32. Luella
Chapter 32
Luella
M y body sags with relief as Xavier leaves the room, but it’s only brief. He’s going to come back, and he’s going to hurt me; I know this man almost as well as I know myself, and depravity is his favorite hobby.
Breathe.
It doesn’t matter how many times I tell myself to fucking breathe, it won’t get me out of this situation. Whatever has distracted Xavier won’t last long, and I have to try and get out of these ropes. But it’s impossible, my wrists are slick with blood and sweat, the ropes biting deeper with every futile attempt to loosen them. The pain is almost blinding, but I can’t give up. I can’t let him win. A sob threatens to escape my lips, but it’s one of frustration, not fear or sadness.
No.
I need to think logically. So, I can’t get out of the ropes. There are no weapons anywhere, and I’m starting to feel like I am well and truly fucked.
But maybe...
I wiggle my toes, relief coursing through me when they respond immediately.
Good.
I wince as I shift, bringing my knees together and pumping my legs back and forth, forcing the blood to circulate. The last thing I need is pins and needles when I’m about to attack that murdering piece of shit. I hear footsteps again, and I steady my legs, trying to put as much weight on them as I can before he steps back into the light, that pathetic grin on his face.
“Ah, Luella,” Xavier says, his voice dripping with disdain as he descends the stairs once more. “Still here, I see. Good. We have unfinished business.”
I glare at him, my hatred burning within me. “Come closer and say that,” I taunt, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through me.
I’ve waited years to be face to face with this bastard, and even though I didn’t quite imagine it being with my hands tied behind my back and groggy from being drugged, I always knew it was a possibility. But here we are, him with a knife and me with a need for vengeance so strong I feel ethereal.
Like I’m going to turn him to stone with one look, Medusa-style.
I wish. I’d believe in anything right now if it meant me killing him.
He chuckles, taking a step closer, the knife still in his hand. “You’re a fighter, I’ll give you that. But it’s time you understand your place. You’re nothing, Luella. Just like Sophia was nothing.”
This motherfucker!
I grit my teeth, my muscles tensing as I prepare to strike. “You’re wrong,” I spit.
He’s so fucking arrogant, and maybe that will be his downfall. He already thinks I had help getting here, and now he thinks I’ll be easy—putty in his hands.
Little does he know.
He laughs, a cruel, mocking sound. “We’ll see about that.”
He lunges, the knife slicing through the air. But I’m ready. I lift my feet, slamming them into his groin with a force I’m proud of, considering my shitty circumstances. He stumbles, caught off guard, and I seize the opportunity. I force myself onto my front, knees burning as I scrape them to help me rise to my feet. I grit my teeth as the rope cuts into my open wounds, but I swing around in time to see Xavier barreling towards me, his head down.
I slip out of the way, watching as he tries to stop himself from hitting the brick wall, but he fails. I take the second opportunity and slam my knee into his crotch, grinning like a madwoman when Xavier grunts, doubling over in pain. The knife clatters to the floor, and I waste no time. I kick it away, sending it skittering into the shadows. He curses, his face contorted with rage and pain.
“You little bitch,” he pants, trying to straighten up.
I smirk, a bitter taste in my mouth. “That’s the best you’ve got? I thought you were supposed to be scary, Xavier.”
He snarls, lunging at me again. But this time, I’m not quick enough. He grabs me by the shoulders, slamming me back against the wall. My head hits the concrete with a sickening thud, stars exploding across my vision. I can feel the warmth of blood trickling down the back of my neck, but I refuse to succumb.
Never to him.
“You're going to pay for that,” he hisses, his breath hot on my face.
I laugh, a cold, hollow sound. “You think this is bad? You should see what I’ve got planned for you.”
His grip tightens, his fingers digging into my flesh. “You talk too much,” he says, his voice like ice.
I shrug, a small, defiant gesture. “Maybe. But at least I’m not a pathetic coward who preys on innocent women.”
His eyes flash with rage, and I know I’ve hit a nerve.
Good. I want him angry. Angry means sloppy. Sloppy means I might have a chance.
He raises his hand, hitting me again in the exact same place he did earlier, and this time something cracks. A sharp, throbbing pain splits my cheek in half, spreading to my eyes, jaw, and ear. Despite everything, my eyes fill with tears.
“Oh, you will fucking cry,” Xavier snarls as he shouts for his men. “You will beg, you will scream, and you’ll cry.”
I sag against the floor, gasping for air, my face torn in two with agony. My eyes dart toward the shadows as footsteps echo down the hall.
My eye begins to swell, and I kick out at the men who come rushing in, but there’s three of them, and they’re strong.
“Get off me!” I scream, kicking one in the jaw.
Xavier reaches down and grips my cheeks, his thumb plunging into the soft flesh where my cheekbone used to sit.
“Listen, you little bitch. I could shoot you between the fucking eyes right now, but I want me and my men to have some fun with you, so fucking listen good.” He pulls my face close to his and drags his tongue under my wet eyes, drinking my tears. “You’ll fucking behave. You’ll break. The harder you fight, the longer I will drag this out.”
Spittle flies from my mouth as I try to spit at him, but it runs down my chin as I feel a sharp sting in my arm.
Xavier looks down at my arm then releases me, straightening his jacket like he’s getting ready for a business meeting.
