“Just remember.” Winter’s tone stiffened and she gripped Connor’s ear with her fingernails until he let out a whimper. “This is the end of the Cabots. That whore will never have a child by you--or else I’ll cut it out while you watch.”
“Ow, Mistress--yes Mistress.” Connor squirmed but made no effort to free himself from Winter. “I made sure Georgia could never have children. I’ll do the same with Violet…”
“Good boy.” Winter released her grip on his ear.
What does that mean? What did he do to my sister?
“The call should be coming in any moment.” Winter sighed. “Get the software ready.”
“Yes, Mistress.” Connor nodded.
The phone rang and when Winter answered, her voice was distorted by the computer she was talking into. It came out garbled and robotic. My pulse began to race when I realized Devlin was on the other end of the line. I thought about bursting into the room and yelling for him--screaming even--but I had no idea if that would work. If the two of them felt threatened, they might actually kill me. I might be able to take out Winter on my own, but not Connor. He was still big and imposing, even if he was Winter’s little boy at the snap of her fingers--or a twist of his ear.
“You have the money, Windsor?” Winter narrowed her eyes as she spoke.
“Yes.” Devlin replied on the other end of the phone--his voice wasn’t masked and it was like music in my soul. “I have it. I want to know Violet is safe--just like we agreed.”
“You’ll get what you want, Windsor.” Winter hit a button on her computer and ended the call. “And so will I…”
Wait… Why does Devlin have the money? I thought I was signing a contract so he didn’t have to sell his company.
“I’ll make the arrangements.” Connor opened a laptop and sat down. “Once we have Devlin’s company, and Violet’s name on a contract, we’ll both get what we want.”
Confusion surged through my veins. Something wasn’t right. Winter told me that I was signing a contract with Connor so that Devlin wouldn’t lose his company. She lied to me. They were still planning to take Devlin’s company and force me to sign Connor’s contract. I had to warn Devlin--escape couldn’t wait a single second longer. I started moving back down the hallway. If I had to fight my way out with the scalpel, I would do so--everyone in Sloane Manor chose to work for Winter. I hated to think of them as collateral damage, but it was the only choice I had.
“What the fuck!?” Connor practically screamed and I paused in my tracks.
“Is there a problem?” Winter sounded agitated.
“Yes!” Connor slammed his hand on the desk, and I moved closer to the door--obviously something was wrong, I needed to know what it was. “Devlin’s bank account has the money, but he didn’t sell off his fucking company! Nothing has been liquidated!”
“That’s not possible! There’s no way my son could raise that kind of money without selling his shares. It’s a mistake. Call the broker…” Winter sounded like she was about to blow a gasket.
“It’s not a mistake, Mistress. Look--the money was transferred in a lump sum. It wasn’t a sale.” Connor’s voice paused--and then I heard what sounded like his laptop hit the wall. “That fucking bastard!”
“Hold on.” Winter’s tone softened. “We can work around this. We’ll just raise the price. If Devlin was willing to pay a hundred then he’ll pay twice that--three times that--he’ll have to sell his company.”
“We’re running out of time, Mistress.” Connor sighed, seemingly calmed by Winter’s shift in demeanor. “If we don’t get Devlin’s company…”
“I know what it means!” Winter snapped back at him. “We’re going to give Devlin more motivation. I’m sorry, sweet boy, but we’re going to have to hurt her before we get a chance to play.”
“I understand, Mistress.” Connor let out another sigh.
“I want Violet’s finger in a box--her left ring finger…” Winter’s voice took on a hint of amusement. “If Devlin wants to play this game, we’ll make sure he knows how serious we are.”
“I’ll cut it off personally, Mistress.” Connor’s footsteps echoed and I realized he was walking towards the door.
Connor was headed to my room. He was going to find out that the maid was tied up in my bed. My chance of escape was dwindling fast. I started running down the hallway and a few seconds later, I nearly ran headfirst into the woman that escorted me to my room. Our eyes met and she lunged for me. I snapped my wrist forward without even thinking and swiped the scalpel across her stomach. It cut so easily that it scared me, but she still screamed. The wound didn’t look deep enough to kill, but she was bleeding and startled. I used that to my advantage and ran past her.