Chapter 10

TEN

Iwake up slowly, feeling groggy. Every inch of my body hurts, but it’s the pain in my soul that has me crying out. Once, where my sister existed, there is nothing. She was ripped away, and the pain is so acute, I pass out again.

I’m dying from a broken heart.

She’s gone.

I drift between consciousness and sleep, struggling with the pain.

She’s gone, and I don’t want to wake up again. I don’t want to live in a world without her. Out of all the things my father has done, he finally did what he always wanted—he broke me.

I would gladly beg and give everything I have to get her back. All the pain I endured as a child was to protect her, and now she’s gone, and it was all for nothing. We changed nothing, and we saved no one.

She’s gone.

I can almost hear her laughter here and feel her chasing me through the woods. I want to stay here forever with her in this place where she exists, where she didn’t die for me. We are happy here, and we have a normal life.

The world doesn’t give a fuck about my pain, though, so it drags me back, kicking and screaming. I wake with a gasp, jerking upright before struggling against something binding me. Panic slithers through me as I twist and turn blindly, fighting whatever it is.

“You are going to hurt yourself if you do not calm down.”

Lights blare to life, and it’s then that I realise I’m strapped to an operating table. The room is sterile, half empty, and clinical, and my father stands at the door. He watches me with an impassive expression as he wanders over.

“You killed her,” I whisper.

“She was useless to me. Let that be a reminder, Nova. Do not become the same. If you want to live, then do as I say and we won’t have a problem, little girl.” The smile he gives me is pure evil.

“Did you ever love us? We were your children,” I ask numbly.

He hesitates, his gaze going far away. “I suppose I did, in a detached sort of way. I loved the attention you brought me, the normality, the cover, and the accolades. Is that the same thing? I suppose not. I always knew I was not capable of such emotions. They are a hindrance, after all, but if it makes you feel better, Nova, I will miss Ana. She had a very capable brain.”

“She was your daughter!” I scream at him.

He watches me struggle against my restraints with a patient and cold expression. “And now she is dead. It is a pity. Had I known the strength of your attachment, I would have kept her alive to make you more . . . compliant. Nevertheless, we will find a way.”

“Fuck you! I will kill you all!” I scream, the numbness morphing into pure fury for a moment.

“I hope you keep your fight because it’s most entertaining,” is all he says. “Now, shall we carry on where we left off?” He picks up a collar, and I close my eyes in horror.

* * *

I’m dragged, limp and covered in my own blood and vomit, down the white tiled corridor. It’s dark and when we step through each section, bright overhead lights flicker on. I cannot even lift my head, legs, and arms as I hang between two men who haul me over to a door, grunting as they open it.

Every part of me hurts just as much as my soul aches. I deserve it, and it almost takes away from losing her. I wish I passed out, but I didn’t. I felt every incision and test he ran on me. I felt it all, and now I’m suffering from my father’s cruel touch.

The door beeps and unlocks, and they drag me in, dumping me unceremoniously onto a single cot screwed to the back wall. The room is small, barely enough to walk in, with just a bed, the door, and another door to the left, which is open to reveal a small bathroom. A camera blinks its red light in the corner, pointing at me.

“I don’t understand the fascination. She broke as easily as the others,” one says with a laugh as they step out. The door slams shut with a click, letting me know it’s locked, and then the lights go out, plunging me into darkness where I can finally break.

I bet they are listening, so I cry silently, tears tracking down my face as I turn and bury my head against the wall. Grief and agony rock through my body as I drag my legs to my chest and bury my head in my knees as I shake and cry.

I don’t even know if the guys are alive or if they are okay, and the thought sends my heart plummeting to my stomach. What if he killed them? What if they are all gone?

What if I’m all alone in the world once again?