Chapter 4

Angelina's POV

The basement room was a concrete box. The cold seeped through my clothes and settled deep in my bones.

I leaned against the wall, hugging my knees to my chest with one hand pressed protectively over my stomach. My throat was raw from screaming and my ribs ached from Joseph's kicks, but none of that mattered compared to the tiny life inside me.

The guard had brought me a plastic bottle of water six hours ago and that was it, no food, nothing else.

My stomach cramped with hunger but I couldn't think about that. I had to stay calm because stress was bad for the baby and panic was bad for the baby. I needed to breathe, to stay strong just a little longer.

The hours bled together and I drifted in and out of a restless half-sleep with my back against the cold wall and my hand never leaving my abdomen.

When I woke up, I felt it, a sharp, cramping pain low in my belly.

No. God, no.

I pressed both hands against my stomach and breathed through the cramp. It passed after a minute but panic was choking me.

Is this normal? Is the baby okay? What if the beating damaged something? What if starving is hurting the baby?

Another cramp came, sharper this time. I curled into a ball and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Please," I whispered. "Please don't take my baby. I'll do anything, just don't take my baby."

When I finally uncurled, I reached down between my legs and my fingers came away with a small streak of blood.

I stared at it in the dim light and my heart stopped.

I couldn't lose this baby because this was all I had left, the only good thing that had come from my marriage to Joseph, the only piece of love that was still mine.

The door finally opened on the morning of the third day.

Two guards hauled me to my feet but my legs barely worked. I hadn't eaten in forty-eight hours and the water bottle had run out twelve hours ago.

They dragged me upstairs and shoved me into the bathroom. "Clean yourself up. You have ten minutes."

I locked the door and immediately lifted my shirt, examining my stomach in the mirror. Still flat with no visible bruising. I pressed gently, feeling for anything wrong.

The cramping had stopped yesterday and the bleeding had been minimal, just that one small streak. Maybe everything was okay and maybe the baby was stronger than I thought.

I washed my face and hands, drank water straight from the tap until my stomach felt full, then stumbled back to the bedroom when they knocked.

A maid brought breakfast, toast, eggs, juice. I ate slowly and carefully because I was terrified my empty stomach would reject it, and every bite I forced down was for the baby, not for me.

After breakfast I crawled back into bed and slept for most of the day. My body was exhausted and weak from the two days without food, and all I could do was rest and try to recover.

Lunch came and went. I forced myself to eat even though my stomach protested, then fell back asleep.

Dinner arrived in the evening and I ate mechanically, not tasting anything. As soon as I finished, I lay back down and closed my eyes.

Four more days. Just four more days.

I fell asleep before the sun had even fully set.

The next morning a maid brought my breakfast tray and I was halfway through the toast when I heard the screaming from downstairs.

Mrs. Valentino's voice came through high and hysterical: "Where is it? Where is my necklace?"

Footsteps pounded up the stairs and the door burst open. Mrs. Valentino stormed in with her face purple with rage and Rosanna trailing behind her looking concerned and innocent.

"You!" Mrs. Valentino pointed at me. "What did you do with my diamond necklace?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to me!" She turned to Rosanna. "You said you saw her?"

Rosanna nodded with her eyes wide and apologetic. "I'm sorry, Mother. I didn't want to say anything, but yesterday morning I saw Angelina coming out of your room."

"I've been locked in the basement for two days!" I stood up even though my legs were shaking. "I haven't been anywhere near your room!"

"Search it," Mrs. Valentino snapped at the guards. "Tear this room apart if you have to."

They did exactly that, ripped the sheets off the bed, emptied the drawers, threw everything onto the floor. Then one of them lifted the mattress.

"Ma'am." He held up a glittering diamond necklace. "Found it."

The room spun and I grabbed the bedpost to steady myself.

"That's not mine. I've never seen that before. Someone planted it there."

