Chapter 3
Before she could finish, Reid came storming in:
“Maya! Who told you to come down here?”
Maya’s eyes immediately welled up with tears:
“Reid, I just felt bad for Scarlett… I wanted to convince her to give in… but she, she actually cursed me to die…”
Reid’s face darkened instantly as he smacked the stick in his hand:
“Have you figured it out yet? Apologize to Maya, and I’ll let you out.”
In your dreams!”
Apologize?
For what?
For trusting him, or for not seeing through this whole charade sooner?
‘Reid, don’t hit her anymore. Scarlett knows she was wrong… Ah!” She suddenly cried out, “Your hands are all red-it breaks my heart…”
Her screaming completely set Reid off.
He went berserk, each blow harder than the last. I bit down hard on my lip to keep from crying out.
‘Still being stubborn?” He was breathing heavily as he grabbed my hair. “Look at yourself now!”
He furiously threw me to the ground, and I heard my ribs crack.
I curled up in the corner and suddenly felt the scissors that had been thrown in earlier.
When Reid raised the stick again, I used every ounce of strength to grab those scissors and slash at him.
Reid! Go to hell!”
But in that instant, Maya suddenly threw herself forward.
‘Ahhh!”
The scissors cut her arm, blood instantly staining her dress.
Her face went pale as she collapsed weakly into Reid’s arms: “Reid… it hurts so much…”
The next second, she passed out.
“Scarlett, have you lost your goddamn mind?!” He roared. “Someone come teach her a proper lesson!”
Reid scooped Maya up in his arms and backhanded me across the face.
My head slammed hard against the wall.
He glared at me viciously: “If anything happens to Maya, I’ll make you wish you were dead!”
The guards immediately closed in.
I gave up, slumping powerlessly against the wall.
That night, no one brought food.
Just when I thought I might starve to death, I finally heard the door opening.
Reid walked in with a dark expression, followed by two hulking men:
“Maya’s unconscious at the hospital.” His voice was laced with suppressed fury. “The doctor says she needs an emergency blood transfusion, and your blood type happens to match.”
“So?”
“So you’re going to the hospital right now.” He signaled the guards to move forward.
1 had no strength left to resist. I was roughly dragged to a car and escorted to the hospital.
“Draw her blood.” Reid coldly instructed the doctor without even glancing my way.
I flinched when the needle pierced my vein.
The nurse looked uncomfortable: “Mr. Ashford, this young lady is too weak. Drawing this much blood at once might=”
“Draw it.” He cut off the nurse, his voice cold as ice. “She owes Maya this.”
Reid stood there watching coldly until they’d drawn a full thousand cc’s before calling it off.
The moment they pulled out the needle, my vision started going black.
Reid dumped me on the cot in Maya’s hospital room.
He looked down at me: “Take good care of Maya. If anything happens to her, I won’t let you off easy.”
The instant the door closed, I finally couldn’t hold back the dry heaving.
But my stomach was completely empty-no matter how much I retched, only a few drops of bile came up.
Maya lay in the hospital bed, breathing steadily with rosy cheeks. Where was the look of someone who needed an emergency transfusion?
