Chapter 8: The Midnight Interrogation
Time lost its meaning in the dark.
I did not know if it had been three days or three weeks since Seraphina stood in my cell and promised to steal my child. The darkness was absolute. It swallowed everything except the gnawing hunger in my belly and the terrifying, secret flutter of life growing inside me.
I spent my hours huddled on the thin mattress. I kept my hands over my stomach. I whispered to the tiny spark of life. I promised it that I would survive. I promised that we would not let the monster take us.
But the real monster was not the one who threatened to kill me.
It was the one who visited me every night.
The heavy iron door groaned.
My heart hammered a frantic rhythm against my ribs. I scrambled back into the corner, pulling the tatte
