I Craved Crawfish, but He Fed It All to My Sister Chapter 04

I Craved Crawfish, but He Fed It All to My Sister Chapter 04

I had my esophageal wound stitched at the hospital. The day I was discharged, Derek came to pick me up himself.

He fastened my seatbelt with careful, gentle movements.

“Let’s put the glass thing behind us.”

“Maren’s not pressing it, and I won’t ask about it again.”

I turned my face away from his hands.

“I didn’t do it.”

“I know you’ve been under a lot of stress lately.”

He wasn’t listening to a word I said. “Once the baby’s born, I’ll take you down south for a while.”

“Haven’t you always wanted to see the ocean?”

The ocean. We’d made that promise back when we were dating.

I almost asked him then. Could he just leave Maren alone? Could he just stay with me and help me bring this baby into the world safely?

My phone buzzed.

Maren had sent a photo. Hundreds of live crawfish crammed into a tank, with a threatening card propped beside them. The handwriting was, again, an imitation of mine.

Derek saw it too. Whatever softness had been on his face a second ago was gone.

“You sent someone to do this?”

“You believe that too?”

Derek slammed on the brakes. “She wouldn’t joke about something like this.”

I looked at his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel and let out a bitter laugh. “But I would, right?”

He didn’t answer.

The car stopped at an old house on the edge of the suburbs, one that was scheduled for renovation.

The bathroom was already filled with water.

Crawling across the surface were hundreds of live crawfish.

I stepped back. “Derek, what are you doing?”

“Get in. Stay there for two hours.”

His voice was ice-cold and flat. “You like scaring people with these things, don’t you?”

“Today you can feel the same fear Maren felt.”

“I didn’t send those.”

I turned to leave, but he grabbed me by the shoulder from behind.

“Derek, let go of me.”

I fought hard, but he picked up the zip ties from the sink and bound my wrists. “I’m pregnant with your child!”

Derek’s eyes dropped to my belly. His movements paused for a second.

Then his phone rang. Maren’s choked sobs came through the speaker.

“Derek, I can’t close my eyes without seeing them.”

“Does Sloane really hate me that much?”

Derek closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, the last flicker of hesitation was gone.

“It won’t hurt the baby.”

“You stay in there for two hours, and this whole thing ends.”

“I don’t owe her anything!”

“She saved my life. She hurt her leg for me.”

He carried me into the bathtub and turned away.

The bathroom door closed in front of me.

Through the door, Derek’s voice came through.

“I’m going to pick up Maren.”

“The contractors will be here in two hours to unlock the door.”

“Once you calm down, you’ll see it’s not that scary.”

The footsteps faded.

“Derek!”

“Let me out!”

No one answered.

The footsteps disappeared entirely.

The zip ties dug tighter with every struggle.

The crawfish, startled, began crawling up my clothes and my legs, their claws pinching into my skin.

I screamed and tried to stand, but with my wrists and ankles bound, I couldn’t get any leverage.

I gritted my teeth and stopped wasting energy.

My watch was still recording.

Then I heard men laughing outside the door. The one in front glanced down at his phone.

“Ms. Vance said the lady of the house has a temper.”

“Told us to teach her some manners.”

I shrank into the corner of the tub, watching them with alarm. “Derek only told you to let me out in two hours.”

“Mr. Sterling’s gone.”

The men stared at me. “What happens in here? Who’s gonna know?”

“Don’t! Don’t touch me!”

“Drop the act. Ms. Vance said we could have our fun with you tonight.”

I remembered the first time I heard the baby’s heartbeat. The doctor said the baby was strong.

He’d survived the crash, the fever, the glass. But this time, I couldn’t protect him anymore.

Hands groped and grabbed at me from every direction.

I fought with everything I had, but I was a leaf caught in a tidal wave.

Pain tore through me from the inside.

Warm blood ran down my legs.

The water in the tub turned red, little by little.

They fled in a panic.

My consciousness slipped further and further away.

I don’t know how long it was before I heard the violent crash of someone breaking down the door.

“Sloane!”