Shay’s head dips forward and her eyes flutter closed. “I never knew you were hiding under his bed,” she says, heartbroken, probably picturing two tiny children, desperately trying to save themselves but with their innocence, having absolutely no idea what that actually meant. “The police report said nothing about your whereabouts. They couldn’t find anything on you two that suggested you had been there and they concluded that you must have spent the night elsewhere, but I knew that wasn’t right. Chelle would never have left her babies with someone else overnight.”
Shay reaches over to my bedside table and tears a tissue free from the box. After dabbing her eyes, she smiles down at me, trying to be brave. “I filed so many missing person’s reports and searched everywhere for you guys but every lead I got always went dead.”
“It’s okay,” I whisper, seeing the pain and regret in her eyes. “The second Anton took us, we were as good as gone. Nobody could have saved us from that man, not even God himself.”
“I remember it all,” I tell her. “The kid, Anton, his men. Blake and I sat on the couch, tied up. I tried my best to soothe him but it was the middle of the night and he’d just been woken. All he wanted was his mommy but he couldn’t get to her. He was so strong and kept trying to push me away and I remember it hurting. I wanted to be so mad at him for that.”
“What happened?” she questions.
“They talked for a while. Anton was yelling and I hated it because it made them both cry. Mom always used to cry, especially during sad movies but dad…I’d never seen him break like that.”
“They were so strong,” Shay murmurs, rubbing her hand up and down my arm.
I nod. “Mom kept looking at us, trying to break free to get to us. I don’t doubt that even at that moment if she could, she would have grabbed us and ran, even if it meant leaving dad behind.”
“She would have done anything to give you and Blake even the smallest chance,” she tells me. “God, you must know how much she loved you…they loved you.”
“I do,” I whisper as my lips pull into a gentle smile, being able to completely recall the way they always smiled at me. Even through memories, I can feel the love they had. It was so damn strong. It’s what I miss most every day.
“Where did he take you, Sky?” Shay questions, moving on, clearly wanting to skip over what came next.
“We were thrown into the back of an old SUV. I remember being in there for a really long time. I don’t know if the drive was long or they just couldn’t be bothered dealing with us and forgot we were there, but when we were finally taken out, we were put into a basement of some sort. We didn’t get food or water. All we could do was hold onto each other.”
“Oh, Sky,” Shay cries, turning into a blubbering mess as she draws me into her chest and holds me tight.
“I was only four,” I tell her, feeling my emotions beginning to slip. “Who does that to kids? I don’t think I had a clear understanding of death and what it means, but I knew it was coming. I don’t know how, but I knew we wouldn’t survive being down there. Blake was so small. I remember he lost so much weight that I could see his bones.”
I take a breath, trying to steady myself before continuing. “I don’t know if we were lucky or not to have been taken to Lucien and Maria’s place, but they gave us some semblance of normal life. Well, sort of. Their version of normal at least. It wasn’t a great childhood, but Maria put us in school and I made some friends and for a while, I was content. I’d honestly thought this family had just adopted us and this was how it was supposed to go. I was too young to question it or to know any better.”
“What happened from there?” Shay questions. “What led you to run away?”
My eyes dart away, feeling the shame beginning to overwhelm me. It’s one thing telling Slade about this, but going into detail with Shay. This might just kill me. “When I was fourteen, Lucien called me into his study. He was in there with his business partner, Marcus Mahony. I’d been dragged out of bed and I remember, he wasn’t happy that I wasn’t appropriately dressed. After reprimanding me, he then informed me that when I become of legal age, Marcus was going to become my husband.” Shay gasps but I continue as if I stop, I don’t think I’d have the strength to keep going. “I’d been sold for a business deal, and that deal came fully equipped with my virginity which was going to be the grand prize.”