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“No.” I heard Connor’s feet shuffling. “Not yet, anyway. We just had a talk.”
I didn’t know if Connor was telling me the truth. For all I knew, he could have actually killed Devlin. If he was capable of kidnapping me and holding me prisoner, then he was certainly capable of a lot more than I ever realized.
Tasting Devlin’s blood brought some focus and clarity to my thoughts, even if it sickened me to have it on my lips. I needed answers. I didn’t want to die without knowing the truth, or at least having something to think about other than the chaos in my head.
“Did Devlin really have my father arrested?” I choked on my words, but I had to keep talking. I had to get as much information as he would give me before he left. “Was he responsible?”
“Honestly, dear Violet?” Connor took a step towards me. “I have no fucking idea.”
“But Georgia said…” It was so hard to speak--it was taking everything I had to make thoughts form words.
“Georgia was just following the script I wrote for her.” Connor’s words snapped in the air like a violent symphony. “She’s quite convincing when she’s doing what I tell her to do--right? It’s too bad it took her so long to learn how to be so fucking obedient--maybe I would have learned to love her if she didn’t have so much Cabot in her.”
“You…” There were so many things I wanted to call him, but I couldn’t make my lips form the words--maybe it was fear.
“But you, dear Violet.” Connor chuckled. “I’m not going to make that mistake with you. Your name will be on a contract. You won’t even remember what it means to be a Cabot when those ropes finally come off.”
“I’m not…” I tried to shake my head, but it didn’t happen.
“Not going to sign it?” He grabbed my arm and squeezed hard enough to hurt, but I was so numb it barely registered. “Is that what you were going to say?”
“Yes…” I attempted to put fire in my response, but it just came out like a weak little whimper.
“Do you know how much suffering a human body can endure before it allows you to die, dear Violet?” He squeezed harder--until I finally felt it. “So much suffering--and just when you think you’re going to die, I’m not going to let you. I’ll hook an IV to your arm and give you just enough sustenance to hold on…”
Connor’s threat was enough to tear another shred of humanity from my mind--like a layer being carved away with a rusty knife. I had to keep pressing him. I needed answers. If I ever did find a way to escape, what he told me could be the key to getting my father out of prison. Even in the depths of despair, I still remembered why I fell on my knees to begin with.
“Was it you, Connor?” I forced my lips to keep moving. “Did you set my father up?”
“Me? Connor laughed. “No. Cabot Enterprises won’t survive long enough for your father to stand trial. Would I shoot off my nose to spite my face?”
Deep down, even in the depth of torment and despair, I had the mental strength to process what he was saying and understand it was probably true. The only reason my father let Georgia date in the first place was because he was the son of his biggest investor at Cabot Enterprises. Connor still held those investments, along with a lot more, so it would have been senseless for him to bring down my father’s empire. He would have been jeopardizing his own in the process.
“Last chance today, dear Violet.” Connor’s voice got more intense. “Are you going to get down on your knees for me? Are you really going to let me leave here without having your name on a contract?”
“I will not sign it…” I met his intensity with all that I could muster.
“Then I’ll ask again--tomorrow, the day after, or maybe you won’t hear my voice again for a week. Did you hold on this long for Devlin? Or am I just special?” He walked to the door with heavy footsteps and slammed it.
I might have been weak, weary, and wounded, but I heard the difference in Connor’s tone when he finally gave up for the day. He was getting frustrated. I was suffering, but my suffering wasn’t in vain. I was slowly winning the battle of wills, even if I had lost the physical one in the backseat of his car. I just had to find a way to hold on until someone found me--or I figured out how to escape.
The idea of being kept alive by force didn’t sit well with me, but it was a mistake for Connor to play that hand. It gave me the narrowest glimpse of hope, because if I wasn’t going to die dangling from those ropes, then I was going to be able to keep fighting. I could endure the torment if that was what it took. He claimed my sister, but she was the only Cabot that would ever give herself to him.
