Page 8 of Cruel Love
I should have known better.
She gripped my arm painfully, her nails digging into my flesh.“And soyou should be. You’ve been claimed by James Carter, and he is someone you don’t want to anger. If you think my punishments were bad over the years, they will benothingcompared to what Mr. Carter will do to you if you don’t behave. If you want to survive him, Willow, you will do whatever he asks of you, do you understand what I’m telling you?”
My bottom lip wobbled. I understood perfectly well what she wastelling me, and the realization of what lay ahead made bile churn in my stomach.
Being practically invisible in the house gave me an opportunity to gaininformation others weren’t privy to. Staff at the house believed I wasn’t listening when they held conversations, but I was always listening.
A shudder passed through me at recalling what I had heard twoweeks ago about Mr. James Carter. The staff had spoken freely about how brutal he was, and how he was known in inner circles asThe Executioner.
When he’d visited Peartree House two weeks ago, he’d rejectedevery girl he’d seen, and left disappointed. Or so we were told. Ordinarily, it wouldn’t have been a problem if a man left disappointed, it happened at times, but James Carter was one of the key members who funded the program.
Rumor had it that he was furious his money was being spent on aprogram where the assets weren’t meeting expectations.
So why then, had he claimed me? If none of the other girls had methis expectations, I certainly wouldn’t. It didn’t make sense.
Not giving me a chance to reply, Ms. Milligan dragged me down thestairs, my feet slipping several times as I tried to keep up with her while the unimaginable terror weighed me down.
How had I gone from being promised I’d never leave Peartree Houseto being handed to a man known to murder people?
When we reached the bottom, Ms. Milligan let go of my arm.“Willow,you will go with these men. Do what they say, when they say, and do not speak to them.”
With a final sneer at me, she turned and headed back up the stairs.
That was it. Eight years of being by her side.
Her goodbye to me.
It was more than what Director Welch had said, he was nowhere tobe seen.
“Mr. Carter is waiting,”one of the men said, grabbing the bag from meand pulling open the front door.
“After you,”another man said, indicating for me to exit.
My legs felt like they had been buried in slabs of concrete as I mademy way out of the house and down the three steps to where a big, black SUV awaited. One of the men opened the back door and waved a hand indicating for me to get in.
Reluctantly, I did, the knot in my stomach tightening so much that Icould barely breathe. If there was a slim hope of me trying to throwmyself out of the car once it started moving, that hope died when two of the men got in on either side of me, blocking me in.
The other two men took the front seats, and the engine rumbled tolife. Within seconds, we were speeding away from the only place I’d known for the past eight years.
The next few hours passed by in a blur, the only thing I could focuson was the overwhelming fear that had taken up residence deep inside me. After we’d driven away from Peartree House, the men took me to anairport to board a private jet. I was escorted into a bedroom where a sandwich and a bottle of water awaited.
Before the man locked me in the bedroom, he ordered me to eat, andinformed me that the flight would take several hours, but he didn’t say where we were flying to, and with Ms. Milligan’s warning ringing in my head, I didn’t dare ask.
I ate the sandwich, or as much as I could given that every mouthfulfelt like I was swallowing razorblades, before lying down on the bed to consider my new predicament. Emotional exhaustion soon won over though, and before I knew it, I was awoken by a knock on the door.
The same man who’d escorted me to the bedroom opened the door,and shoved a pile of clothes in my hand, along with a pair of ballet pumps, telling me to get changed, and that we were landing shortly.
When the plane landed, and the man came to collect me, I’d changedinto a form-fitting white dress which stopped just below my knees and had lacy white sleeves.
The dress was beautiful, and as I’d been pulling it on, I tried toremember the last time I wore a dress. It certainly wasn’t at Peartree House, I was only allowed to wear clothes that covered as much of my skin as possible. I must have worn dresses as a little girl, but if I did, I didn’t remember.
Years of pain and brainwashing had made me forget my life before Iarrived at Peartree House. I couldn’t even remember the names of my parents, and if I ever tried to recall my past, the scars marring my back would start burning until I was writhing in agony, so I never let myself think about who I was before my tenth birthday.
From the plane, I was put into another car, once again flanked bythe men. The tinted windows of the SUV were too dark for me to see out, and aside from flashes of trees and mountains from the front windshield, I was completely clueless as to where we had landed.
By the time the car came to a stop outside an enormous house, theafternoon sun was beginning to set. The place was a stark contrast to Peartree House. Where Peartree House had been built in the 1800‘s, and had weathered over the years, the house I was staring at was sleek and modern, with sharp edges and windows. Although, it looked as if it was just as big as Peartree House.
The car door was opened by a man waiting on the steps wearing asharp black suit, his grey hair slicked back. The men who’d escorted me got out, one indicating for me to follow.
