Page 8 of Sacrifice

“Oh, it’s real, Aribella. And the sooner you come to terms with it, the better off you’ll be.”

The monitor behind Vincent turns on, and I see my brother at a poker table. Oh God. He broke his promise to me. He swore he wouldn’t gamble again.

“Wait. Wait!”

I watch in horror as Vincent crowds Carlos against the table.“This is your one chance, Carlos. Make it good. Or you are a dead man.”

The wheels in Carlos’s mind are in overdrive. I can see his panic.“My sister. I will trade my sister’s life for mine.”

Tears of betrayal run down my face as the screen goes black. Vincent sits there with a smug look on his face.

“As you can see, sweetreina, Carlosdidtrade your life.”

“No.” I shake my head. “This...” Words fail me as floaters swim in my vision and I try to blink them away.

“You can’t trade humans like they are objects.”

My tears dry on my cheeks, and my hands steady as Vincent clicks his tongue at me and laughs once more.

“I guess you forgot who I am.” He stands up and looks at me as he places a gun on the desk. Oh, my God. He’s going to shoot me.

Swallowing, trying to wet my mouth and gather the courage to speak, I look at him. “You can’t possibly think this is alright. He was under duress. Surely you understand that.”

The black floaters in my eyes are turning into a big glob, and white lights streak through my vision. It’s a sign my blood pressure is dangerously high.

“A deal is a deal, Aribella. You will stay here for the rest of your life. Get used to this now. I don’t want to argue or hear anything else about it.”

“But...”

He slams his hand down and comes around the desk toward me.

“I can be a cold-hearted bastard to you, Aribella.” He moves a strand of hair out of my face as I try to focus. “Or you can do everything I say and live like aqueen. What would you like?”

Is there really any choice here? I should stand up and tell him to go to hell. Instead, I shrink back into the chair as my headthrobs. For the first time, the fear is settling deep within me. This isn’t a nightmare or a dream. God, what has Carlos done?

“Can... Can I see Carlos?” I whisper. He smirks.

“No, you may not. He left the country and has no reason to talk to you ever again.”

The way he acts as if I’m insignificant makes mewantto be defiant. Yet, this situation is too real, and I believe Vincent will kill me if I keep defying him.

His harsh words sink in and I sigh, looking up at him. I resign myself to behaving.

“What are you going to require of me?”

Vincent takes my face in his hands and kisses my forehead. “Ah, you are seeing reason. Good girl. Stand up.”

I take a minute to get up because my knees are weak and my head is swimming. My chest feels awful and I’m having a hard time focusing. The pounding in my head worsens. I haven’t had an episode like this since Dad passed away.

“Strip.” It’s only a word, but it’s a dagger to my psyche. He’s going to dobadthings to me.

Lip trembling, I finally raise my head. My eyes are unfocused as the glob grows and causes me to sway on my feet. “I —”

Voices surround me, but they seem so far away.

“Here are all the records we could find about her, Sir.”

Who are they talking about? Where am I? So many questions. It takes me a moment, but I realize who’s speaking. Mossimo stands with Vincent and a man that looks like Vincent is to his left, while the doctor is in front of them.

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