Chapter Twenty-Nine
Romy
T he cloud I’d been floating on begins to dissipate. Slowly, I open my eyes and become aware of what’s around me.
I’m on a soft bed.
Caius’s cologne scent clings to the covers.
My skin is warm. I could go back to sleep.
“How about a bedtime story, hmm?”
I’m in and out of consciousness. Is this a dream? Fingers stroke through my damp hair and the person chuckles.
Theo.
I fight to keep my brain locked in on the sound of his voice. I can’t open my eyes and can barely understand what’s happening, but his voice is the one thing I can cling to.
“Oh,” Theo says. “There’s a baby picture of you left at this part. Did you use it as a bookmark? Is this where you’d like me to continue?”
I want him to get away from me or for Caius to catch him in this horrible act of drugging me. But I don’t hear Caius’s voice. Just Theo’s.
“Wow,” Theo says with a whistle. “This starts out pretty dramatic. The person who wrote this says, ‘I was a captive.’” He playfully tugs at my hair. “Did you write this? Is this your journal?”
I don’t want him reading Vivienne’s journal to me. It’s private and it brings up terrible memories of what that awful woman did to me. The last thing I want is for him to read it to me as some sort of torture.
Why is he doing this to me?
“The man took me after promising to heal my broken mind. At first, I believed him. His methods were genuine. But I was too broken.” He pauses and I can hear a page flipping. “I was a teenager. I trusted him. Ava told me I could. I trusted her because she was the closest thing to a sister I ever had.”
Ava?
My mind spins as I try to grasp why that name seems important, but Theo continues on. I know I need to keep up.
“He raped me. I cried and fought him. But then he told me he loved me. That it always hurt the first time. Eventually, he wore me down into believing what we did was an act of love. Sometimes he even let me out of the cuffs so I could touch his hair.”
Theo huffs and speaks to me directly. “You were delusional, Romy. That’s not love. And here I thought this whole time my brother took your V-card.”
I want to scream that this stupid journal isn’t mine, but I can’t. All I can do is listen as he reveals things about Vivienne that paints a more vivid picture of who she was before she became my monster.
“It didn’t take long for me to get used to what he did to me. I began to enjoy his closeness. When we were together, the terrible depression and twisted thoughts in my head were snuffed out. He was my cure from all my ailments. I didn’t need his therapies, I needed him. And when he was gone, off working to help others, Ava would look after me. She would sneak me treats and brush my hair. I loved her so much.”
I must have drifted off because Theo shakes me and says, “Am I boring you? You were snoring. We’re getting to the good part. Sorry, I skimmed ahead. I’ll read it to you.”
“One day, I just knew. I knew I was pregnant. I’d need to confirm it, of course, but it felt like great news. Maybe then I’d be able to leave my room with the stupid cuffs and locked door. He would take me to his home, make me his wife, and we’d live happily ever after. I could play with his soft hair whenever I wanted and it would be perfect. I’d finally have a family.”
Theo curses. “Shit. I have to go. But hold on, let me read this last bit to you before I leave. It’s pretty damn interesting.”
“The door was left open one day and I happened to not be cuffed in bed, so I knew it was my opportunity to find him and tell him the good news. I went to his office and let myself in.” He pauses for dramatic effect. “It was a stab to the heart. He was having sex with her. My sister. Ava. Her red hair hung beautifully behind her as she rode his body. The moans of pleasure that came from her were foreign to me. He never made me sound like that.”
Theo makes a clicking sound with his tongue. “Sounds like he moved on to greener pastures, babe. Sorry that happened to you.”
It didn’t happen to me, though.
“I backed out of the office, disgusted. He would choose her because she was far more beautiful than me. What would happen to me? Would they lock me up until the baby came? Would they steal the baby from me? Impulsively, I ran down the hallway to a break room for the employees. There was a door they used to go out and smoke. I was shocked when it released me into a courtyard. I was free.”
He makes mumbling sounds as if he’s skimming some parts that don’t matter.
“I knew of one of his friends. He lived in New York. It was a long journey where I’d hitchhiked for weeks. Once in the city, I lived on the streets for a couple of months until I finally located where the man lived. When I got him to answer his door, I spilled everything to him. The pregnancy, the betrayal. Everything. And then he came up with an idea. He’d keep me safe and protect my baby. After the birth, he’d raise it as his own.”
Theo grumbles. “This doesn’t make any sense. This isn’t you, is it?”
Since I don’t answer, he continues. “This journal is out of order because I’m trying to tell you a story. My mind is always fractured, so I grasp at things when I can. I hope this makes sense.”
Theo laughs. “No, lady. It’s confusing as fuck.”
