Chapter 25
Yara
Finding my way around the room I was confined to, I located a bathroom and carefully shed my clothes, stepping into the shower.
I couldn’t see it, but it was clear the broken mirror had cut into my back, which was further evidenced by the red tint of the water going down the drain, the stinging sensation scattering across my nerves.
I couldn’t exactly bandage my back, but I could at least clean the wounds.
Even still, the pain was excruciating, nearly bringing me to my knees, but I endured it.
Staying in the shower until the water turned clear.
That has to be a good sign.
Finishing up, I carefully wrapped a towel around myself, wincing at the contact. My clothes on the floor were ruined, but making my way back to the bedroom, I found a cotton shirt and shorts. Tugging those on, I settled into the bed, wrapping my arms around my legs.
I could already see the bruises forming on my legs and arms from where I was kicked and manhandled. I didn’t even want to think about the scars that would form on my back.
More deformities.
My father was leaving me alone for now, but how much longer?
How much longer until I was forced to come face-to-face with the darkest parts of myself?
Time passed endlessly in that room. It could have been hours, it could have been days. I had been drinking off and on from the faucet to quench my thirst, but my stomach hadn’t let up on its growling.
But even with my hunger, I didn’t want him to come. The more time that passed, the more likely Kazi and Mateo would find me.
Does James even know I’m missing?
In this room with my thoughts, I realized how stupid I had been. Of course James was emotional when it came to his missing daughter. Once they were reunited, I would tell him how I felt; I would tell her everything too. And then we could all be a happy modern family.
If I make it out of this.
Caught up in my own mind, I didn’t immediately notice the door opening until my father stood before me.
His cerulean eyes alight in amusement. “It’s time for a family reunion!
” He grabbed hold of my wrist aggressively, even as I tried to flinch back, his fingers wrapping around the scars he had left so many years ago.
He followed my line of sight, his lips quirking in amusement.
The worst part of him was that I never could guess his next move. The man wasn’t human but a sociopath through and through.
“Scars can be covered, but your ugliness can’t.” He tightened his grip.
Ignoring the familiar words, I dug my heels in. “Where’s Eve?” I attempted to fight back against his hold, but it was no use. I was much smaller, weaker. Just as I had always been.
“She’s busy. It’s just you and me.” Using his free hand, he snapped his fingers and two large men folded into the room.
Terror and anxiety landed in my stomach, a wasp nest that had been shaken and thrown.
“Take her to the room, lock her in there, and wait for my instructions.” My father curled his lips, his eyes lighting in cruel amusement. “I’ll be there really soon. Don’t worry.” He released me, turning away.
And then he was gone. Leaving me to his men.
They didn’t even bother being careful, each taking an arm and lifting me clean off the ground as they carried me from the room.
At the bottom of the stairwell, they took me in the opposite direction of where I had woken up.
Away from the circle of mirrors. Instead, leading me through a hall lined with doors.
“Fuck, I wish we could have our fun with her like we do Eve,” one of the guards grumbled to the other.
Sadness crept its way into me, at the implications behind the words, followed immediately by unease.
“He would kill us. She’s his doll. The one he’s always going on about.”
“She looks like a broken doll to me. I bet he’ll throw her away soon enough, and then we can have our time with her. You would like that, wouldn’t you?” The guard’s slimy fingers crept towards my face, his dark eyes turning opaque.
“She’s made to go in here.” Eve’s voice broke through. “Father is already at the helm, watching.” The warning in her words was clear.
The guards grumbled in displeasure. “You better run before we get done, girl,” the same disgusting guard as before taunted.
There was only a brief instant where I was able to find Eve’s eyes, see the acceptance and terror in them, before I was tugged into a new room.
A single chair bolted to the ground in the center.
This room was lined in concrete, from the floor to ceiling, except a single wall that was made up of panels.
On the one across from it, there were shackles.
At first, I had hoped the chair was for me but that was not the case.
They made quick work of securing me to the wall before leaving without another word.
