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“And that was enough to keep you?”
“He locked me in the escape room that first night, but yeah. I didn’t choose to come here, but I wasn’t really trying to leave.”
“Why not?”
“I… I don’t know. It was only for the weekend.”
Richard nods, taking a sip of his drink. “What else did he do to you?”
My stomach twists and my hands clench. His question makes my skin crawl more than any of the stuff Silvan actually did to me.
When I don’t answer, his voice turns harder, and he cuts to the chase. “Did he rape you?”
Silvan’s used that word before and it didn’t trigger me, but hearing his father say it does. It feels much more like an interrogation and reminds me of last year with Dylan.
A moment ago, I cared about things like making some kind of impression on his father, but right now, all I care about is getting out of here.
I squeeze my eyes shut and try to breathe. My fists are clenched so painfully tight, my knuckles hurt.
Silvan grabs my shoulder. I shrug it off before I can think about it.
“Sophie?”
“I want to leave.”
“All right.” He puts his glass down on the table. “This is done,” he tells his father.
“Not yet,” his father says, his tone hard. “I’d like a moment alone with Sophie.”
My eyes pop open and widen. “What?” I look up at Silvan, horrified to find him thinking about it. I launch up and grab his shirt. “No. Silvan, don’t leave me here with him.”
Silvan grabs my shoulders to steady me. I can see he’s conflicted, but I don’t understand why.
Melanie stands, but she looks conflicted, too. That worries me even more. She leans down to whisper something in her husband’s ear, then she kisses the corner of his mouth the way Silvan kisses mine and comes over to get her son.
“Come on, honey. Just give them a moment. She’ll be fine.”
“Don’t leave me here,” I beg, clinging to Silvan’s shirt. “Please. I want to go home.”
Silvan looks distraught, but he pulls me in for a tight hug. He kisses the side of my head, then says softly, “I have to let him talk to you or I’m afraid he won’t let you leave at all. You’ll be fine, all right? Just let him know we’re good, and you’ll be fine.”
Are you serious?
I don’t say the words, but he can see the betrayal written all over my face.
He grabs my face and pulls me in for a fierce kiss. “I would never let anything happen to you, Sophie.”
I want to believe that, but I donotwant to be in a room alone with his father.
My wants don’t matter right now, apparently, because Silvan’s mom grabs his wrist to lead him out of the room.
And he lets her.
Chapter Thirty-three
Sophie
The study door closes, the metallic click of the door’s latch feeling like a lock sealing my fate.
