Audra was dragged up the stairs by Marla, her feet stumbling over the thick carpet. She was shoved into her bedroom. From the outside, the heavy thud of a metal chain being wrapped around the handles and locked into place echoed through the wood.
The room was pitch black. Audra collapsed onto the cold hardwood floor, pulling her knees to her chest.
Her mind was a torture chamber. Eben's voice played on a continuous, agonizing loop in her head. Anderson Hopper's bastard.
The words chewed at her heart like venomous snakes. The physical pain in her chest was so sharp she had to press her fist against her sternum just to breathe.
The next evening, the heavy chain rattled. The door creaked open.
Anderson walked in. He carried a silver tray holding a steaming plate of French cuisine. He set the tray down on the mahogany table and looked down at Audra, who was still curled weakly on the floor. He tried to project an aura of benevolent mercy.
"Eat something. You haven't had a bite in twenty-four hours," he said, his tone stiff but coaxing.
Audra slowly lifted her head. Her tangled hair hid half her face, but her eyes were sharp, cutting through the dim light like razor blades.
"You murdered my child with your own hands, and now you want to play the caring host?" she rasped. Her voice was destroyed, but the anger beneath it was volcanic.
Anderson's face stiffened. The hand holding a glass of water twitched, spilling a few drops. His eyes darted away from hers. "That was a medical complication. The doctors did everything they could..."
"A complication?" Audra found a sudden, terrifying strength. She scrambled to her feet, grabbed the edge of the silver tray, and violently flipped it over.
The expensive bone china shattered against the floor with a deafening crash. Hot soup splattered across Anderson's immaculate leather shoes.
"I heard it!" Audra screamed, stepping right into his personal space, forcing him to back up. "I heard my baby cry! A weak little cry! It was only after you walked into that operating room that it went completely dead silent!"
Anderson's mask of calm completely shattered. He sucked in a sharp breath. The fake guilt in his eyes vanished, replaced by a cold, ruthless darkness.
"I merely ensured that the operating room followed standard protocols," he sneered, his voice a chilling, ambiguous whisper that twisted the knife deeper. "Perhaps that bastard simply wasn't lucky enough to survive. After all, it carried the tainted blood of a criminal. It never deserved to breathe the same air as me!"
The confession hit Audra like a physical bullet. All the strength vanished from her legs. She collapsed backward, her knees hitting the edge of the mattress as she slid to the floor.
She covered her face with her bleeding hands. A raw, gut-wrenching wail tore from her throat. It was the sound of a soul being ripped in half. That baby was her and Kendall's only connection, and it had been systematically murdered.
Anderson watched her sob over another man's child. A twisted, ugly jealousy twisted his gut.
He crouched down. He grabbed her wrists and forcefully ripped her hands away from her face, making her look at him.
"Once you have nothing left of him, you will finally belong to me," he whispered, his eyes wide with manic obsession.
Audra stopped crying instantly. The tears dried on her cheeks. A new, freezing cold hatred ignited in the depths of her eyes.
She gathered the saliva in her mouth and spat directly into Anderson's face.
"You make me sick," she said, emphasizing every single syllable.
Anderson's face turned purple with fury. He raised his hand high, ready to strike her across the face. But his hand froze in mid-air. Even in his rage, his twisted love for her stopped him from causing her physical harm.
He slowly lowered his hand. He pulled a silk handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the spit from his cheek. He let out a dark, humorless chuckle.
He reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a glossy photograph. He tossed it onto her lap.
It was a picture of Eleanor, Kendall's mother and the woman who had raised Audra. She was lying in a sterile nursing home bed, looking incredibly frail, tubes running into her arms.
"You want to leave me? Fine," Anderson smiled, a chilling, demonic expression. "But I guarantee you, the second you step foot outside this estate, Eleanor will suffer a fatal 'medication error' by tomorrow morning."
A violent shudder ran through Audra's body. She snatched the photo off her lap, her fingers gripping the edges so tightly her knuckles turned stark white.
"You animal! She is my mother too!" she screamed, grabbing a pillow from the bed and hurling it at his head.
Anderson easily dodged it. He stood up, calmly adjusting the lapels of his suit, reclaiming his position of absolute power.
"So, play your role as Mrs. Hopper. I will have a car ready for you tomorrow so you can go visit her."
He walked out. The door slammed. The chains locked. Audra pressed the photograph tightly against her chest. The despair in her eyes was gone, replaced by a burning, desperate fire. She had to break the NDA. She had to get Eleanor out.