"Of course you'd say that." Mrs. Valentino snatched the necklace from the guard. "You little thief. You try to poison my grandchild and now you steal from me?"

"I didn't do either of those things!"

"Take her to the punishment room." Mrs. Valentino's voice went cold and dead. "Ten lashes."

"No!" I backed toward the wall. "Please, I didn't steal anything, I swear—"

The guards grabbed my arms and I fought, kicking and screaming, but they were too strong. They dragged me down the stairs, through the kitchen, down another set of stairs into the basement.

But not the same room as before, this one had stone walls stained with old blood and iron chains hanging from the ceiling.

They chained my wrists above my head, stretching my arms until my toes barely touched the ground. Someone ripped the back of my shirt open and exposed my skin to the cold air.

I could hear people filing in behind me.

Three more days, I thought desperately. Just three more days until Father's people come. I can survive this and the baby can survive this.

"Ten lashes," Mrs. Valentino announced. "For theft and deception."

The first crack of the whip was the worst thing I'd ever felt.

The leather cut into my back and I felt the barbs hook into my skin, ripping it open as the whip pulled away. Blood ran hot down my spine.

I bit down on my lip so hard I tasted copper but I couldn't scream because screaming would make my stomach muscles contract and I couldn't risk hurting the baby.

"One."

The second lash crossed the first and brought more blood, more pain. My vision blurred with tears but I kept my teeth clenched.

"Two."

"Three."

My lip split open and blood filled my mouth.

"Four."

I couldn't feel my hands anymore because the chains were cutting into my wrists.

"Five."

"Six."

"Seven."

Halfway through the eighth lash, I heard Joseph's voice: "Angelina. Just admit what you did and I can make them stop."

I turned my head slightly, looking at him through the haze of pain. He stood there with his arms crossed, watching me bleed like I was nothing to him.

"I..." My voice was barely a whisper. "...didn't... do anything... wrong."

"Finish it," Mrs. Valentino ordered.

"Eight."

"Nine."

"Ten."

The chains released and I collapsed onto the stone floor, landing on my torn back. The pain was blinding and absolute but I curled onto my side immediately with one arm wrapping around my stomach.

"Get her out of my sight," Mrs. Valentino said.

They dragged me back upstairs and threw me onto the bed face-down. I heard the door lock behind them.

I lay there and didn't dare move because blood was soaking into the sheets beneath me. Every breath sent fire across my back but that didn't matter.

I slid one hand beneath my body and pressed it gently against my abdomen. No cramping, no sharp pain, just the ache from my back.

Thank God. Thank you.

Tears soaked into the pillow.

The next morning my back was on fire. The sheets had stuck to the wounds and when I tried to sit up, fresh blood seeped through the fabric.

A different maid brought my breakfast, not the usual girl but someone I'd never seen before. She set the tray down without looking at me.

I stared at the food, which was oatmeal, fruit, and juice. It looked normal but something made me hesitate.

I picked up the spoon and took a small bite of oatmeal.

Bitter. Definitely bitter.

I spit it back onto the plate and pushed the tray away while my hands shook.

They're trying to poison me or poison the baby.

I dumped the entire breakfast into the toilet and flushed it, then drank water from the tap.

When I came out of the bathroom, I caught a shadow moving past the crack under the door. Someone was watching me all the time now.

I crawled back onto the bed and lay on my stomach to keep pressure off my back.

Joseph came that evening and he didn't knock, just unlocked the door and walked in.

"Angelina." He sat on the edge of the bed. "This is ridiculous. Just apologize to my mother and everything can go back to normal."

"Normal." I didn't even look at him. "You don't remember what normal is."

"I'm trying to help you." His voice had that patient, condescending tone. "Just tell her you're sorry and that's all it takes."

"Get out."

"Angelina—"

"Get out!"

He stood up with his jaw tight. "Fine. Starve yourself if you want and see if I care."

The door slammed behind him.

I closed my eyes and counted.

"We're almost there, baby," I whispered. "Almost free."