Page 144 of Savage Don

In the blink of an eye, I’m on the floor, invisible dagger in my chest, heaving for my life.

Was that place ever my home? Or was it always just a cage?

I’m homeless…

No. Stop and think for a second, Francesca. Where are you now?

Is this my new home?

I’m in no state to think it through.

Father’s text has put me on a rollercoaster. And that rollercoaster has gone off the rails.

What is he trying to do to me?

I was almost fooled by the apology that he started off with. But then came the accusations, then came Sonia, then came the revelation that Ray was in trouble.

My chest seizes as I try to sit up straight, but my back is hunched over from the weight of what I just read. It was so much worse than the hopeful little note Ray left me on the bathroom door.

A path has been cleared for my escape…

What the hell does that mean?

Before I can even think to process it all, my phone buzzes again. It’s that same violent vibration as before.

Another emergency text.

Time is running out. Please, hurry. All you have to do is walk out of the front door.

The follow up is too intense, and I immediately shut off my screen and stuff my phone away.

Still, the message is burned into my brain.

Father wants me to escape. He truly doesn’t know that I’m not trapped. Ray said it last night, I could walk out of here whenever I want.

And part of me wanted to. But how could I give Ray up? How could I not let him lead me to ecstasy, to a future where I’m not just a pawn to be locked away.

… I could be a queen.

… Or, I could leave all of this behind and restart… right?

Before I even know what I’m doing, I’ve pushed myself back to my feet and started to stumble towards the bedroom door.

There isn’t a single inch of me that believes anything Father wrote after he mentioned Sonia’s name—including that last line, about loving me—but that doesn’t mean Ray is innocent in all of this.

He still wants to put a baby in me. I haven’t forgotten, no matter how hard I’ve tried to.

For all the hope he’s injected into my veins, there’s no getting around that. He wants me to have a child. How could I not love that child? How could I not raise it?

It’s just another way to trap me, to tie me to him…

That thought pushes me forward as I stumble down the stairs and towards the foyer. In the blink of an eye, my hand is reaching for the front door.

But I don’t pull it open.

Instead, I freeze.

What am I doing?