“Brooke,” she smiles, her voice smooth and vicious. “You stupid bitch. You’re lucky my son even looked twice your way.”
My hands clench despite the guards’ grip.
“And now you’re going to suffer,” she continues. “As soon as we find Seth, we are going to kill him on sight. We don’t need to wait for some public execution in a prison cell.”
She leans slightly closer to the camera.
“After he’s dead, we’ll let you see the footage. Then we’ll kill you too.”
Her lips curve.
“You fucked with the wrong family, you little slut. Now let’s see if that mouth can stay shut long enough to not drown.”
The room feels colder.
Elliot gives a satisfied nod. Kristie settles back in her chair, watching.
I don’t realize the guards have shifted until their hold tightens.
One yanks my arms behind my back. Another locks an arm around my waist and drags me toward the pool.
“Don’t fucking touch me!”
I twist hard and drive my heels into the tile, but my legs give out almost immediately. Pain rips through my ribs and spine. I kick once, but I can’t break free.
They haul me forward. My wrists burn. The restitched skin along my back pulls tight with every step.
I can’t do this.
Not with her watching. Not with Seth’s life hanging in their hands.
Not with our baby inside me.
The edge of the pool looms closer. The water glows an artificial blue beneath the fluorescent lights. It looks clean. It looks harmless. It isn’t.
I turn my head toward the screen. Kristie is still there watching.
Before I can scream, the guards shove me forward.
I hit the water hard. The cold slams into me and knocks the breath from my lungs before I can seal my mouth.
I break the surface choking, hair plastered to my face, arms scrambling for balance.
“Hold her,” Elliot says calmly.
Sophie steps in without hesitation. She grips the back of my head.
“Hold your breath,” Sophie calls sweetly.
Then she shoves my head under.
The water seals over me like a tomb. I thrash once, instinct, but then I force myself still. No oxygen. No wasted movement. I clench my jaw tight and hold it.
The cold bites into every inch of exposed skin, turning pain sharp. My spine arches as the temperature shocks my system, but I lock down.
Hold. Just hold.
The lights beneath me shift and shimmer, warping my reflection into a thousand broken pieces. The pool is beautiful. It doesn’t look like somewhere someone should die.
