Chapter 6

Seraphina’s POV

“Dad, please!”

I choked the words out, my vision swimming behind a heavy, blinding veil of tears.

My swollen eyes darted frantically from his cold face to the thick hemp ropes cutting mercilessly into my wrists and anchoring me to the wooden chair.

“You mock your sister for having a flaw? Then bear the consequence,” he said, his voice, unyielding as winter ice as he stared down at me from across the room.

My gaze dropped, paralyzed with dread, to the man crouched near my feet. He was unlatching a small, metallic black box filled with an array of gleaming, clinical instruments.

A fresh wave of hot, silent tears broke over my lashes. The man pulled out a heavy pair of surgical shears.

He glanced up; my father gave a single, emotionless nod. I swallowed the dry, choking lump in my throat and thrashed against the chair, kicking my legs wildly, trying to tear myself free from the ropes biting into my ankles.

“No—please!”

A heavy, calloused hand clamped around my ankle like a vice, pinning my leg dead still. Something cold and metallic clamped around my big toe.

And then, the world exploded into pure, white-hot agony. A shriek tore out of my throat—a raw, inhuman sound that ripped my vocal cords to shreds.

Hot, blinding pain spiked straight up my spine. My shaking gaze dropped downward. The metal had done its work.

One of my toes lay severed, dark, blood immediately pooling and dripping in heavy, rhythmic plops onto the hardwood floor.

I gasped, parting my dry, cracked lips to scream again, but my lungs refused to cooperate. I stared wildly across the room at the two people who had brought me into this world, sitting there with cold, satisfaction etched into their features.

“Do the next one,” Mom instructed, her voice dripping with venomous spite. “Maybe she’ll learn to filter that filth of a mouth when she speaks.”

Another tortured scream tore out of me as the horror repeated itself. The blinding, searing agony ripped through my nervous system a second time.

My vision began to tunnel. A thick, suffocating wave of sweat plastered my hair to my forehead.

My head lolled forward, my breathing turning shallow and ragged. Just as the darkness began to swallow the edges of my sight, a heavy cloth was pressed firmly over my nose and mouth.

A chemical, suffocating reek flooded my senses, and the world dissolved entirely into black. I forced my eyelids open, gasping as a dull, throbbing ache hammered against my skull.

———

I tried to push myself up, but a sharp, excruciating jolt of agony flared from my feet. I looked down.

Both of my big toes were tightly swathed in thick, blood-seeped white gauze. The raw memory of what had happened snapped into razor-sharp focus.

Right..!

Of course it wasn't a nightmare.

I scanned the room. I was back in my bed.

A shallow sigh shuddered past my lips. I swung my legs over the edge, gritting my teeth as the pressure sent white-hot pins and needles shooting through my toes.

Clinging desperately to the edge of the mattress to keep from collapsing, I dragged myself upright. Every step toward the washroom felt like walking on broken glass and burning coals.

Inside the bathroom, I stared at my reflection in the mirror, and my stomach churned. My hair was an absolute bird’s nest of tangled strands.

My face, the color of chalk, my lips stripped of all color, dry and torn to ribbons. I splashed cold water over my face, used the toilet, and forced myself back to the bedroom, immediately checking the doorknob to see if it was locked.

The second I clicked the lock into place, a heavy pounding rattled the wood.

“Open this door right now!” Mom snapped, striking the panel sharply.

“What do you want?” I asked, my voice barely above a hollow whisper.

My gaze drifted to the glass pitcher of water on the nightstand. I limped over, poured a cup with shaking hands, and gulped it down to soothe my burning throat.

“Starve then!” Her voice pierced through the wood, followed by the heavy, retreating thud of her footsteps.

I let out a shaky, shuddering breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Collapsing onto the edge of the mattress, my eyes landed on my phone resting on the nightstand. I reached out and tapped the screen.

A single missed call stared back at me.

Marina.

A bitter, humorless scoff escaped my lips.  Ignoring it, I dialed a number for work. It picked up on the third ring.

“What the fuck, Phina! Where have you even been?” Rosa’s familiar, breathless voice cut through the speaker.

A weary sigh escaped me as my eyes drifted down to my bandaged feet. Was it even believable if I told her my own parents practically performed surgery to mutilate me just to punish me for my sister?

It sounded too insane…

too utterly detached from reality.

“Something came up. Camilla blew a gasket at the office, right?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. I knew for a fact I wasn’t ever stepping foot back in that building.

“As always. You know that bitch lives to pick on you,” Rosa replied. “By the way... she said you’re… fired.”

A dry, harsh chuckle slipped past my lips. Being fired from a job should sting, right? But it didn't even register. Nothing hurt anymore.

Am I just too broken to function? 

Probably.

“I can talk to a—“

“Nah, I’m fine, Rosa. I was planning on resigning anyway. I’ve got... shit coming up,” I cut her off.

And unfortunately, it was the absolute truth. They wanted me to act as a human incubator, a surrogate for Valentina’s children?

Fine. Let them have it.

“What kind of shit? Are you even okay? Because I heard some crazy news,” Rosa said, her tone shifting.

“What news?”

“There’s stuff flying around everywhere about you online. Apparently, a video dropped of you... caught in bed with a bunch of guys.”

My eyebrows shot straight up my forehead, a cold wave of confusion washing over my panic. “Excuse me? What the actual fuck are you talking about?”

“I’m sending you the link right now. I have to run stuff,” The line went dead.

Caught in bed with guys? 

Wait. The other night... hadn’t Cas saved me from those guys in the alley?

My phone buzzed against my hand, flashing a text notification from Rosa. My finger hovered over the link before I tapped it, opening the video.

The second the screen loaded, the blood drained entirely from my face, my eyes widening in pure horror.

Isn't this the exact same setup from the night I almost got gang-raped?

Before I could process the sickening twist in my stomach, my phone started ringing again blaring a harsh default tune. I swiped to answer without even checking the caller ID.

“You had the nerve to throw accusations at me about cheating, and then you turn around and spread your legs for a pack of college guys? Just how cheap and disgusting can you possibly get?!”

Mateo’s furious, venomous voice blasted through the speaker. I didn't utter a single word.

My thumb simply hit the red end button.

What in God's name is happening to my life right now?