I didn’t know how long I had been here. Hours? Days? Time had blurred into an endless nightmare. My body was battered, every muscle screaming in pain, but the worst was the fear gnawing at the edges of my mind. I knew Gavino would be back soon. He always came back.
The door creaked open, and I instinctively tensed, a familiar wave of dread washing over me. Gavino stepped into the room, his presence filling the small space with a cold, oppressive energy. He closed the door behind him with a soft click, his eyes locking onto mine. The sick satisfaction in his gaze made my stomach turn.
“Well, Grace,” he said, his voice dripping with a twisted kind of amusement, “how are we feeling today?”
I didn’t answer. I refused to give him the satisfaction of a response. But the defiance that I tried
