No alarm.
No horror.
No help.
Terror claws at my throat as Lucas shoves me forward.
“You’re lucky we’re doing this clean,” he mutters. “Mom was going to take care of it herself. Would’ve been messier.”
Behind us, I hear my mother’s low, cold voice barking orders.
I trip over a loose tile and fall hard to my knees. Pain flares up my legs, but I force myself up again, teeth gritted against the scream rising in my throat.
Think, Natalie. Think.
They’re going to hurt you.
They’re going to hurt the baby.
Fight.
I glance around wildly. One of the nurses approaches, holding a clipboard.
“You’ll need to sign?—”
“I’M BEING KIDNAPPED!” I scream at the top of my lungs, so loud it echoes off the dingy walls.
For a heartbeat, everything freezes.
And then Lucas slaps me. Hard. The crack of it rings through the clinic. I taste blood.
“Shut up,” he growls, grabbing me by the jaw so hard it feels like he might break it. “No one’s coming to save you, Nat.”
The nurses exchange glances but say nothing. The doctor chuckles softly under her breath, turning away.
I’m alone. Alone with monsters.
But somewhere, deep inside me, something stubborn, somethingferal,refuses to die.
I’m not giving up. Not for them. Not for anyone.
I stagger upright again, even as my knees threaten to buckle. “You’ll pay for this,” I rasp.
Lucas just smirks, yanking me toward a back room. Behind us, my mother follows.
“We have to complete the paperwork, Bridget,” the doctor who had just laughed says. “Lock her in one of the examination rooms. It’s going to take a while.”
“You can’t do this to me!” I scream. “This is murder. You’re murdering my child!”
“Shut up!” Lucas slams my head against the metal part of the gurneys, and the sharp pain is followed by a dazed feeling.
“The conservatorship papers are ready,” he says, dropping me to the ground. The two nurses grab me by the upper arms and drag me into the room, closing the door behind them. Whoever this medical staff is, they clearly don’t care about the law, or fear getting caught.
I lie there slumped on the ground, trying to move but unable to. My vision is flickering, but I can hear them talk outside.
“I’ve paid you enough to keep your mouth shut. Once the procedure is done, I have transportation on the way. It’s going to take her someplace else.”
“He won’t be able to challenge us?” I hear my mother ask.
