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"Raven?" I say her name again.
Finally, she speaks. "What do you think in your heart, Teddy?" She turns to look at me, her eyes swimming with tears. "Do you think I would do something like that?"
"If everything I've told you isn't enough," Carmine says, "we have video footage, Teddy. There's no escaping the truth. She conspired with the Irish, and she killed Marco."
I feel as if my world is splitting in two. The woman I love has betrayed me and my best friend has died all in the same moment. I sit down heavily on a bar stool, putting my head in my hands.
"We'll take her away," Enzo says, but I can barely hear him, I'm so caught up in my mind.
As Enzo approaches Raven, gently taking her arm to lead her away, she calls out to me, her voice laced with fear and desperation. "Teddy!"
But I'm too lost in my grief, too crippled by the thought of Marco's lifeless body, to respond. As she disappears from sight, doubt begins to take root, threatening to consume me entirely. And for the first time since we met, I find myself questioning whether I truly know the woman I love.
ChapterThirty-Three
I wake up in a dark, damp dungeon. The air is thick with the smell of rot and mildew, every breath making my stomach churn. The only light comes from a single flickering bulb above me, casting eerie shadows across the room. The walls are made of cold, rough stone and I can hear water dripping somewhere in the distance.
My ankle throbs with pain, and I realize that a heavy metal cuff binds me to the wall. The chain it's attached to clanks against the stone as I shift uncomfortably on the flimsy cot beneath me. It's barely enough to keep me off the freezing floor, but at least it's something.
How long have I been here? A day? Maybe more? My mind races, trying to piece together the events that led me here. The panic attack from being locked in a cage again has already come and gone, and I'm left with a hollow feeling in my chest. This was never supposed to happen to me, not after everything I've been through. And definitely not from Teddy.
"Teddy..." I mutter under my breath, my voice cracking with emotion. I loved him, still do. I thought he loved me too. So why didn't he stop them from doing this to me? His friend Marco was obviously important to him, but surely our love meant more than that?
The panic threatens to overtake me once more, and I struggle to keep it at bay. My breathing grows shallow as I focus on the drip-drip-drip of the water echoing around the room, trying to ground myself in the present. But it's hard to stay grounded when all I can think about is how much this feels like a betrayal.
"Why couldn't you see the truth?" The question hangs heavy in the air, unanswered and unforgiven. I can't help but wonder if there's any hope for us now, or if we're destined to be torn apart by the darkness that surrounds us.
I clench my fists, the anger and hurt fueling my resolve. I can't let this break me. I won't. I have to find a way out of here and make Teddy see that he's made a mistake.
"Help!" I shout into the void of the dungeon, my voice echoing back at me. The darkness seems to swallow my plea whole, and for a moment, I can almost convince myself that it'll reach Teddy's ears. But no one comes.
I think back to those men with Teddy, their cold eyes and cruel smirks as they dragged me down here. My heart clenches in my chest, torn between love and betrayal. How could he let them do this to me? I desperately cling to hope, praying that Teddy might come to his senses, even as the thought makes my head swim and my stomach churn.
"Maybe you should've fought harder," I whisper to myself, feeling the weight of my shattered trust in Teddy pressing down on me like a vise. "Told him you didn't do what they accused you of." But would he have believed me? Could he ever believe I'd betray him like that?
"Those bastards," I mutter under my breath, thinking of the men who accused me of having relations with the Irish. Declan had merely left the fundraiser early, recognized me from the dinner, and struck up a conversation. Sure, he was cordial, but I kept my guard up, remaining distant and cold. It was nothing more than a brief exchange.
"Video footage?" I scoff at the absurdity, my anger rising like bile in my throat. "How the hell could they have that?"
The silence of the dungeon envelops me once again, offering no answers. Frustration gnaws at my insides, leaving me feeling raw and vulnerable. I can't help but feel like I'm trapped in some twisted nightmare, haunted by the ghosts of my past.
"Teddy," I whisper into the darkness, my voice barely audible even to myself. "Please, just listen to reason."
As the hours drag on, the flicker of hope that Teddy will come to his senses grows dimmer and dimmer. And with each passing moment, I can feel myself slipping further away from the man I love, pulled inexorably into the cold embrace of despair.
"Raven?" The faint sound of my name pulls me from the depths, and I strain to hear it again.
"Father James?" I call out hesitantly, praying for a lifeline in this abyss of darkness. As his familiar figure emerges from the shadows, relief washes over me.
"Raven, what's happened?" Father James asks, his kind eyes filled with concern. "Why are you here?"
"Teddy... he let those men take me down here," I choke out, my voice cracking under the weight of everything.
"Are you hurt?" His gaze scans my body, searching for any signs of injury.
"I think I blacked out, but I don't think anyone touched me." I shudder at the thought.
"Raven, I thought things were going well between you and Teddy," Father James says gently, confusion evident in his voice.
