Valerie raised her bloodshot eyes, the dried lines of tears starkly contrasting her pale face. As Maya walked into the room with a bucket, the air, heavy with the scent of decay and rot, a mix of musty dampness, making Valerie's stomach churn.
She blinked slowly, her gaze fixed on Maya, whose expression was a mask of mockery and condescension. Valerie tried to speak, but the tape across her mouth muffled her voice. She shifted uncomfortably on the floor, her wrists and ankles straining against the ropes. Her mind twirled with trepidation and fear of death as Maya's eyes locked onto hers, cold and unyielding.
"Do you want to say something?" Maya asked, her lips curled into a smirk as she let down the bucket.
Valerie quickly nodded and stopped thrashing around. Seeing this, Maya stepped forward and mercilessly yanked the tape from one end, taking pleasure in Valerie's flinch.
Maya then went ahead to pull out the gag from Valerie's mouth and said, "You have two minutes to say whatever you want to. Mind you, don't beg for water and food. You're meant to eat once a day."
Valerie's mouth was sore and tired, her lips chapped. She needed about a minute for the pain from being gagged for hours to subside before she could talk, leaving her with just a minute to say something meaningful.
"I – I'm pregnant." Valerie said, her voice shaking and low.
She hoped that would soften Maya's heart. Valerie had a faint belief that Maya still had a soft spot in her heart. Only a totally heartless person would hurt a pregnant woman.
Maya was taken aback, "Are you lying to me?" she questioned, glaring at Valerie.
Valerie quickly shook her head, "I swear on my life. I'm four weeks pregnant. Please, Maya, help me to escape. I promise, I won't speak of what you've done, I'll pay you double of what Zoey is giving you. Please, save my baby." Valarie wept. She was sincerely begging and also had no intention of bringing Maya to account. After all, Maya was only trying to survive, she thought.
Maya seemed to think about it for a couple of seconds, then let out a boisterous laughter, "Are you playing with me, Valerie?"
Valerie was stunned for a moment, then shook her head again. She was frightened and helpless. She's heard Zoey tell her henchmen that Valerie must be killed once she gave the order.
Valerie didn't want to die and decided to bank on Maya. "I'll give you one million dollars and help you with a visa to leave the country. Please, save me, Maya."
Maya's heart stirred at the mention of one million dollars. Her hand moved, and she swallowed greedily. However, the next moment, she lifted her hand and landed a heavy slap across Valerie's face. The slap echoed in the quiet room for a few seconds, sending Valerie into a stupor. Her cheek burned, but that was the least of her problem.
"What do you think I am? An idiot? You've been stripped of all your inheritance. You don't have any money!" Maya gritted her teeth. How dare Valerie play her? For a moment, she fell for Valerie's lies. Enraged that Valerie almost fooled her, she grabbed Valerie by the neck. Staring into her eyes, she spat, feeling irritated, "You planned to cause a fight between Miss Zoey and me, you cunning bitch!"
Valerie was choking, her eyes bulged as she gasped for air. Maya released her hold when she felt Valerie could die any moment. Zoey said she wasn't done having fun, so, Valerie can't be killed just yet.
"I —" Valerie coughed and tried to speak again, "I wasn't lying to you. If... If you help me, I'll tell my dad everything that Zoey did to me, and he'll, he'll – "
"Are you so stupid, Valerie?" Maya questioned, staring at Valerie like she was an idiot. "Do you think that your father would believe you?"
Valerie stared at Maya in stunned silence. If she went to her father in her current disheveled state, he would surely believe her. Would he not? Valerie also wasn't sure.
"Let me tell you something, Valerie. After you were kidnapped, I don't know what happened, but your father threw a great fit. He was extremely mad at you. I'm sure he would hang up on you the moment he heard your voice." Seeing the skeptical look on Valerie's face, Maya asked, "You don't believe me?" she laughed and pulled out Valerie's phone from her pocket. "Here, call Mr. Wright. If you can convince him, and he agrees to save you, then I'll help you."
