Page 57 of Filthy Elites

“We dated for two years. I was a freshman, and he was a sophomore.”

Jason’s face twists into something akin to deep agony. Is it because I dated another guy?

“He was the perfect boyfriend until he became jealous and possessive. He hated how much time I spent practicing the violin. At the end of my sophomore year, I found out he had cheated on me, so I ended things.”

I take a deep breath, closing my eyes for a second. “Then he tricked me into going to his family’s vacation home in a secluded area in Spain. I thought it was a group trip.”

Tears gather in my eyes as the memories flood my brain.

“It’s okay, Isabelle. You’re safe now. He’s not going to hurt you.”

I let out a shuddering exhale before I continue. “He made me his prisoner. I was locked in a boarded-up room for days. My parents didn’t know what was happening. He kept my phone and sent text messages to them pretending to be me. He forced me to send video updates.”

Jason’s eyes spark with fury, and his jaw locks tight.

“All the while he kept saying I was never going to leave him again, and he described in detail all the horrible things he’d do to me and my parents if I tried to escape.”

I swallow hard, afraid of how Jason is going to react when I tell him the most depraved part of my ordeal.

“I was terrified of him, but at that point, he hadn’t petrified me into hopelessness yet. The next time he forced me to shoot a video for my parents, I tried to signal to them that I was in trouble. He figured it out.”

Jason reaches for my arm, and the contact works as an anchor to ground me in the present, in the safety of my room and his company.

“The following night, he didn’t come to visit me. He brought a girl, or a woman, I don’t know her age. All I remember are her screams, begging for him to stop whatever he was doing. He tortured someone forhours, knowing I could hear her, to show what would happen to me.”

I’m shocked when Jason’s eyes well up with tears. I didn’t think he’d ever cry, at least not about something that happened to me.

“He did that for three nights in a row. Three girls suffered because of me. I know that because he used their names. He wanted me to know he had brought a new victim.” I shut my eyes. “I can still hear their screams.”

"It wasn’t your fault, sweetheart,” he says.

“If it weren’t for me, they’d still be alive."

He doesn’t argue with me, and I’m glad about that. My parents and therapists gave me the same spiel. But they weren’t there. They didn’t live through the nightmare.

“How did you escape?”

“I knew that Juan would keep hurting more girls because of me, so I decided that the only way to stop him was to escape or die trying. When he finally came to visit me, still wearing blood-stained clothes, I seduced him.”

Jason’s gaze becomes darker as he narrows his eyes.

“I didn’t sleep with him. I led him on, and when he was distracted, I used the nightlamp to knock him unconscious. Then I ran and didn’t stop.”

“You said he killed you.”

“He caught up with me and beat me to within an inch of my life. I passed out, and when I woke up, I was in a hospital. My parents told me a truck driver found me by the road.”

Jason wipes off the moisture from my cheeks. I didn’t notice I had been crying. Then he pulls me into his arms and hugs me tight.

“If that motherfucker ever steps foot in Triton Cove, he’s done.”

Being protected by Jason should make me feel better, but instead, it makes me more worried. Despite our turbulent and messed-up relationship, I care about him, which means he’s the first person that Juan will try to hurt to get to me.

“Please don’t get in the way, Jason. If Juan finds me, then it’s over.”

He pushes me back and glares. “How can you expect me to not do anything and just let him take you away from me again?”

“Again? When was I ever yours?”

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