Chapter 5

Eliana's POV

"She's really shaken up," Dennis was saying. "She feels terrible about what happened."

"It was an accident," Philip replied. "She didn't know Eliana would react that badly."

I told them. I begged them.

The door opened and Martin walked in alone. He stood at the foot of my bed with his hands in his pockets.

"Doctor says you're fine. They'll discharge you tomorrow morning."

I turned my head to look at him. My throat was too raw to speak.

"Vivian's really upset. She had no idea you were that allergic and she's been crying all afternoon."

I found my voice. It came out as a hoarse whisper. "I told you. I begged you not to make me eat it."

"If you really didn't want it, you would have been clearer. The way you acted so suspicious and defensive made it seem like you were just being difficult because you're jealous of Vivian."

"You held me down and forced it into my mouth."

"We thought you were being dramatic." He shifted his weight. "Look, this whole thing has been hard on everyone, especially Vivian. She came back from hell and now she feels like she almost killed someone trying to be nice. The least you could do is apologize to her."

I stared at him. "Apologize?"

"For making her feel bad and causing all this trouble."

I laughed even though it hurt like hell but I couldn't stop.

"Get out."

Martin's jaw tightened. "Eliana—"

"GET OUT!"

He left and the door clicked shut behind him. I was alone again.

They brought me back to the estate the next day. I went straight to my room in the west wing and didn't come out for two days. The staff left meals outside my door but I barely touched them.

On the third day, I heard sirens.

Police cars at the estate weren't unusual when you lived with four rich powerful men, but something about the sound made my chest tighten with dread.

I crept downstairs and found all four of them in the foyer with two police officers. Vivian stood off to the side wrapped in a blanket even though it wasn't cold, looking small and frightened.

"We found these in Ms. Bailey's room," one officer was saying while holding up a clear evidence bag. Inside were strands of dark hair and what looked like nail clippings. "Ms. Bailey reported finding them this morning and suspected someone had been in her room without permission."

My blood turned to ice.

Martin's gaze snapped from the evidence bag to me, his eyes narrowing. "Eliana?" he said, his voice dangerously low.

"They're Eliana's." Vivian's voice was quiet but clear and she pointed at me standing on the stairs. "I recognize her hair and I've seen her looking at my room before, like she wanted to get in."

Four pairs of eyes turned to me.

"I've never been in your room. I'm not allowed on that side of the house."

"Then how did your hair get there?" Philip demanded.

"I don't know! Maybe someone put it there!"

"Who would do that?" Lawrence's tone was dangerous.

"Maybe she would!" I pointed at Vivian. "She's been setting me up since she got here!"

The officers exchanged glances. One of them cleared his throat. "We'll need to investigate further. In the meantime, we recommend increased security and perhaps some space between the parties involved."

After they left, the four men closed in around me.

"A storage room," Dennis said to the others. "Soundproof, no windows."

"Three days," Lawrence added. "Maybe that'll teach her."

"No! I didn't do anything! You have to believe me!"

Martin grabbed my arm. "We're done believing you."

They dragged me through the house and down a narrow hallway I'd never been in before. At the end was a small door and Philip unlocked it before they shoved me inside.

The space was tiny, maybe six feet by six feet, and completely dark. The walls were lined with some kind of padding that muffled sound and the air was stale and thick.

"Maybe this time you'll think about your actions," Philip said from the doorway with his silhouette backlit by the hall light.

"Please! Please don't leave me in here! I'm scared of the dark!"

"You should have thought of that before you tried to hurt Vivian."

The door slammed shut and the lock clicked.

Total darkness, total silence.

I felt my way along the walls with my hands until I found a corner and sank down into it, pulling my knees to my chest.

Hours passed or maybe minutes. I couldn't tell.

My eyes adjusted but there was nothing to see. The darkness was absolute, pressing against my eyeballs.

I tried to sleep but every time I started to drift off, a deafening alarm blared through hidden speakers. The sound was so loud it felt like it was splitting my skull open and I'd jolt awake with my hands clamped over my ears, screaming for it to stop.

Then silence again, just long enough for me to start relaxing.

Then the alarm.

Over and over and over.

By the second day I'd lost all sense of time. I was so thirsty my lips had cracked and bled. My stomach had stopped hurting from hunger and just felt hollow.

I started seeing things in the darkness, shapes moving, faces forming and dissolving. Sometimes I heard voices.

On the third day, the voices became clearer.

"Eliana." A woman's voice, soft and sad. "My baby girl."

I lifted my head from where I'd been resting it on my knees. "Mom?"

A figure appeared in front of me, a woman with kind eyes and dark hair who reached out her hand.

"I've been waiting for you," she said.

"You're not real. You're not real and I'm seeing things."

"Come with me. It's time to rest."

I reached for her hand but my fingers passed through empty air.

The alarm blared again and she vanished.

I screamed until my voice gave out completely and I was just gasping and sobbing silently in the dark.

When the door finally opened, the light was blinding. I couldn't see who it was at first.

"Get up."

Dennis's voice.

I tried to stand but my legs wouldn't support me. I collapsed forward and he caught me, cursing under his breath.

"Acting crazy won't help you," he muttered.

My fingers grabbed onto his shirt with what little strength I had left. "Why are you doing this to me..."

He didn't answer. He just looked down at me with something in his eyes I couldn't read anymore. Maybe disgust, maybe regret.