Page 5 of Under Their Watch

“Good to see you, Marvin. This must be Rhea?” David asks, looking me over.

“Yes. Rhea, say hello,” Marvin commands.

“Hello,” I say softly, keeping my head bowed.

“She is obedient. I like it,” he says.

“Shall we get to why we are here then?” Marvin asks, sitting next to me.

“Yes,” he says. David produces a stack of papers and lays them in front of Marvin. “Would you like for me to go over it?”

“Sure,” Marvin says, glancing at me with an evil smirk.

Fuck… This is bad. Emma, are you even coming back?

“So, this is simple divorce paperwork. It will give you everything and she won’t be able to claim anything. This one is for you. It is releasing you as her caregiver. The next set is a contract between her and I,” David says.

Divorce? Because I went to the bathroom without permission? This is good though. Divorce is good. What’s the contract, though?

“The contract is her legally giving herself to me and allowing me to make all medical, financial, and personal decisions. In layman’s terms, it’s a conservatorship,” David says. “She will reside in my home. You and the other listed individual, Marcus Langston, will have free use of her. You should also have the deposit for payment already.”

“Good deal,” Marvin says, sliding the paperwork to me. “Sign, Rhea.”

“I… Why are you doing this?” I ask, looking up at him.

“Sign the first set, and we can talk,” he says. I nod and read over the divorce paperwork. It is exactly what he said it was. I signthe paperwork and Marvin takes the pen to sign his name. David signs last before handing him the next paper.

“This is for you to give up your rights to sign for her so that she may legally enter the conservatorship with me,” David says. Marvin reads over it. He takes his hand off my thigh to sign and I make a split-second decision.

As soon as I see him sign the paperwork, I abruptly stand and jump back before Marvin can grab me. “I’m going to go to the restroom,” I say. Marvin is glaring at me but doesn’t lunge at me as expected.

“Hurry back,” he says simply. I nod and practically sprint to the bathroom. When I get in there, tears flood my face.

He’s selling me off to whoever the fuck this man is. I have to get away, but I don’t know how. I have nowhere to go. The door comes open and I back myself against the wall when I see Marvin come in. He calmly locks the door and walks over to me.

“You are going to take your fat ass out there and sign that paperwork,” he says.

“No,” I say tearfully. “I’m not doing it.”

“Excuse me?” he asks, grabbing me by the throat and slamming me back against the wall. My head smacks against the tile and I whimper, afraid he’s going to cause damage again. “I fucking own you, Rhea. You are mine to do whatever the fuck I want to do with. If I tell you to do something, you fucking do it.”

“No,” I say firmly. “I’m not a fucking object you can sell.”

“You either leave here with David, or in a body bag. Your choice,” he growls.

“I’m not letting you sell me,” I say.

“Wrong choice, bitch,” he says as he tightens his grip and cuts off my air. He pushes me up the wall slightly, so I am hardly on my tiptoes and my vision floods with stars. I start clawing and hitting him, trying to draw a breath.

I hear the door slam open, but my vision is too blurry to see who grabs Marvin and throws him across the room. I drop to the ground and start gasping and coughing, trying to blink away the haze. The room erupts into chaos and I look up and Emma is in front of me

“You’re okay,” Emma says as she pulls me up. She tries to comfort me, but when she steps to the side and I see who grabbed Marvin, I shove past her and try to stop what’s about to happen.

“Quinn, Don’t!”I scream and step between Marvin and Quinn. He doesn’t look at me. He keeps the gun pressed to Marvin’s forehead and I am nearly sobbing. “Don’t. Please, stop it. Stop it, Quinn. Please stop.”

“Rhea,” Jace says, gently touching my arm.

“No,” I snap and put my hands on Quinn’s chest. “Quinn, Dad is a sitting judge. Please, don’t. Please, Quinn. Don’t do this.”

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