Valerie's eyes widened, a bolt of joy shot through her, "Are you saying the truth?"
Maya scoffed, "Of course. Who wouldn't want a million dollars?" She said and shoved the phone into Valerie's hands. "Call your dad and leave it on speaker."
Valerie doubted that her father would take her seriously, but decided to be positive. No matter what, she was her father's only child. Quickly, she dialed her father's number. But what she didn't expect was the possibility of her father not answering the call. Valerie called him more than ten times and none were answered.
"I told you so," Maya laughed.
Just as she was about to take back the phone, Valerie cried out, "Wait! Let me call my uncle! Uncle Robert wouldn't ignore me."
"Who? Your mother's brother? Didn't you frame him for rape and have him locked up because he punched Mr. Harry...?" Maya clicked her tongue and shook her head, "You're so naive." She snatched the phone back and gagged Valerie's mouth again, then taped it and stood up. "I gave you a chance. It appeared you can't poach me." Taking a few steps back, she carried the bucket of iced water and emptied it all on Valerie while smiling.
"I hope you take this lesson to your grave, Valerie. Miss Zoey and her mother are not the type of people you can afford to offend." With that, Maya sauntered out of the room, laughing like a villain.
Valerie's body shuddered violently as the icy water dripped from her hair and clothes, seeping into her bones. The cold was like a thousand knives stabbing her skin, leaving her breathless and trembling. Her jaw clenched, and her muscles cramped with each convulsive shiver.
The shock of the cold water had taken her breath away, leaving her lungs burning and her chest aching. She balled her fist and curled up on the floor, as tears filled her eyes and her heart bled with regret. She didn't know what was more painful.
Harry's betrayal, her father's negligence, her stepmother and stepsister's evil, or her own stupidity, for cutting ties with her maternal family, just for Harry.
As the water continued to drip from her, Valerie's thoughts grew foggy and disjointed. As numbness crept over her, her eyes blurred, still, Valerie's mind registered the pain and discomfort. She tried to move away from the pool of water, but she couldn't.
Suddenly, she felt her stomach churn with a dull, heavy ache, like a weight was settling inside her. A wave of nausea washed over her, and she felt a strange, unsettling sensation, like her insides were shifting and twisting. The pain was diffuse, yet intense, making her feel like she was losing control. Her abdomen felt tender and vulnerable, as if it was bruised from the inside out. The sensation was both familiar and foreign, leaving her feeling disoriented and frightened.
The pain grew sharp, and Valerie felt like screaming. She twisted and turned, rolled on the cold floor and just then, a heavy warm liquid gushed out from in between her thighs.
Blood!
As the moments ticked by, Valerie's body began to succumb to the pain. Her thoughts grew cloudy and distant. She felt herself slipping away, lost in a sea of ice and darkness.
"Miss Valerie, that's enough, you'll kill her!" Aunt Martha's panicking voice jolted Valerie back to reality.
Valerie let go of Maya's hair and Maya's body fell limply on the cold floor. No one knew if she was still breathing.
"Miss Valerie, you're crying." Aunt Martha's sorrowful voice drifted into Valerie's ears. Valerie subconsciously touched her face and just then, she realized that her face was wet with tears. She wiped it with a bitter smile on her lips.
The pain of losing one of her babies had always been a gaping wound that refused to heal, a constant reminder of her suffering and the cruel fate that had taken away Ruby's twin... Valerie didn't even get the chance to know the gender of that child.
Valerie's eyes welled up again as she thought about the what-ifs and the memories she would never get to make with her little one.
Aunt Martha's gentle hand on her shoulder brought her back to the present, and Valerie took a deep breath, trying to compose herself, but the tears kept falling like rain.
Her eyes could shed tears, but the pain in her heart couldn't be shed. Valerie had not even had the time to suppress her heartache when a thunderous roar drifted from the stairs.