Page 78 of Monster

“Miss Pettigre—”

She turned away from me. “Thank you for your honesty.”

I shook my head and let my eyes settle out my own window. Deep down in my soul, I knew her mother wouldn’t even entertain the idea of a ransom. There were many, many things Charlotte didn’t understand about her mother that a lot of us had known for years now. And that was the fact that Gloria Pettigrew was one of the most ruthless, most selfish human being I’d ever come across.

“May I say something?” I asked.

I felt Charlotte staring at me through the reflection of the window. “Why are you asking?”

I looked over at her. “I want to make sure you’re listening.”

She snickered. “Sure. Go ahead.”

“Your mother doesn’t see you as the valuable commodity that I do.”

“I’m not a commodity, Teo. I’m a fucking person.”

I shrugged. “Still, you have a skill set that you sell to the public that is a highly desired commodity. And while your mother might not see that in you, I do. I value you, and what you bring to the table. And when you give me that chance, you’ll see that I value your ideas and your input just as much as I value the rest of you.”

“Is this the part where you tell me you’ll work if I behave?”

She took the words right out of my fucking mouth.

So, she is as good as her reputation states.

Her voice grew hard. “Let me tell you something, Teo. And you better listen, because I’m done talking with you tonight: I don’t give a shit what you say. If my own mother doesn’t value me enough to pay for my safety, then a lowlife such as yourself that goes to auctions where women are being sold off like cattle will never see value in anything, much less another human life. I don’t care if you torture me, or kill me, or keep me as your little sex slave. But I’ll never, ever, ever blindly obey anyone who thinks they can control me. Ever.”

And as she turned her gaze back out her window, the heat of her words rushed over me like a warm ocean wave on a hot summer’s day.

Damn it, this woman would be the death of me.

* * *

On the outside, I kept a cool demeanor. But, every night, I cried myself to sleep. After we got back from the party, I went straight up to my bedroom on the top floor and collapsed against the mattress. I cried so hard that an imprint of my make-up stained face stared back at me in the morning when I finally managed to drag myself out of bed. And every second of every hour since then, I couldn't stop playing Teo’s words in my mind.

How the hell could my mother throw out my own ransom?

It didn’t sound like her at all. He had to be lying, right? I mean, my mother loved me. I was the second half of her business. Hell, I was the only person she had in her life to pass her business down to! The only person who wanted to carry on her legacy! Surely, she wasn’t that stupid.

No. Surely, she wasn’t that heartless.

Yet, every day that ticked by without so much as Teo uttering that I could go, it had me wondering about it. I found myself rationalizing away the absolute lies he spewed in my direction that night. Maybe my mother paid the ransom, but then she’d been taken as well. Or, maybe she was in the process of negotiating the ransom. Maybe she wanted to fly over and get me herself before she paid. There could’ve been a dozen or so other things that were happening instead of my mother simply throwing away the only lifeline I had to get out of this damn place.

But, every day that ticked by with business as usual slowly snuffed out the fires of hope.

“Miss Pettigrew?”

A soft knock came at my bedroom door before it eased open. So, I didn’t bother responding.

Teo knocked again. “Lunch is ready. Figured I’d bring it up to you.”

I shrugged. “Thanks.”

He walked over with a tray and set it down on the bed. “Care for some company?”

I clicked my tongue. “Don’t care.”

He sat on the edge of the bed. “I’ve been doing some research on you, you know.”

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