The wall didn’t give easily. It was as if it had been sealed shut for years, resisting my every effort. I grunted with the strain, my muscles burning as I pushed and pulled, desperation lending me strength. But it wouldn’t move. I felt the panic rising in my chest, threatening to suffocate me.
But I couldn’t give up. I couldn’t let them win. With a deep breath, I tried again, my fingers slipping into the crack. It was a futile effort, but the alternative was unthinkable. The wall was unyielding, a silent sentinel to my despair. But it wouldn’t move.
As the hours dragged on, the pain in my wrists and back grew unbearable. The room’s chill seeped into my bones, making me shiver despite my fear-induced adrenaline. My thoughts kept drifting to Ethan, wondering where he was, if he was safe. I had to keep fighting, for him.
With a heavy sigh, I slumped to the floor, my body aching from the struggle. The cold concrete sent shivers through me, but it was nothing compared to the coldness in Rachel’s eyes. I laid there, staring at the flickering bulb above, watching the shadows dance across the ceiling. Each pulse of light was a taunting reminder that time was passing, and with it, my chances of escape.
As the silence stretched on, the creaks and groans of the old mansion grew louder, almost comforting in their familiarity. But amidst those sounds, I thought I heard something else faint, almost imperceptible. A muffled cry, a whisper of despair. It didn’t take long to realize that I wasn’t alone in the basement. The thought of others suffering here was almost too much to bear.
I strained my ears, listening intently for any sign of life. And then, it came again. Rachel’s voice, faint but unmistakable. “Emma,” she whispered, the sound echoing down the corridor. “Emma, can you hear me?”
My heart leapt into my throat. Was it a trick? Had she really come to save me? I rushed towards the door as she unlocked it and came back inside, her face lit with the love and friendship it once had. “Rachel,” I gasped, hope flooding my chest. “Thank God.”
But she held up her hands, a look of desperation in her eyes. “You have to listen to me, Em,” she said, her voice trembling. “It’s not what you think. I had to do it, to keep you safe, to keep Ethan safe.”
I stumbled backwards, my heart racing. “What are you talking about?”
Rachel took a step closer, her eyes pleading. “Emma, please. They’re watching us. Every move, every word. I had to say those things, to keep up the act. To protect you and Ethan.”
The room grew colder, and my heart felt like it was shattering into a million pieces. “Protect us?” I spat. “You sold us out! You told him where we were!”
Rachel’s eyes filled with tears, and she took a shaky breath. “Luca was in the house the last time I called you,” she confessed, her voice barely a whisper. “He overheard everything. I didn’t know what to do. He said he knew about Ethan, about your relationship with Harrison. He said he wouldn’t hurt you, not if I did what he asked.”
Her words were like a blow to the stomach, stealing the air from my lungs. “What did he want from you?” I managed to ask, the anger in my voice barely concealing the fear.
Rachel’s eyes dropped to the floor, her cheeks flushing with shame. “He… he made me do things,” she murmured. “Things I didn’t want to do. But I had to, for you. For Ethan. He promised that if I kept up the act, if I did what he asked, that you’d both be safe.” And I have to keep up with the act of being his girlfriend and also to pretend to hate you until Harrison and Adrianne gets married, and you were brought here because they don’t want you to ruin the day, but with the way things are going I don’t trust Adrianne
The weight of her confession settled heavily on my shoulders. “What things?” I whispered, afraid of the answer.
Rachel took a deep, shuddering breath. “He… made me sleep with him,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “And he’s been watching us, waiting for the perfect moment to take you and Ethan. The wedding is in a week, and he doesn’t want anything to ruin it. That’s why he brought you here, to keep you out of the way.” And Ethan is with me, I’ve made sure he’s safe, she added hastily, as if reading the horror on my face.
I sighed, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. What could I do now? Fight back, escape, or play along? My mind raced with options, each more dangerous than the last. I knew Rachel was telling the truth; she wouldn’t have looked at me like that if she weren’t genuinely scared. I had to stay strong for my son, to find a way out of this twisted game.
“We can’t let him win,” Rachel said firmly, her eyes meeting mine. “I’ve been planning this for weeks. You’ve got to trust me, Em. We’re going to stop that wedding.”
Her words were a whisper in the oppressive silence of the basement, but they resonated with a fierce determination that I hadn’t heard from her before. I searched her eyes, looking for any trace of deceit, but all I saw was raw, unfiltered fear and hope. It was clear Rachel had been living under the same shadow that had been haunting me since my abduction.
Does Harrison know about Ethan?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. Rachel had always been a friend, but the mansion’s walls had ears, and secrets had a way of getting out.
Rachel shaked her head, no he doesn’t, but if he finds out before the wedding, everything will be ruined. We have to be careful, she warned, look Harrison’s parents wants him to get married because they want a grandson and an heir, if you’re to appear with his baby on the wedding day, it will make it perfect.
I nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. We couldn’t let that happen. “What’s the plan?” I asked, trying to keep the desperation out of my voice.
“We tell Harrison the truth,” Rachel said, her eyes filled with resolve. “We show him that Adrianne isn’t who she seems. That she’s been using him all along.”
“But what if he doesn’t believe us?” I asked, my voice trembling.
Rachel’s smile grew more determined. “Trust me, he will,” she said, her eyes shining with a newfound hope. “He loves you, Emma. He’ll know that you’re telling the truth.”
Her words echoed in the cold, damp air of the cell. Love? Could Harrison really love me after everything that’s happened? Rachel’s revelation was like a flicker of light in the darkness, a beacon of hope that had me clinging to the edge of sanity. But I couldn’t let myself believe it. Not yet. “What about Adrianne?” I asked, the name leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
I met a boy when coming out of the office the same day I left he said he is Harrison’s son but Rachel was quick to clarify that he was not Harrison’s son but rather a child Adrianne had tried to claim as his to keep him in line. Rachel laughed, her eyes gleaming with mischief, as she recounted the story of Adrianne’s desperate ploy to maintain her grip on the Harrison’s fortune. Apparently, she had a fling with one of the staff members and attempted to pass the child off as Harrison’s illegitimate son, hoping to manipulate him into marriage. But the truth had come out, and the boy, who bore a striking resemblance to Adrianne’s lover, was revealed to be a pawn in her twisted game.
This revelation made my blood boil. If Adrianne was capable of such deceit, then what other lies had she spun to keep us all trapped in her web? Rachel’s words echoed in my mind as we sat in the dimly lit basement, my heart racing at the thought of what could happen if we didn’t act soon. Then why was Harrison still marrying her? Was he truly blind to her treachery? Or was he as much a victim of her manipulation as the rest of us?