Chapter 11

The air in the basement was freezing at night, and the place was damp as hell. Water dripped steadily from the ceiling. Sabrina huddled in a corner, wrapped in thin clothes, eyes fixed blankly on the small, iron-grey fluff ball in her hands. That was all she had-though she had no clue what the hell it meant. Her mind was a mess. The only thing crystal-clear was the face of Cassian-cold as ice, and twice as scary. You wouldn't want to cross a guy like him, but somehow, she had. Shaking him off? Yeah, not gonna be easy. Just thinking about that brutal kiss of his made her shiver. His attitude was twisted-yeah, he clearly hated her, but there was something else underneath it all, something murky she couldn't put a finger on. The guy was a real piece of work-totally unreadable. While she was lost in thought, soft footsteps echoed in the distance. Instantly on alert, Sabrina looked up. A young woman with tear-streaked cheeks rushed up to the bars, sobbing in a muffled voice. "Mrs. Evans! I... it's all my fault. I didn't protect you... I let you down..." Sabrina just watched her silently, confused but calm. Clara Stone cried for a bit, then noticed the thin clothes Sabrina was wearing. She instantly shrugged off her oversized coat and shoved it through the bars. "Ma'am, eat something, please! And wear this-it's freezing down here!" Sabrina put on the still-warm coat, but didn't touch the box of pizza Clara handed her. She couldn't afford to let her guard down now. Trapped on all sides, she had to be extra careful. She especially couldn't let it show she'd lost parts of her memory-people would chew her up and spit her out. Noticing the bruises on the back of Clara's hand, Sabrina frowned. "What happened to your hand?" Clara looked miserable. She clutched her battered arm and explained in a hushed voice, "The night we planned to run, I had the car ready outside the woods... but you never showed. I was freaking out, so I came back. Then I heard them say you'd been beaten to death... Matilda said I was your maid, so they threw me in the cellar and tortured me. But I never said a word! When I heard tonight that you woke up, I found a chance and snuck over." Sabrina let out a long sigh. "You managed to get out... there's no need to suffer with me. Just go." Clara grabbed her hand in panic. "Ma'am, no way! I'd rather die than leave you behind! You picked me up from the streets when I had nothing, gave me food, clothes, a place to stay... If it weren't for you, I would've starved to death!" Tears streamed down Clara's cheeks. "Please, don't give up yet. Get better first-we'll find another chance to run." Sabrina looked at those tears, full of sincerity, and for a moment, she couldn't tell if it was real or not. "Last time we planned everything down to the detail, and it still flopped. What's even left for us now?" Clara's face was full of guilt. "Ma'am... it's my fault! That day, when I went to pick up the letters, I bumped into Emily Baker. The envelopes fell and got mixed up. She took the one with the plane ticket by mistake. Even though I got it back quickly, her face was... off. I'm sure she got suspicious. She must've gone straight to report it to the old lady!" Sabrina's brows furrowed. "Emily?" "It had to be her, for sure!" Clara huffed angrily. "Everyone in this house is a snake! Ma'am, we've got to start planning again. We can't stay here anymore!" Sabrina paused, then asked, "Clara... while I was unconscious this past month, did anyone come see me?" Clara hesitated. "The Bennetts have kept everything hush-hush. The Evans family doesn't even know... and... well, the younger miss is prepping for her personal art exhibit lately. Your parents are all hands on deck for that." Sabrina's heart sank. So she did have parents-and a sister. But clearly, she meant nothing to them. In their eyes, she may as well have disappeared. Reaching out to them now? Useless. Worst case, they'd just kick her while she's down. "Ma'am..." Clara spoke softly, trying to comfort her. "You know your dad and stepmother always favored the younger daughter. After all, she's her real daughter..." Sabrina wasn't about to cling to that anymore. If blood ties were that shallow, then she didn't need to feel guilty about letting go either. Clara opened her mouth to say more, but they both froze at the sound coming from outside. She stood up fast. "Ma'am, I'll find a way to check on you again tomorrow! Please, take care of yourself!" And with that, she darted out.