Rachel’s body ached from the ropes that bound her to the chair, but the fire in her chest burned brighter than the pain. Victoria stood before her, cold and unfeeling as always, but Rachel wasn’t going to let her sister’s icy demeanor hold her back this time.
“Do you think I don’t know what you’ve been doing?” Rachel’s voice was rough, but steady. She refused to let the fear take hold. “You’ve always been our father’s favorite. You’ve always had everything handed to you, while I was left to suffer. I wasn’t his first choice, I wasn’t his second hell, I wasn’t even a second thought. You were. Always you. He didn’t care about me, not when I needed him most. He never cared about me.”
Victoria didn’t flinch, but Rachel saw the subtle tightening of her sister’s jaw. That was enough. Rachel wasn’t backing down now.
“You think you’ve got the upper hand now, don’t you?” Rachel continued, her voice rising with each word. “You think you’re in control, but all you’ve done is hurt everyone around you. You made sure I knew I was nothing compared to you. That I didn’t matter, that my pain didn’t matter. You had everything, and I had nothing. You were our father’s perfect little angel, and I” Rachel’s voice cracked, but she pushed through, her breath quickening. “I had to crawl through the dirt just to survive. When I begged him for money to save Mother, he turned me away like I wasn’t his daughter. Like I wasn’t worth a damn thing to him.”
Rachel’s throat tightened, but she forced the words out, each one a dagger aimed at the cold indifference in her sister’s eyes. “And I saw what you did. You let it happen. You let Luca” Her voice faltered for a moment, but she steadied herself. “I went to him for help. I was just trying to get money for our mother’s treatment, and what did he do? He raped me.”
Victoria’s expression didn’t change, but Rachel could feel the tension building, like the air itself was thickening between them. “And after that, when our sister tried to escape when she fought for her life-you stood by and let Mr. Blackwood kill her. You did nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
Rachel’s pulse raced, her blood pounding in her ears. “And now, you think you can destroy me, destroy Emma? You think hurting us will fix everything, will fill the hole inside of you?” Her voice was bitter with the truth. “It won’t. Nothing you do will ever bring you peace, Victoria. Not when you keep trying to hurt the people who never hurt you.”
For a moment, Victoria’s face softened, but only just. It was a crack in the facade, a brief flicker of something guilt? Regret? But Rachel wasn’t fooled. She couldn’t afford to be.
With a shake of her head, Victoria turned toward the door, her back straight and stiff, like she was trying to hold herself together.
“Don’t try to talk sense into me, Rachel,” Victoria’s voice was quieter now, devoid of the usual venom. “It’s too late for that.”
The door clicked shut behind her, and the silence that followed was suffocating.
Rachel was still tied to the chair, her hands raw from the ropes, but she wasn’t broken. She had said what needed to be said. The truth was out now, raw and painful. She couldn’t undo what had been done, but she had reclaimed her voice.
And for the first time in a long while, she felt the flicker of hope. Emma was out there. Emma was fighting. And if there was any chance, any glimmer of possibility that Rachel could be freed from this nightmare, she would hold onto it with everything she had.
She wasn’t giving up.
************************
Back at the house, I paced, the situation pressing down on me. My mind was in overdrive, spinning with questions I couldn’t answer. The kidnappers had made their move, but something didn’t add up. The pieces weren’t fitting together. There was more going on here than I realized.
Harrison was speaking to the police, his words distant, but I couldn’t focus on anything but the gnawing feeling in my gut. Why had Victoria done this? What had happened to her? What had turned her into this?
“Emma,” Harrison’s voice broke through my thoughts, and I looked up, meeting his gaze. “We’ll find her. I promise. Don’t give up.”
I wanted to believe him. I did. But the fear inside me was too strong, too suffocating. It crawled under my skin and took root, making it hard to breathe. And then, just as my mind began to spiral, a sudden realization hit me like a lightning bolt.
What if she’s been controlling everything?
I whispered it to myself, barely able to believe the words as they formed. But as the pieces clicked together, the truth became undeniable.
Harrison stopped pacing, his eyes locking onto mine. “What do you mean?”
I took a steadying breath, my voice trembling slightly, but the words came out clearer now. “Victoria. What if she’s been pulling the strings from the very beginning? She’s not just angry. She’s been watching us. Every move we’ve made. She knows everything.”
His expression shifted as understanding washed over him. “You’re right. She must have been watching. That’s the only way all of this makes sense.”
I nodded, the pieces falling into place in my mind. “She’s been orchestrating everything keeping us off balance, controlling us without us even knowing. We need to find out what else she’s hiding, what other secrets she’s keeping from us.”
Harrison grabbed my shoulders, his eyes fierce with determination. “We’ll stop her, Emma. We’ll get Rachel back. We’ll end this.”
But even as he said those words, I couldn’t shake the fear clawing at my heart. This wasn’t just about rescuing Rachel anymore. It was about something much bigger uncovering the truth. Victoria had planned everything. She’d been manipulating us from the shadows, and now it was up to us to stop her. But would we be able to before it was too late?