“Take her to the lower level,” Xavier commands as my vision swims. “And for fucks sake, chain her feet up. Make it tight.” He smiles at me, the last thing I see before I’m hauled to my feet.
Whatever they’ve injected me with has rendered me fucking useless. My limbs don’t respond, my head lolls forward, and my breathing becomes instantly shallow.
Brave men, drugging me so I can’t use my strength. They couldn’t handle me without chains, ropes, or drugs.
The men drag me down a narrow corridor. The air reeks of damp and decay. My body is limp, but inside, I’m screaming, clawing my way back to the surface.
I can’t pass out again.
The men hauling me are silhouettes, faceless figures in the gloom. Their grips are brutal, fingers digging into my flesh like claws.
I try to struggle, to kick out, but my limbs are heavy, unresponsive.
We descend deeper into the bowels of the building, the air growing colder, the stink more pungent. A door creaks open, and I’m thrown into a dark room, my body hitting the hard, unforgiving floor. Pain explodes through me, but it’s distant, dulled by the drugs. I blink, trying to force my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but everything is a blur of shadows and faint, flickering light.
Where am I? Is this where I found the photographs of the victims?
But it’s hard to tell, my vision is blurry as fuck.
The clank of chains echoes through the room, and suddenly, my ankles are being shackled, the cold metal biting into my skin. Then my hands are shackled too, leaving me in a star shape on the wall. I try to kick out, to fight, but my movements are sluggish, pathetic.
The men laugh, their voices echoing in the dark.
“Have fun with this one, boys,” one of them sneers. “She’s got spirit.”
The door slams shut, and I’m left alone in the dark, the sound of my ragged breathing echoing off the cold stone walls. I strain against the chains, but it’s useless. They’re too tight, too strong. Panic claws at my throat, but I push it down, forcing myself to breathe, to think.
I need to stay calm and stay sharp. I need to find a way out of this fucking hellhole.
My eyes begin to adjust to the darkness, and I realize I’m not alone. Shadows shift in the gloom, and slowly, the shapes resolve into figures. Women. Chained to the walls, their bodies hunched, broken. Their eyes are hollow, empty, staring at nothing.
Are they even alive?
Bile rises in my throat as I realize what this place is. A dungeon. Xavier’s personal playground, where he keeps his toys, his victims.
Rage boils within me, burning away the last of the drugs’ effects. I won’t be another of his victims. I won’t be chained to this wall, left to rot in the dark. I won’t let him win.
I grit my teeth, steeling myself against the pain, the fear, the despair threatening to overwhelm me. I have to stay strong. I have to fight. For Sophia. For the women chained in the dark. For myself.
But then I shift my head to the sound of feet padding towards me, and my breath stalls in my throat.
It’s two mountains. No, two men built like mountains, and they’re looking at me hungrily.
I take a deep breath, mentally preparing myself for what’s to come. I’m chained to a fucking wall—I’m literally powerless. But surely, they’ll have to unchain me to move me...if they want to fuck me, that is.
The thought makes me gag, but this isn’t the first time I’ve been raped, is it? I let out a bitter laugh as they step forward, reaching out to palm my tits, licking their lips as their eyes roam over me. Their hands are on me, rough and eager. I can feel their breath on my skin, the stench making me want to retch. I know what’s coming, but I can’t afford to break—not yet. I’ll make them think I’m weak, and then I’ll find my opening.
I’ll let them think they’ve won. Let them unchain me, loosen their grip. And then, when they least expect it, I’ll strike.
“I’m having her ass,” one grunts out, reaching for what looks like a pull cord, and I fully expect the lights to come on. Instead, I fall to the floor, still shackled.
What the fuck?
I grit my teeth and try to move, but the bastards hold me down, sliding a pole between my shackles, spreading me wide.
You know what to do, Luella. Escape. I push away the pain, the fear, and I let myself float above it all. I become nothing—just a shadow, a ghost passing through this moment.
One climbs onto my back, almost winding me with the weight of his body, and I close my eyes, willing my body to relax.
It will be easier if you relax, I tell myself, vomit leaving my throat as he moans behind me, his grubby hands all over me. It won’t hurt as much. I close my eyes and drift away, letting my mind escape to a place where their touch can’t reach me. I am not here—I am somewhere far away, untouchable, invincible.
As the world around me darkens, I think of him. Colton. His touch, his voice—it brings me back. It reminds me who I am, that I’m stronger than this. The pain doesn’t matter, not when I can still hold onto him in my mind. Tears sting my eyes as I imagine what he would do to these men if he were here, and I bitterly regret leaving him. Because as much as he was a monster, he killed for me. He protects me, maybe not from himself, but from other sick fucks.
Together, we could have ended this. But no, I had to do it alone, didn’t I?
You knew this was a possibility. I did, and now I have to suffer.
They think I’m weak, that I’ll shatter under their touch. But they don’t know me. My body may be theirs to control for now, but my mind is my own. I feel nothing. I am not here. I am far away, in a place where their hands can’t reach me, where their voices are just whispers in the wind. They can hurt me, but they will never have me. Not really.
But then a scream of agony tears through the air, and I realize it’s me.
Time to escape, Lu, I hear my mother’s voice, guiding me away from all of this. Come and be with me and your sister, if only for a minute.