Chapter 40
Losing my life never scared me. The thought I’d made a mistake scared me way more. That everything I knew was a lie. It’d be impossible to come to terms with a life lived in delusion. After all, I’ve have lived it without ever discovering the real life. And that means I never really lived.
I jumped out of the car and walked briskly towards the front door.
Eric caught up to me and grabbed my arm.
“Don’t run,” he hissed in my ear.
I narrowed my eyes and brushed his hand off.
A woman welcomed us, showing us to the guest room.
The house was towering, just like the steel gates leading up to it. The place was swarming with guards, with security cameras both inside and outside the building.
It hurt me to think how long Bell stayed here and what he did to her.
“Finally, the Roncallis are here. Glad to see you,” Mortimer said merrily.
Was this a joke?
He shook Eric’s hand with a smile and gave me a nod. I was glad we didn’t have to touch one another.
We walked to the couch and I scowled at Eric.
He smiled at me.
We sat down, Mortimer opened a bottle of wine and began pouring the crimson liquid into glasses .
“I found most magnificent wine for you. It’s from 1970. My favorite. I only bring it out for my special guests. Such as yourself.”
His grin stretched from ear to ear.
I wondered if he hated us as much as we loathed him.
I raised the glass to my lips and took a small sip.
“It goes down like the blood of virgins, doesn’t it?”
I choked and some red drops fell on my lily-white dress.
“Excuse me,” I whispered.
I took a napkin and began patting the dress dry.
“It’s good,” Eric replied.
One of the guards approached Mortimer and whispered something in his ear.
“Excuse me. I’m going to have to leave you for a little while. Sarah’s going to serve the hors d’oeuvres. Make yourself at home.”
He gave us one of his fake smiles and vanished.
I put my glass down and turned to Eric.
“Why the hell does he think I’m your wife?” I hissed.
“Would it be better if he thought you’re a whore and that he could use you?”
I clenched my jaw and turned away.
“You could have said I was your sister.”
He smirked.
“What’s so funny?”
“My sister? Zoe, sisters don’t look at their brothers the way you did last night.”
“And how did I look at you?”
“You looked like you were watching your man cheat on you before your very eyes.”
“You’re seeing something that isn’t there.”
“Tell me, Zoe, did you want to be in her place?”
I took my glass of wine and drained it.
“Would you like to know what place I’d like to be in, Eric?”
I turned to look at him .
“Any place you’re not in.”
I shot up, but his rough pull sent me falling in his lap.
He rested his left hand on my leg.
“There are cameras all over this place. Even in the bathrooms.”
His hand was gliding up.
My pulse was pumping like crazy.
“If he catches you trying to save her, he’ll try to kill you.”
“Would you let him kill me?”
I turned to face him and he gave me a faint smile.
He gently tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Did you answer the question to yourself?”
His hand wandered my thigh, his mesmerizing eyes and lips calling out to me stole all my thoughts.
His fingers circled the lace of my panties, teasing and awakening a shameful desire.
“What question?” I whispered, breathing heavily.
His lips moved closer to mine and I parted them slightly.
I felt his warm breath on my lips as he whispered,
“Why do you want to be with me so bad?”
I blinked rapidly, trying to process what he said.
I clenched my jaw and hisses through gritted teeth,
“You’ll be the next man I kill.”
I said it like a promise, which it basically was.
“I see you didn’t miss me here.”
Eric pulled his hand away, fixing my dress.
“We can get straight to the business. My wife doesn’t like to tag along for discussions. It’s too tiring for her.”
He smiled at me, and I returned the gesture with a smile that spelled “go fuck yourself.”
“Straight to the point. I like you already.”
Mortimer laughed and sipped some more wine.
“Sarah will come for you. She’ll keep you entertained. Ask anything you want. ”
They got up and headed to his office.
I ran to Sarah the moment I saw her.
“Where’s Bell?”
“Who?” she asked, looking confused.
“Laura. I meant to say Laura.”
Sarah led me upstairs, to Bell’s room.
The moment I saw her I wanted nothing more than to run and hug her tight, but I had to remind myself of the cameras. Mortimer couldn’t find out we knew each other.
I slowly walked up to her, keeping my feelings to myself as they threatened to burst out and flood my face.
I gave her a small smile, swallowing down a lump of bitter helplessness.
She answered with a feeble smile, trying to hold the tears welling up in her eyes.
“Bell, the bruise is so big,” I whispered.
She had a mean purple shiner under one of her eyes. It looked fresh.
A tear ran down my cheek and I quickly wiped it away.
“There’s a camera in the corner. Let’s have a seat by the window, we won’t be seen as well there.”
I clenched my fists to try and stop myself from hugging her. I could feel it would break both her and I if I tried.
“Why are you here? Did he bring you?”
Bell didn’t just look worried, she seemed deeply haunted, like she was about to break down and scream bloody murder.
“No. Eric has some kind of business with Mortimer.”
“Eric? Oh, no, Zo. They’re both in on it. Did he hit you there?”
“No. It’s Hector. Eric doesn’t beat me. He... he has other means of torturing me.
My bruises aren’t visible because they’re way too deep inside.”
Bell’s face twisted in pain.
Tears welled up in my eyes, but I tried to hold them back .
