Page 39 of The Stowaway

I covered my mouth and nose with my hand because the stench was horrid. They both wore matching black underwear. When I looked at Ivan, I had to do a double-take because he had a nasty, malicious expression, complete with savage hatred burning in his eyes.

“How long have they been here?” I whispered.

“A few weeks after we got married. Did you think they were going to get away with touching you? Trying to harm you? To fucking rape you?”

The longer he spoke, the angrier he got until he walked towards them and began to kick them.

“Disgusting fucking cunts,” he said, kicking William on his face before kicking Paul between his legs until they were curled up trying to protect themselves. They groaned and made muffled noises, but they never said a word back to us.

“They were going to inject you with heroin and get you hooked like your mother and sell you every chance they could get. They never stopped looking for you.”

I felt sick at his words, but I couldn't put it past them. It explained the amount of traffic in and out of the house around my mother. I’d had my suspicions, but I kept well away from them all in the evenings. Ivan walked back towards me with a dark look on his face.

“Don't worry, Kitten. They can't speak, and I relieved them of their tongues and their balls,” he said, putting his hand on my back.

I couldn't help but look down at their crotches in horror, but Paul was curled up, holding his ribs. When I remembered what they did to me and how badly they’d hurt me, the horror vanished. It was one less poison within our society, and I’d missed the city. At least I wouldn't be scared anymore.

“They won't be here for long. Do you know the best way to get rid of a body?” he asked.

I looked at him in confusion, but he was looking at Paul and William.

“We pull your teeth out, cut you up into six equal parts, and feed you to some very hungry pigs,” Ivan said as he smirked like a villain.

The fear was palpable on their faces, and as Ivan’s words fully sank in, I narrowed my eyes at Ivan.

A jeweller, my ass.

“I will be back for our daily session later, boys,” he said before he put his hand on my back and guided me outside of the room.

He closed the door, which had a keypad on it as a locking mechanism. I grabbed Ivan’s arm when I thought about my mother.

“Where is my mum?”

“We’re seeing her next,” he said, moving me down the dimly lit hallway.

My heart was pounding as we approached another door. Ivan tapped some numbers into the keypad, and I nervously began to play with the material of my robe belt. He opened the door, switched the light on, and nudged my back to move me forward. I stepped inside the room and froze.

“Maksim keeps an eye on her,” Ivan said, snapping me out of my shock.

I walked around and saw the walls covered with our wedding pictures. There were pictures Ivan had taken over the months. They showed each part of my pregnancy, in the house, the garden, with Misha, and in every one of them, I was smiling or laughing. There was a TV mounted on the wall, and I glanced at Ivan, who moved towards the cabinet and switched it on. It was a video of our wedding dance.

“You! You ungrateful little bitch,” my mother croaked out.

I stared at her. She looked awful without her two-inch caked-on makeup.

“Keeping me locked up in this shithole while you strut around like a lady of a manor. You think you're better than me?” she spat out with such vitriol that I took a step away from her bed. “You whore!”

When I heard the metal clanging, my eyes moved to her wrist, which was handcuffed to the bed. Ivan put his arm around my waist.

“She is a lady. I can't believe someone like you gave birth to her,” he snapped back angrily.

Unconsciously, I put my hand over my stomach, suddenly grateful that this horrible woman wouldn't be in my baby’s life. I didn't want her anywhere near us.

“A lady? Look at the state of you. Do you think a man like him is going to stay with your fat arse?”

I gasped at her words but felt a jolt of anger shoot through me.

“Is she getting fed to the pigs as well?” I said angrily as I turned to face Ivan.

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