Page 119 of Sardonic Burn

I turn my head to the side, looking elsewhere. My eyes scan through the room, trying to find a little opening. That’s all I need. Something small but useful. If I wait for everyone to save me, it means I’m not really good at my job. I’ll be damned if I allow the hunter to become the hunted.

“Very well,” Dylan says.

In the next moment, my hair is being grabbed roughly. One of the men shoves my head deeply under water, and it fucking hurts.

The cold ice slices through my cheek. My lungs start filling with water when I open my mouth. I don’t want to, but it’s almost like an instinct. It fucking burns. It’s as if my entire insides are being ripped apart, inch by inch, ruthlessly and violently.

They pull me out, and I gasp for air. Breathing in hurts more than I thought, and I start coughing violently. Shivers rush down my body because it’s freezing cold. Dylan sees it and only chuckles.

“You forced me to do this, Noelle,” he sighs. He’s sitting in the chair across from me with his arm resting on the armrest, holding his chin on his index and middle finger. “Do you know how hard I tried not to let it get to this? I found every single lookalike I could but no matter how similar in appearance they were, they just… weren’t enough. They weren’t you.”

“You wanted to turn them into me?” I whisper. Disbelief and shock morph together, and I’m left in a haze. “How long has this been going on, Dylan?”

“Hm…” He pauses. “Probably five, six years? It was very lowkey because I needed you to get rid of the De Santis morons first. You get rid of one, then fuck the other. Really classy, Noelle.”

“Shut up.”

He laughs. It’s dark and filled with venom. I don’t know who this person is, but I hate him with every fiber of my being. I want nothing more than to see him fucking suffer.

“Oh, Noelle. We’re just getting started. I have some grand things prepared for you, you know? You’ll change your mind and if you don’t, I’ll just kill you and keep your pretty body as a souvenir.”

“Then go ahead. Kill me, you bastard.”

“And let you off the hook so easily? You’ve made me wait for a life that was never going to happen, haven’t you, Noelle? You don’t think I’m that clueless, right? I know you were desperately trying to break off the engagement. Let me make myself clear. It will never happen.”

THIRTY-ONE

Idon’t know how much time has passed since I was brought here.

My mind fills with dark thoughts, and the voices start to appear. They’re telling me that this is just karma and that I shouldn’t act too surprised that my wrongdoings finally caught up with me.

I stop counting how many times water fills my lungs; how many times he hits and beats me because I refuse to sign the piece of paper. I’m certain this is all a game to him because he could easily sign it himself. He knows my signature.

He shoved food down my throat twice. I didn’t want to eat it but for each refusal, he made sure I regretted it. I stoppedfighting after that. I’m still not going to sign that fucked-up paper, but I’m also not provoking him.

I stop speaking entirely.

Of course, he can’t let that slide. He was getting annoyed with each passing hour. Eventually, Dylan lost his mind completely. I’ve never seen him like this. He went from a maniac to an absolute psychopath within seconds.

How the hell did I never notice his sadistic tendencies?

The darkness hugs me with its long claws, embedding itself deeply into my soul. I don’t try to fight it off because it’s covering me like the softest blanket. It starts to speak, whispering in my ear while probing and reaching my heart. It’s in its palm, and it’s hers to play with.

It’s me.

The shadow is me. The part of me that I never wanted anyone to see. The part of me that I kept hidden from everyone. The real Noelle Campbell. She’s always been on my side, and she’s the only one I can rely on, even when all she wants is to twist my heart.

I can’t feel my fingertips. I’ve passed out too many times. Each time, Dylan splashes me with more freezing-cold water to wake me up. I’m surprised I’m not dead yet, though I know I will be in a little while unless someone shows up to save me.

How absurd and pathetic.

I’m one of the proudest people I know, yet here I am, waiting to be rescued like a damsel in distress. To make matters even worse, whenever I have a few minutes of clarity, all I think about is Hudson.

He will come for me.

I know he will.

It’s laughable, really.

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