Page 82 of The Lies That Shatter
“I agree to the terms of your deal, Melanie. I promise you that by the end of her time with me, she will be ruined for all other men. Nobody will be able to look at her without being repulsed.And I will destroy all her holes so badly, sex will be the last thing on her mind,” Mortimer says, without taking his eyes off me.
My heart races, and even though I try to remain calm, I can feel myself gasping for breath. The rapid rise and fall of my chest makes it very obvious that I’m panicking, and I hate that my plan is falling apart so easily. I try to think of Finn, of happier times. I know I’m going to need to hold on to those moments if I want to survive this.
Mel’s grin widens. “Good, that’s exactly what I want. And in exchange, you will return my daughter to me within the week. You will ensure she stays by my side and agrees to fulfil her duties. I have a few potential marriage suitors in mind, and I would like to get moving with that.
“When you bring her home, I hope she fully understands the expectations we have for her. I want all this other mess put behind us. She cannot play mother to some bastard child, whilst living in sin with a man who isn’t worthy of her title any longer.
“I expect her to be married, with a child, by the end of next year. I have allowed you too much flexibility in the past, and as such, this situation has dragged on too long. Now gossip is spreading, and our image is being brought into question. I can’t allow that, Mortimer. If I give you this whore, you will fulfil this agreement. Yes?”
Holy shit, she’s talking about Mia. She’s not selling me for money, she’s buying back her daughter. I have no idea how Mortimer plans to get Mia back, as there’s no way in hell she would leave Kellan and Hallie behind.
I barely know the girl, but you only have to be in the same room as them for a short space of time to see they’re a family. Mia isn’t just playing at being Hallie’s mum—she is her mum, in all the ways that matter, and there’s no way in hell she’d leave them behind.
Mortimer waves his wife off with the flick of his hand, like he’s barely even listening to her. “Yes, yes. I know your demands, and I’ve already promised you, Mia will be home by the end of next week. I thought I could persuade her to leave, to come home of her own free will, but that’s clearly not going to happen. Those disgusting people have messed with her brain, and she thinks she needs them. I have a plan in place, but it’s much messier than I would have liked. The only way she will agree to come home is if there’s nothing left for her to stay for. So I will take out the man and the baby, and she will have to return.”
I gasp before I can stop myself, and both sets of eyes fly towards me. Before I made a noise, it’s almost like they forgot I was even here. But now I know they plan on killing Kellan and Hallie, and I have to do something to stop them. I have no idea what, but I know the entire Doughty family will never recover if anything were to happen to them.
Mel looks down at me with disgust before addressing her husband. “Now you will have to take care of it before you set her free. Don’t want her opening her slutty mouth and ruining the plan, do we?”
Mortimer’s face lights up as he stares at me. “Don’t worry, when I’m finished with her, she won’t be able to speak for a week. I plan to make very good use of her mouth and throat.”
Mel doesn’t reply, she simply spins on her heel and heads back out the door. Just as she’s closing it, she turns her head over her shoulder and looks straight at me. Her icy stare sends a shiver down my spine. “Try not to enjoy yourself too much, whore. And remember, nobody messes with Melanie Whitlock and gets away with it.”
Her soft chuckle echoes down the corridor as she slams the door closed behind her. I can still hear the clacking of her heels as she retreats down the hallway, leaving me alone with a man who makes my skin crawl.
“I guess it’s just you and me now,” Mortimer says, as he sits down on the edge of the bed beside me.
I try to shuffle away, but the bindings around my limbs are so tight, there’s no room for movement. His smile grows as he watches me, and I remind myself that he’s getting off on this.
I need to make sure he doesn’t win. So, I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and try to gather my nerves. I begin counting in my head, one number at a time, to help claw back the last few scraps of my dignity.
“I’ve paid a high price for you, but I have a feeling you will be worth every penny,” he says, before he places his hand on my bare stomach.
Lightly, he traces his fingers around my belly button, and I keep my eyes clenched shut as I ball my hands into fists. My skin itches as my body fights against its natural reactions. I’ve always been incredibly ticklish, but the horror of the situation is forcing my body and my mind to wage a war. I have to stop my body from reacting, or he might think I’m enjoying myself.
As he moves his fingers higher, tracing the underside of my bra, I dig my nails into the palm of my hand, hoping the stinging pain will be enough to distract me.
When his hands leave my body, I almost want to breathe a sigh of relief, but I know that would be premature. There’s no fucking way he’s done with me. But, I don’t want to give him any power over me, so I keep my eyes squeezed shut, and instead, I just listen. However, when I hear a flicking-type sound, my eyes fly open of their own accord.
My brows fly upwards as my eyes widen when I see Whitlock holding a flip blade. The light from the bulb above us is glistening off the steel blade, and even though it’s not the biggest knife, I can see how sharp it is from here.
Mortimer chuckles as he watches me stare at the knife. “I don’t think we will be needing these, do you?” he says, as he pulls on the strap of my bra that’s resting over my left shoulder.
Before I can even process what he’s doing, he cuts the strap with the knife, and repeats the process with the right side. Then, he carefully places the tip of his blade above my belly button. The cool metal shocks my overheated skin, and a gasp claws free from my throat.
Slowly and gently, Mortimer scrapes the tip of the knife up my abdomen, leaving a little raised red bump along my skin as the blade grazes me—not enough to slice the skin, but enough to mark me—until he reaches the underside of my bra. He then turns the knife on its side, so the flat edge of the blade is touching me now, and he slides it underneath my bra, in between my breasts.
He pauses there for a moment, his gaze flicking from my face down to where the shiny blade sits between my tits, underneath my bra. Then, without hesitation, he turns the knife so the sharp edge is facing upwards, and he pulls, slicing through my lace bra like it was made of butter.
The fabric falls apart, and as the straps are no longer holding the cups in place, they drop from my body, landing on the bed in numerous pieces, leaving my chest completely exposed. Shame burns in my eyes as I try to block out the lecherous way his eyes leer at my breasts.
Once he’s pulled the pieces of lace away from my body, throwing them behind him onto the floor, he continues tracing patterns against my skin with the tip of his knife, the smile on his face growing as I try not to squirm. There’s no fucking way I’m giving him what he wants.
As the blade drags up my throat, I freeze. Self-preservation reminds me that if I move even the slightest bit while he’s got a sharp knife against my throat, I’m dead.
I’m ashamed to admit, for a fraction of a second, the darkness takes hold and I wonder if that might be the best possible outcome. At least if I die now, I won’t have to live through whatever torture he has planned. I won’t face a life tainted by this experience, and I won’t have to see the look on Finn’s face when he gets here too late.
I have no doubt in my mind that he will get here, he will come for me, but it’s glaringly obvious that he won’t get here soon enough to save me completely.
