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JACK
“What the hell is she doing?” Logan is captivated as he watches everything unfold right in front of us, and it’s completely out of our control.
I want to go to her, but I’ll miss too much running down the halls.
Dana is with her, and I know she’ll do everything she can to protect her friend.
“She’s trying to take back her memories,” I whisper to Logan so no one else can pick it up. It doesn’t matter; no one is paying attention to the two of us anyway. Jessa has tapped into Maxwell’s anger, and he isn’t going to let her get away with it. “She’s pushing him to reveal everything she doesn’t remember.”
“I hope this doesn’t backfire, Jack.” Logan adjusts his screen directly in front of him so he can take everything in.
Then, through the security feed, I hear Jessa. She sounds stronger than I’ve ever heard her, and it rattles me to my core. “Who’s the little bitch now?”
As soon as her words are out, I know Maxwell’s ego will give her exactly what she’s asking for.
“You’ll regret this, Jessa. You and your little buddy, Zane, belong to me. I’m here to generously coordinate your release, and this is how you speak to me? Very well. If you want a reminder, who am I to deny such a lovely request?” Then, with an evil sneer, he continues his tirade. “You brought this on yourself.”
Reaching forward to his own laptop, Maxwell jabs at a couple of keys, and a video abruptly fills the screen. It’s clear this was part of his plan all along; he was always going to play this video.
She’s here with me, and it’s eating him alive. Of course he’s going to show me what he did to her, and my stomach drops as a younger Jessa comes into focus.
She’s sitting in a room with two men standing on either side of her. Maxwell is seated across from her as he asks questions about Zane, and Jessa was right. There is no fire, curiosity, or intensity. He doesn’t have the same interest that Logan did when he questioned her.
He’s consumed by something else. It’s almost as though her answers are irrelevant.
Jessa’s posture is passive. She’s trying her best not to challenge him with her answers, and he is growing more frustrated with each question. Then the video jumps ahead to Maxwell ordering his men to take her outside.
My heart lurches at the sight of Jessa’s fallen face. She doesn’t understand what’s going on, but she cooperates.
The video fades to black for a moment, then comes back on. They are outside now, and feet shuffle along the ground. They stop, and as the camera is raised, I see where Jessa spent almost two days.
Iron bars surround her, and the ground inside the cage is damp and muddy, while the dirt outside is dry. They put all of the dogs in one cage and placed her in another, and she stood in piss and shit, barefoot, unable to kneel or sit on the ground.
“Tell me you belong to me.” Maxwell’s tone is manic.
Jessa is confused. “What?”
“You heard me. Tell me you are mine, Jessa.”
I’m sickened by his words. I knew how he felt about her, but I never thought he would be capable of this, not with someone he claimed to care about.
“N-no.”
“You’ll feel differently after a night out here.” Maxwell lifts his hand to the lens to stop the footage.
When the video cuts in, it’s the same scene, but, judging by the darker surroundings, it’s later in the evening.
“Please can I have something to eat? Some water?” Jessa’s pale fingers clutch the bars, and she speaks into the camera as her teeth chatter together.
“Tell me you belong to me.” The words are the same, but his tone is different now. It’s as though her answer no longer matters to him. He’s already decided that she is his. He’s just waiting for her to tire herself out to the point of surrender. “Kneel down and tell me you are mine.”
Jessa lowers her gaze to the damp ground. Her fingers are still wrapped around the bars, holding her to the side of the cage. When she raises her head back up, her brows are furrowed. She has no idea what he’s asking. He’s already decided her fate. Her educated consent is inconsequential to him.
As if finding a hidden reserve of fight, Jessa stands up to Maxwell. She hasn’t noticed that she’s no longer speaking with the boy she knew in school.
“I will never kneel down for you.”
“Have it your way, Jessa. Just remember I gave you a chance. I offered you a different life than this.”
