Page 49 of Cruel Deception
God. He’d locked someone here. Someone who had screamed so long, so hard, that her voice had corroded into a ghost.
I whispered through the wall, “I’ll help you. I swear, I’ll help you get out.”
But her voice faded. Quiet sobs. Then silence.
I pressed my hand to the cold wall and slid to the floor.
He was a monster.
No—he was the monster.
How had I ever believed I could survive this?
Vincent was right. Cassian had killed Nico without blinking. Had kidnapped his own brother at a wedding and planted a bomb. And now—now I was here, thrown into his prison like livestock.
I sank onto the concrete, curled in on myself.
I’m his wife, I reminded myself.
He can’t leave me here.
I’m his wife.
He has to come back for me.
But hours passed. Maybe days. I lost track of time. The narrow window high above gave no light. No clue of day or night.
I grew thirsty. Starving. Weak.
I tried to exercise—anything to stay sane. I stretched my legs, did slow squats, even weak jumping jacks—but every movement drained me. I couldn’t last. My head throbbed, my lips dried. I begged for water.
I screamed again. Hit the walls. Slammed my fists until the skin split.
No one came.
Eventually, I passed out. Then woke in panic. Then passed out again.
The cycle repeated—over and over.
I told myself: I’m his wife.
But even that began to lose meaning.
I started counting the cracks in the wall.
One.
Two.
Ten.
I don’t remember stopping. My mind itched. My lips cracked. The silence started talking back.
Sometimes I thought I heard footsteps. But it was just my heartbeat pounding in my ears, begging me to stay awake. Begging me not to slip.
I forgot my name at one point. Whispered it to the wall just to make sure it was still mine.
Then, one night—if it was night—I saw it.
