Page 213 of Plunge into Obsession

“No. He loved me,” Lucinda gritted out.

“Did he? No. I’ll tell you who loves you. The woman you’re holding the knife to right now.”

She loosened her hold on the knife briefly before she firmed her grip.

“Bianca has always been too fucking sentimental,” she said, her voice mean.

My breath caught. Did she really think I spent all this time chasing after her ghost because I was sentimental?

Gabriel looked over at Melinda with hatred in his eyes.

“And what did she offer you to help bring her into my house?” he asked. “Or are you doing this purely because you’re a fucking bitch and can’t take no for an answer?”

Melinda’s nails dug into my skin, and I bit my lips to keep from making any noise. “Trust me, to see you fall is enough of a prize for me,” she said.

Gabriel’s lips pulled back in a snarl.

“Enough,” Lucinda said, bringing my attention back to her. She met my eyes briefly. “You were always so stupid,” she hissed at me. “Putting everyone above you. You should have let me go, Bee. You shouldn’t have looked for me. You shouldn’t have placed yourself directly in his path because now you’ve become his only weakness.”

She cupped my stomach over the blanket. The fact that I wasn’t wearing anything beneath never left my mind, and the covers weren’t enough to protect me. I could feel her touch, chilling me to the bone.

My skin crawled, and I wanted to shove her hand away.

“You and this baby,” Lucinda said. “I’m going to show him exactly how it feels to be pushed into a corner. To feel so hopeless and broken because you lost the one person you loved most. But I wonder which he loves more. You or the baby?”

I choked on my own breath. What did she mean by that?

I met Gabriel’s horrified eyes.

Lucinda pushed me to the edge of the bed, Melinda following close to me, ever the good lap dog.

She grabbed the dress Gabriel had taken off me not too long ago and threw it at me.

“Put it on. We’re going on a little trip,” she said, her green eyes glowing dark.

This was not the same girl I’d lost.

She pointed at Gabriel. “Stay by the door. You make any sudden moves, and I’ll pierce this knife down her stomach, killing both mother and child.”

I closed my eyes, pain blossoming in my heart.

I quickly put the dress on.

Lucinda pushed me off the bed and stood behind me, the knife close to my neck.

“Move backward. Slowly,” she said to Gabriel.

He did as she asked.

We got down the stairs and to the front door.

“Lucinda, please,” I pleaded as we went outside. I blinked against the blinding sun. “You don’t have to do this.”

She laughed. “No. But I want to. I want him to feel the pain he put me through, and unfortunately for you, I can’t do that without you. I’m sorry.”

She didn’t sound sorry.

Tears streamed down my face.

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