my eyes at once. “Castle!”
I was hysterical, saying some incoherent things that probably weren’t even making any sense. I didn’t think Castle could even comprehend what I was saying, but the words flowed like an open dam.
Castle held me close and caressed my hair. “I’m sorry.”
There was someone else standing behind him. It took a few seconds to realize that it was Theo.
Theo gave me a look filled with sympathy. “I thought you died. They wouldn’t tell us where you were.”
The look on his face was equal measures of disgust and relief. “This is exactly why I don’t like getting attached to the house staff. They just end up dying. If they’re just going to die in the end, what’s the point of me making light conversations with them?”
I felt Castle’s stare locked on me. He ignored his little brother’s rambling and asked me, “Can you walk?”
I shook my head. “I think my legs are healing, but I can’t stand up.” I tried to swallow my pleading; I couldn’t ask him to take me upstairs. It was quite hard. “You should go back. I don’t want to put you in trouble.”
He placed an arm around my shoulders and the other hand to support my legs as he lifted me in his arms. Theo threw him a look. “You’re seriously not considering taking her back upstairs.”
“She’s…she’s hurt.” Castle said and his hands tightened around my body, “because of me…I’m not leaving her here.”
When he said that, it proved two things.
One, Castle wasn’t as stupid as Devin believed him to be.
Two, he might be privy to the family’s affairs and choose not to say a word.
“This is on you, Cas, remember that. I never helped you get the keys.” Theo said, “Now let’s hurry. I have school tomorrow.”
Castle took me up to my room upstairs; his brown eyes gazed down at me as he whispered, “I…I won’t let them hurt you anymore.”