He reads some more aloud. “Anyway, as you read before, I messed it all up. My mind cracked in a horrible way when my new love, your new father, betrayed me. I wanted to hurt him. To remind him the child was mine to do what I wanted with, not his. And every time I did those things, it was another jab to hurt him like he hurt me. Whoever reads this, if anyone, know that I did it to get back at him. I’m not crazy like they all say.”
I jerk awake again and am able to open my eyes again. The room is empty, from what I can tell, and the suite is silent.
I have to get up.
My heart pumps hard even though my limbs feel like jelly. I know it would be easy to go back to sleep, but I need to force my body to move. If I can get ahold of Caius, he can help me. His brother has lost his mind.
It takes everything in me to roll onto my side to face my bedside table. My phone should still be plugged in. When I spy it sitting there, I nearly cry out in relief. I grunt and groan as I inch toward it. The blankets have fallen away, exposing my bare breasts, but I’m beyond modesty at this point.
I have to call Caius.
My hand shakes as I reach for the phone. I knock it off the side but manage to loop my finger in the phone cord before it hits the floor. Slowly, I tug on the cord until the phone appears on the side of the bed. I bring it closer until I’m able to pick it up.
I find Caius’s contact and call him.
It rings and rings until I’m sent to voicemail.
I try it again.
After the third time, I groan in frustration. It takes an agonizingly long time to text him, but I finally manage.
Me: Come back. Help me. Theo drugged me.
I watch to see if he’ll read it, but it remains left on unread. Emotion overwhelms me.
“Kaitlyn,” I croak out. “Can you hear me?”
Nothing.
You can usually hear her television blasting in the living area of the suite.
Did Theo take her somewhere?
I have to get out of here. I’ll call my stepmother. Eva will come help me. Before I can locate her contact, someone texts me. I nearly drop the phone, eager for Caius’s response.
It’s not Caius.
Unknown Number: The little girl has been taken somewhere where she’ll forget any of the bad stuff ever happened.
Bile burns my throat. I’m going to throw up. Maybe it’s what I need to do in order to get this crap out of my system.
I shakily respond to the anonymous texter.
Me: Who is this? Where have you taken her?
Unknown Number: A friend. I have a car out front. Come down and join me. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.
I’m not sure who the person is, but they’re promising to help me find Kaitlyn. They say they’re a friend. I could wait for Caius. Or maybe I can get this person to take me to Caius once I make contact with him. This could be my savior.
Me: I’m having trouble moving, but I’m coming. Give me some time.
Unknown Number: I’ll send my driver up to assist you.
Adrenaline courses through my veins, which helps fight the effect of the drugs. I’m able to pull up into a sitting position. The discarded coffee cup mocks me. I trusted Theo and it was the wrong call. Stupid.
Anger joins the adrenaline and I’m able to slide off the bed. My legs are wobbly and I have to use the bed, holding on to it as I walk around it. I left my clothes in the bathroom, plus I need to splash cold water on my face to see if that’ll wake me up. It takes a couple of minutes, but I manage to stumble my way into the bathroom. Dressing is an equally difficult task, but I eventually manage. I’m wiping down my face when I hear someone pounding on the door.
The driver.
Feeling a little more awake, I make my way over to my shoes and shove my feet into them. Once I’ve pocketed my phone, I continue to use furniture and walls to guide me on my trek to the door. When I open it, a man in a black suit stares at me with a flat look.
“Having trouble, miss?”
“I was drugged,” I hiss at him.
He makes no expression of surprise or outrage. “I’ll carry you.”
Before I can protest, he scoops me up into a bridal hold. The door to the suite slams shut behind us. His stride is quick as he takes us not to the elevator, but the stairwell instead. I guess it’s pretty suspicious of a man to be carrying a woman who’s half out of it. The driver is in great shape because he effortlessly flies down each flight of stairs without so much as a huff of exertion. We emerge at the bottom but rather than taking me toward the lobby of the hotel, he slips out a side door.
Cold wind whips at us and I wish I’d grabbed my coat. I huddle against the driver despite not wanting to. He carries us over to a black sedan with heavily tinted windows. Before we get there, the door to the back opens. The driver bends and places me down on the seat inside. I almost thank him when he shuts the door, closing me inside the warm vehicle.
The person across from me grins.
It was a cute, playful smile once.
Now it’s terrifying.
“Where is she?” I demand, clinging to the fury that’s keeping me awake and aware despite the drugs.
“I’ll take you to her,” he says as he moves to sit beside me. “You want that, don’t you?”
I do, but I’m not understanding how this all connects.
“First, we need to get rid of this,” he says as his hand slips into my pocket. “You won’t need it where you’re going.”
I want to snatch my phone out of his hand, but he moves too quickly. He mashes the button to roll the window down and then tosses it out. The window is up before I can even protest.
The vehicle begins moving and he pulls on my seat belt as though he truly cares.
Why on Earth would Doc Junior care about me?
I guess I’m about to find out.