Page 134 of Savior

I sigh, looking at the trembling hands of my maid. “I’m sorry. I know you’re just like me. You wouldn’t be here if you could get out, but it’s hard to handle all this, you know?”

She nods fervently, wiping away a tear as she looks up.

Her hands lift and shift my hair as I inspect the bags under my eyes and the swelling of my collarbone.

“How old were you when he bought you?” I ask her.

Her hands stop moving in my hair as she meets my eyes in the mirror. “Ten.”

I turn around on the plush vanity seat, gasping at the pain in my ribcage from the action. “Excuse me?”

She swallows, shame swelling in her eyes. “I was ten. My parents were gone and gave me up. I don’t remember all the details, if I’m honest. But I was in foster care. One night, I got it into my head to run away, and I was grabbed off the street. At first, I thought this place was a haven. He treated me well enough; he never touched me, and I was fed and clothed. But it wasn’t long until reality came crashing down when I was taught how to care for other women, ones he abused until they submitted. Until they couldn’t go on.”

I turn back around, looking down at a makeup brush absently. “What happened to them? The others?”

I know it’s wrong to ask, to make her relive those moments in her life when she saw things she shouldn’t have, but I need to know.

I need to prepare myself.

“They’re all dead, Ms. Sloane.” Her voice is timid and shaky.

“He killed them?” I close my eyes and await the eventual answer.

“He killed some. He didn’t like it when they broke too quickly. He’d say they were faking it to get on his good side. He also didn’t like the ones who wouldn’t break when he wanted them to. Sometimes, he’d come home in a rage and needsomeone to take it out on, and they were there. A handful of times, the girls died in their sleep.”

A tear falls, and I let it.

I’ve tried to be so strong this entire time. To know in the back of my head that the Ricci family is coming.

Matteo has power with the three families behind him, and I know that’s why it’s taking so long.

But I’m so close to giving up.

Close to becoming his perfect little fuck doll so that the beatings will cease.

“You’re the strongest one I’ve ever met,” she breathes, her hands moving through my hair and causing a tingle in my scalp. “He’s seen nothing like you, either. I’ve heard him say as much when he thinks he’s alone.”

I don’t like that. It means he’ll only grow more obsessed with breaking or keeping me. Either won’t go well for me.

“I don’t know how much longer I can be strong, Hannah,” I admit to the girl, not knowing if she’ll run back and tell her pseudo-father.

“Everyone has a limit,” she murmurs, grabbing the brush and working through the tangles in my hair.

Matteo likes it in a tight bun, so when I’m alone, I wear it down and wild to give my scalp a break.

“So, you’re here to push me along? To help him?” I can’t suss out if she’s more his victim or his lackey at this point.

“I only do as I’m told; you must understand that. I’m here to care for you and respond to your needs, but it’s true that I am also expected to guide you in furthering his cause.”

Of course, I knew it, but hearing it from her lips felt like a slap in the face. In the first few days of being out of the hospital bed, Hannah was the only thing I had that kept me alive. She wiped me when I couldn’t in the bathroom, showered me, and fed me, all while I was devoid of life.

I somehow pulled myself from the depths with thoughts of the life awaiting me when Luca came for me, but I don’t know how long I can stay afloat. Even now, each time I move against the gnawing pain, I feel as though I’m teetering on the fragile edge of a cavern without end. An emotional abyss.

Part of me wants to jump into the darkness and let it swallow me whole.

“Let’s get you ready, shall we? There’s a dinner tonight downstairs that Matteo wants you present for. We’ll need to cover those bags. And that bruise,” she adds, pointing to where Matteo had bitten me days ago. Though it’s fading, it’s still visible on my neck.

I nod. “Do what you must.”

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