Forcing me to sit cross-legged to maintain any comfortability, my bare legs scratching against the harsh ground.
I could only hope they would leave Eve alone, that she hadn’t caused more pain for herself by helping me.
I didn’t have much time to think about anything else. The door opened again, startling me, and I jumped as the cold air swept across me. This time, two new guards carried an unconscious…woman? She was covered in a hood and in loose clothing, but didn’t appear to be a man.
In fact…
No, it can’t be. Why would my father bring her here?
They strapped the person in place, not even acknowledging me before leaving us alone.
Now what?
It was only a few minutes later that the person roused, tossing against the chair. My stomach crept its way up my throat at the sight.
“Hello?” she called out softly.
My worst fears were realized. “Izzy?” My subconscious had already known it was her, but I hadn’t wanted to accept that fact.
“Yara?” Izzy’s confusion was clear in the single word.
“Fuck, why did he take you too? Why are you here?” Crippling sadness lathered its way inside my body. Why would my father take her too? What did she possibly have to do with him? Or any of this?
“Who? Who took us?”
The devil himself made his appearance before I could answer her. Making his way into the room to Izzy. I wanted to shout at him to leave her alone, but I refrained myself. Knowing it would only incite his anger.
“Ladies, now that I have you both. It’s time for the reunion to begin!” He ripped her hood off.
“Him,” I snarled with all of the anger I could muster, tugging at my shackles.
Izzy turned to me in her chair, surveying me. I could see her worry as she took in my injuries, the fact that I was shackled to the wall.
“My dad is back,” I explained as her eyes turned unfocused.
She twisted back to him. "Steve?"
Huh? Steve. Why was that name so familiar? "How do you know my dad, Stephen?" I asked.
“How?” Izzy’s tone was scaring me even more now.
“How indeed?” My father stepped closer to her. I fought against my restraints as he placed his finger on her lips.
“I needed a family to settle in this town. To go unnoticed.”
What the fuck does that mean?
He swooped his hand towards her, and again, I wanted more than anything to escape. To protect Izzy from this monster. I still couldn’t understand, though, why the fuck she was here in the first place.
“Why did I want to settle here? To keep an eye on my dear old daughter, of course. Make sure she didn’t forget my trainings, my teachings. She is my flesh and blood; therefore, I have a duty to watch over her.”
What?!
I fell back against the wall, shutting my eyes.
This entire time. I had never escaped him. But where had he been?
What did he mean, settled here?
“But Hallie? Is she Yara’s—”
Hallie? Izzy’s stepsister, what is even going on?!
I couldn’t continue to watch him as he stared down at Izzy. Shutting my eyes, I deemed to listen and try to figure it out.
“No, that bitch is a falsified adoption. I needed a good cover, easier to lure a wife in with a daughter of my own. Though, I don’t think your mother would have cared either way.
I told her to teach you better. To whip you into shape.
But you always were a cow. A disgrace. I was almost at the point of discarding you, but then you left town, saving me the time.
” It was the sound of the slap that caused my eyes to spring back open.
But it was his words that landed even harder. At what they meant.
Steve was Stephen. Steve was Izzy’s step-dad. Stephen was Izzy’s step-dad. The monster I grew up with had lived under the same roof as my best friend for years.
And I hadn’t even known.
I am a fucking idiot.
Even in death, I should have known I would never escape this man.
Hopelessness and acceptance tore into my mind.
Now that he had found me, he was never going to let me escape. Never going to let us go. He was going to turn me into his perfect doll and leave me on a shelf to rot.
“But even a cow can be a whore, can’t they? Sebastian York took a fancy to you, didn’t he? And then he got killed. But no matter. Today we can all exact the revenge we deserve,” he continued, and the mention of our high-school teacher clung into me.
But I didn’t have time to even begin to understand the meaning behind his words before he continued.
“Bring him in.” Stephen didn’t turn, his eyes watching Izzy intently. “It’s time for your reunion.”