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“He had his own son beat me,” I tell her. “He is abusing your daughter, Belle. We can’t let him get away with this. I’ll never, ever forgive myself if I just stand by and watch this stuff happen.”
“Don’t,” Belle lets out a cry and grabs me by the shoulders just as I reach the door. “Miss Pandora. Please.”
It’s the first time she’s called me by that name, and it makes me stop in my tracks. I give her a questioning gaze as she lifts her hands off me, her whole body shivering as she pulls at the neckline of her blouse, undoing the buttons.
“You don’t understand what he’s capable of,” she mutters, her eyes on mine as she slowly pulls at her blouse. “You don’t know the kind of things he’d do to you – to me – if you told him what I told you.”
She finally peels back the fabric of the blouse, and I gasp when I see her skin finally exposed. It’s covered in welts and scars, the puckered skin red and angry. It looks like something boiling hot has been spilled all over her chest, which is permanently scarred not. And as if that’s not enough, her body is covered in bruises, scratches and cuts. She looks perfect in her uniform – beautiful and elegant. What lies beneath is another story altogether.
“He might not h-hurt you,” my maid stutters. “But he will hurt me and my daughter.”
“Belle, I…” I struggle with my response, digging my teeth into my lower teeth as she struggles to button the blouse back up with trembling fingers. “I can’t believe he’s done that to you. To Minnie. To me. To my mother. He’s a monster. We have to stop him.”
“We can’t.” She shakes her head, dusting her hands on her uniform once she’s done up her blouse. “Trust me, there’s nothing we can do. I tried running once, Miss Pandora. He brought me back, and I still have the marks to show for my disobedience.”
“It’s sick!” I cry out. “I can’t believe it; he’s just so fucking messed up…”
“I know things seem difficult now,” Belle says shakily. “But it will work out. I know it will. Mr. Booth’s got your back. He’s the only one that can help you. The only one your father will listen to – it was the same with Lily Anna.”
“Somehow I doubt that’s still the case,” I mutter, remembering how pissed off my father was with Dexter when he found us in Caspian’s house together. “Belle, I need to find my mother. I need to find out what happened to her, and I need to do it soon.”
“There’s someone who could help you with that,” the maid says after a moment’s pause.
“Who?”
“Easton Brantley,” Belle whispers. “He… he knows more than I do.”
“How is that possible?” I demand.
“His family helped cover it all up,” Belle goes on. “I’m sure there are records of everything kept in his father’s office. He’s your only hope, Miss Pandora.”
“We’ll see,” I say just as the door flies open and a looming, tall figure appears on my doorstep.
“Pandora,” he hisses, taking a step forward.
The room instantly feels smaller with my father in it, and my heart speeds up, panicking as I wonder whether he heard our conversation. If he did, both Belle and I are in big trouble.
“Yes?” I ask, hoping my voice doesn’t betray how nervous I am.
“I’ve spoken to Dexter Booth,” he says, the disgust plain in his voice when he says the boy’s name. “He’s an inconsiderate little prick, that boy. I don’t know why it took me this long to realize that. He’s never going to change. But he’s promised to keep…”
He glances at Belle, grimacing.
“What are you still doing here?” he roars. “Out. Right now.”
Belle scrambles to her feet and leaves the room in a hurry, leaving me alone with the beast. I’m trembling as my father advances on me, stopping only a few inches before he bumps into me.
“He’s promised to keep your secret,” he snarls in disgust. “Now we just have to make sure nobody else finds out what happened that night. You haven’t told anyone?”
“Of-of course not,” I stammer, blushing fiercely as I remember Easton’s hands wandering all over my body.
Fuck. My father can never find out about that.
“Good,” he says, the edge to his softening just a little. “That’s good. Not that it should matter now, anyway. I’ve called off your engagement to Booth.”
“You’ve… what?” I balk at him, unable to comprehend what he just told me. “We’re not engaged anymore?”
“No,” my father says simply. “It’s over. I’m going to need your ring back so I can return it to that son of a bitch who messed up everything.”
