DARRENMy lungs filled with a greedy push of air. My eyes opened wide and roamed around, hectically trying to process my situation. The car, I was inside the car… My car was upside down, and I…Everything hurt, including my weak attempts to breathe, but I knew I had to ignore the pain. I had to live. I had to get out of there.My consciousness gathered the pieces of memory together. Someone had rammed me, pushing me off the road while I had been driving to the residence. The fuckers had chosen a part of a perfectly secluded road to do it. Perhaps it was fortunate that they hadn't been as thorough as to check whether I had been dead or not.My limbs weren't broken, although at least one of my ribs was. I clenched my teeth and crawled out through the broken side window. My car lay in a ditch on the side of the road, with not a single building around.How long had I been out cold? The returning memories painted an ominous picture that slowly filled me with dread. Lilly had been waiting f

I lost count of how many times I had been stabbed with a needle, and I wasn't sure my veins could withstand another injection. I quickly realized how pathetic my relief was after Callan told me I wouldn't be beaten, cut, or burned. The torture he had designed for me went far beyond the physical pain…Every inch of my body burned from within. My blood turned into a living flame, scorching my veins. My skin covered with an itching rash I couldn't scratch. It lasted for hours. I didn't want to give Callan satisfaction, so I remained silent, biting my lips until they bled. But the third or fourth dose of the drug broke the final restraint… A scream tore through my throat, and I kept screaming until my vocal cords gave up. I quietly begged Callan to stop. I thought he would if I told him I was ready to give him what he wanted. I thought that if I pretended I wanted to cooperate, he would give my tormented body a break… He didn't. He just walked closer and served me another drug dose.I los

LILLYI couldn't move. My body's exhaustion turned opening my eyes into an almost unbearable struggle. It took me a while before I lifted my eyelids and instantly winced at the light filling the room. I blinked several times before I established what I was looking at… Ceiling. A bright, well-lit ceiling.I needed an additional minute or two to acknowledge that this wasn't a dream. I was lying on a bed with an IV drip connected to my arm. The bed had multiple pillows and fluffy sheets, as if someone cruelly decided to give me a moment of questionable luxury before turning me into a slave.Another white cotton dress replaced the old, stained one. My body had been cleaned from all the sweat and dirt. I didn't have the strength to wonder who bathed me and dressed me. I felt violated enough without acknowledging how many hands touched my body.I could have died. Perhaps it would have been a blessing if that had happened. Now I was lying numbly on a bed, waiting for more torment to come. Sl

LILLY Four Months Later “One more signature at the bottom, Ms. Hayes.” The smiling lawyer pointed at the empty dotted line on the last page. “Of course.” I drew a deep breath and signed my name where he wanted me to. Then I rose to my feet, and so did the man sitting in front of me—Doctor John Pearson. “Congratulations,” he said, not without a hint of sadness in his voice, before extending his hand toward me. “The clinic is officially yours.” “Thank you, Doctor Pearson. I promise I will take good care of this facility,” I told him. A soft smile appeared on his lips. “I do not doubt that you will.” I still couldn't believe it happened. John Pearson Clinic—soon Lillian Hayes Clinic—finally belonged to me. Of course, it was going to take a while before I would implement my plan and make the necessary changes, but I was already madly excited… and so was Raven. “I've never been friends with my boss before.” She chuckled, catching me as soon as I walked out of the meeting room where