Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 66503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
So I scream and raise my hands. “Look at me!”
When he does, there’s only regret in his eyes. He can’t even look at the scars on my hands.
“This is what it’s all about. Me. You wanted to fix me, and you spent all of your money and Lex’s money to get it done. But it didn’t work. And now you blame me.”
“I did everything for you!” he says through gritted teeth. “All my hard work, all the pain, all the suffering. For you!”
His words hurt.
“And you’re not even a little bit grateful,” he growls.
I shake my head, incensed he’d even say that. “I was …” I reply under my breath. “And I tried so hard not to break.” I look up into his eyes that are filled with as much hatred as I feel in my soul right now. “Do you even know what they did to me? Where they locked me up?”
He doesn’t respond so I continue.
“In a tiny cell underneath the house. No bed. No food. No sunlight.”
He swallows. “Thanks to that Beast.”
“You know who else was there with me in that darkness?” I grind my teeth. “That Beast.”
My misery has turned into an uncontrollable anger I don’t recognize in myself.
“He brought me back to Lex because he would’ve died if he didn’t. He was as much a prisoner as me,” I say, and I get up from the floor. “But you … you left me in that cell to die. Not once did you attempt to save me.”
He merely grits his teeth, like he can’t even stomach a reply or show me even a semblance of regret.
“All those things you said in that warehouse …” I mutter to myself, but I know he heard.
“I said and did what I had to, to survive. Just like you,” he scoffs, offended.
“You called me a monster,” I say.
My father snorts like he can’t fathom even thinking about it, let alone saying it out loud.
But he did.
He called me a monster because he thinks I’m ugly.
And I won’t forget.
“We both did everything we could to live. You did some awful things too. I heard Lex. He said you told him you’d help him find me.”
My eyes widen, and I quickly march past him.
“Don’t you fucking run away from me now, Aurora,” he barks behind me.
“I’m done with this conversation,” I retort. I grab one of the keys and stuff it into my pocket.
“Where are you going?” he asks, trying to block my way, but I shove him aside.
He instantly hisses from the pain in his wounds, but I don’t care.
All the respect I once had for him has vanished.
“Out.”
I don’t even think about the consequences, as I head right back to the same warehouse where my father was caught and almost killed.
I know it’s dangerous as hell, and that I’m doing something really, really stupid. But I need to know if he’s okay. If he’s … alive.
I swallow back the nerves as I make my way across the street, glaring at everyone who even dares to cross my path. I don’t know who can be trusted, so I opt not to trust anyone at all. Everyone could be a spy, a guard, or a friend of Lex’s.
I slither through an alley and come out in the same port where all the warehouses are. I don’t remember exactly what warehouse it was, but I can retrace my steps.
When I pass the alley where I found my father behind the dumpster, I know I’m on the right track.
My heart begins to palpitate as I make my way along the docks, carefully checking my surroundings to make sure no one sees me. I don’t want to get caught by Lex’s henchmen.
When someone passes by, I hide behind a metal container and wait until there’s no more sound before I continue.
I sneak across the pavement and along the sides of the buildings until I finally reach the one I remember. The mere sight of its doors makes my skin crawl, but I still go inside. Every step I take makes my heart beat faster and faster. I look around again to make sure no one’s there, but it’s the middle of the night, and it would be strange for anyone to be working now. Besides, this warehouse is owned by my father. Or was, before Lex ransacked it.
Lots of the boxes filled with marihuana, money, guns, and other drugs are gone now. They emptied the place. The only thing left is that same chair in the middle of the warehouse.
And blood.
Lots of blood.
I push away the nerves and go to my knees, checking out the locations of the puddles. Most of them I remember from the attacks Beast made on the guards. But one of them … right in front of the chair … that’s new.