“Mom’s in a coma because of Eric. Her car got hit by a truck.
And Justin... he’s gone. I don’t know, if Eric was the one who did it, but I have a feeling it was him.
I held his stone-cold body in my arms. He was lying there like he didn’t mean anything.
Like his life meant nothing. I had to say goodbye so fast. It all happened so rapidly that I. .. I...”
My voice was filled with dread and I began to stutter.
I turned to the window.
I didn’t want to tell her I began sleeping with Eric by choice, because I detested myself for it.
I wasn’t ready to say it out loud, as that would mean I was confessing to it. That I accepted it. That I betrayed my parents and Justin.
Something that was supposed to turn into a plan morphed into a humiliating, sordid addiction. It corrupted my soul every time he touched me.
Shame paralyzed my body.
Taking a couple breaths, I turned to look at Bell.
“Was Mortimer behind the university attack?”
“No. He was merely a buyer,” Bell whispered dejectedly.
“I know Eric wasn’t involved. Then who’s done it? We weren’t the only ones taken. Is anyone looking for the others?”
“No one will be looking for them. Mortimer and the other buyers paid everyone off.”
I frowned and turned to look out the window.
“Back at the university no one was captured or taken to the vans. They were torturing and killing anyone they saw. It all looked like an attack. Like an act of revenge...”
“They were looking for certain traits to meet the clients’ demands.”
Bell’s eyes fell on her hands.
“He sees his wife in me.”
My face cringed in pain .
“But you’re not her. You aren’t Laura. Your name’s Bell. My Bell, who likes to study. Who dreams of teaching Philosophy and meeting a nice guy to start a family and get a Labrador with. My open-hearted, kind, compassionate and just a tiny bit pesky Bell.”
I nudged her a little a saw a glimpse of a smile on her lips.
“Don’t let him break you. Remember who you are. Doeverything as he says, but keep it in mind.”
She wiped a tear off her cheek.
“I don’t think I’d ever escape anymore. I gave in to it all. I stopped trying. The things he does are so terrifying, I...”
Her voice broke, she began breathing heavily.
I gripped her hand tight.
“I thought you were dead. I was so scared to think about it,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.
“I pray for it every day.”
Her words broke my heart, leaving a sinking feeling behind.
“I was taken with the other girls almost immediately when these men broke into the university. They tied our hands, covered our mouths and eyes. The road there took a while. It was so stuffy I thought I’d pass out.
We got to some kind of abandoned warehouse.
They lined us up like cattle at the slaughterhouse and began looking us over.
The girls who tried to run were battered and raped right in front of us.
Once they were done, the girls were sent back to the line.
Mortimer was the first. He chose me. I don’t know what happened to those who weren’t chosen.
Once I stepped out of the line, he told me Bell no longer existed.
There was only Laura now. No one’s looking for us and nobody will.
And even if someone tried, they’d never find anything.
I wanted to tell you how my days are going around here, but it would kill me. ”
Tears rained down her cheeks. She was trying to hold her pain in, but I could see he’d already crushed her.
I grabbed her arm with my other hand .
“Don’t you dare give up. I’ll save you. Now I know where you are. I’ll help you. We can escape.”
I lifted my sleeve and showed her the watch.
“This is our freedom. There’s an old antique shop not far from the bus terminal. I know my way around it. We’d go there, I’d sell the watch, we’d buy tickets and leave this damned place to go as far as we can.”
I took her face in my hands.
“I’ll make Eric invite you two to our place. I’ll get everything ready and we’ll run away.”
She moved my hands away.
“Don’t give me hope, Zoe. Please. I can’t bear it anymore,” she whispered.
I grasped her hand and gripped it tight.
“Don’t you dare give up now, when you got a chance with me by your side. You are not alone. I’ll get everything ready. All you need to do is take your chance.”
“How do you stay so optimistic? How can you still believe in freedom?”
“I wasn’t like this until I saw you at the reception. You gave me hope.”
Holding back the sobs, she said,
“I want to hug you so terribly bad, Zoe.”
“So do I, Bell.”
The door opened and we quickly let go of each other’s hands and began wiping our tears.
Sarah came in.
“Your husband’s looking for you.”
“Husband?” Bell whispered.
I shook my head faintly, letting her know it wasn’t true.
I gave her a warm glance, wished her goodbye and headed downstairs.
Eric was talking to Mortimer on the porch .
I forced a smile and walked up to Eric, wrapping one arm around his waist.
“You have a stunning house, Mortimer. I had the pleasure to meet Laura and exchange a few words with her about your wonderful interior decoration. She was very kind to tell me more about it. I’ve been talking Eric’s ear off about redecorating our bedroom.
Maybe you two could come over for dinner sometime? ”
Mortimer looked at me, smiling and listening closely.
“I’m all for it, if Eric doesn’t mind.”
I raised my head to look at him and said in a sickly sweet, singsong voice,
“Honey, will you invite Mortimer and Laura for dinner? Please,” I whined, batting my eyelashes at him.
He watched me and I noticed the corners of his lips twitch.
“Of course, darling.”
I squealed and gave him a peck on the cheek.
“Turns out, it really doesn’t take much to make a woman happy, Eric.”
They shook hands and we headed back to the car.
I was waiting forward for that dinner.