Chapter 1: Take the Bait
“WHAT DID YOU SEE?” THE words were venomous, spat out like they were disgusting.
“Leave me alone!” she sobbed, though her voice was steady and indignant.
Calida bent down and backhanded her across the face. It was a stinging slap, one that made Amber curl into the corner, drawing her knees up into her chest. “What did you see?” The same question all over again.
“Nothing! What does it matter to you anyway?” she bit out. She had no urge to wipe the tears of pain off her face. Amber felt her hands curl at their place on her knees.
Then Calida kicked her in the abdomen and Amber grunted, covering the injured area with her arm. The girl suddenly yanked at her hair, forcing Amber to look up at her. “Tell me what you know,” she demanded once more.
In response, Amber reached up and grasped the girl’s sleeve. She ripped it down Calida’s shoulder, revealing tints of black and blue that were obvious even on her coffee-coloured skin. “I saw you changing in your room last night.”
“Pervert!” Calida jerked away, rubbing at her shoulder. Her wince was almost imperceptible, but Amber caught it.
“Not really.” Amber shrugged from her supine position. “I was suspicious when I started noticing how you wince when people ask about your dad, and when your boyfriend touches your shoulder, you lean away. You have a popular girl rep, but you never hold parties at your house, or introduce anyone to your dad. Your dad is bea—”
“Shut up!” The exclamation was followed by another kick at her stomach. She curled into herself, not just to protect her abdomen, but to hide her triumphant smile. Amber allowed herself to be pulled to her feet by the collar of her shirt. “Listen closely,” Calida breathed in her ear. “If you dare to tell anyone about this, I will make your life hell. I will tear your reputation to shreds. I will destroy every scrap of you till you have nothing left.” There was a fleeting, poisonous smile and then she was walking away, head still head high.
“So he is beating you.” Amber called after her. She didn’t know why Calida was so intent on keeping the abuse a secret, but it didn’t matter, as long as she would take the bait. Bracing a hand against the wall, Amber stood up, swaying slightly.
She whipped around. “You won’t have any friends. You will be lonely and empty and not worth a thing to anyone. Trust me, I can take away everything.” That said, she stalked away, oblivious to Amber’s bitter smile.
Wrong, I’m afraid. I already have nothing to lose. Her words went unsaid.
The next day, the whole neighborhood was buzzing with the scandalous news. “Did you hear? Oh my goodness, Dr. Sanchez—”
“I don’t believe it! The man’s too respectable for this nonsense.”
“It’s true! The police said so. Child abuse, it was.”
“But he was such a good neighbour, his daughter too. She’s pretty, isn’t she? Lucky he had the sense not to touch her face.”
“Speaking of daughters, mine told me that that Starling girl—the one living with that hag Emily, you know?—bullies her at school. How could she do that? My baby has never done anything to her!”
“Oh yes, I’ve heard. My son told me that she picks pockets and steals from shops!”
“Children nowadays… they should send her for counseling, talk those bad ideas right out of her head!”
“That’s if she has a head. It’s no wonder, it’s ‘cause she lives with that hag! She’s not right in the head either, always ranting about her dead sister. Look what’s happened now!”
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[four years later]
It was way before dawn. Emily didn’t wake up this early. She would probably only realise she was gone at about noon, or maybe earlier, depending on her luck. Or she could wake up now, and Amber would never escape this house till the next day.
As if on cue, a floorboard creaked under her foot. She winced and moved even slower. She had to get out of here. Soon. She could feel it clawing at her insides again. Dinner the night before had been a boring, cold affair, dragged on longer than necessary. It could have been a new torture technique that Emily devised. Her aunt despised her, and the feeling was mutual—perhaps that was why she remained only a barely tolerated presence in the house.
However, unneeded as the extra time was, it gave her no chance to steal away to be alone for a while. So she had been unable to let herself go yesterday, and she dreaded to think what the consequences would be now. She had to get out of this damn house, or she - no, it wasn’t her - it would tear the walls to shreds.
And then she was in the living room of the old house, her feet carrying her to the front door. Amber reached up, groping in the dark for the key. Emily always kept them on a hook fixed to the wall.
It wasn’t there.
Squinting in the dark, Amber reached up again. It had to be there. It couldn’t not be there. She sucked in a breath. Her rising fear and frustration weren’t helping her at all. She turned and fumbled at the cabinet on her right, peering inside. Where was the damn key? Her hand hit something and it landed on the floor with a loud thud. She cringed.
The living room light flicked on.
With a gasp, Amber whirled around. Emily stood in the hall, still clad in her nightgown, her hand on the light switch. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Um…” Amber searched for a good excuse. “Nothing. I just needed some fresh air…” She trailed off, “or something.”
Emily raised both eyebrows and advanced on Amber. She backed away instinctively, groping for the doorknob behind her. Gripping the cool metal, she twisted it desperately, but it didn’t give. Emily smirked. “Looking for this?” The key dangled invitingly between her fingers. Amber swallowed. She needed that key, but Emily was holding it, and Amber knew better than anyone that the key wouldn’t be released till she let it be released.
“Now, girl, where were you going? What were you going to do? I’ve noticed the damage you’ve wrecked on my garden for weeks already.” Amber bit her lip, trying not to curse. She had hoped that Emily would simply dismiss that as the neighbor’s dog’s doing, but it seemed that Emily had finally made the connection. “What were you planning?” She stepped towards her again and Amber pressed herself closer to the door.
“Were you going to meet someone? Get together and wreak havoc on my yard? Who?” When Amber remained silent, Emily’s hand clenched at her side. The look on her face was strained. “Liar! Selfish brat! I’ve been taking care of you for the past twelve years. I thought that since we were family, one day we could love each other. But, no! You’ve turned out too much like your father! I knew that Lucian was trouble the moment I saw him. I told Cassandra about his lies. His trickery! Manipulation! But she wouldn’t listen to me. Why? Because she was in love with him, she said.” Emily cut off her angry monologue with a loud snort, proving that her contempt for the man had not lessened even after he had died.
There was a brief moment of silence. A little respite, some relief. Amber exhaled, realising only now that she had been holding her breath. Inhale. Exhale. Don’t let it go. She bit her lip so hard the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Don’t let it go. Don’t let it go. Keep it in. Amber sucked in a breath and squeezed her eyes shut. It was clawing at her insides now, as if it was tearing at her flesh, raking its nails down her skin. She looked at her hands, clenched into pale fists in the dim light, and expected to see rivulets of crimson running over her knuckles. But they were pale and small. And trembling.
Her breathing was speeding up. Control. Control. Control. She had to calm down before she blew her top, before things got ugly. Sheer will forced her hands to stop shaking and her breathing to slow. Amber closed her eyes and thought of good things, happy things. She tried to remember her parents’ faces, but all that came to mind was a flash of a grin, a flicker of auburn hair, strong and capable hands enveloping her own, the sensation of being lifted up and twirled around till the world spun with her.
And then a jarring stop. Get behind me! Her mother shouting. The clang of metal on metal. A shove and a cry and a crunch crunch crunch of her father’s body falling down the stairs and silence. Horrid, harsh and irregular noises—probably her own breathing. A crumpled mess in a big empty house with no one alive but her.
Alone.
Dead.
Hollow.
Empty—
There was a sudden stinging pain on her cheek. She was thrown to the side, shoved to the floor. Noise flooded back. She looked up, slowly, cautiously, warily, like a cat adjusting to the dim light. Deep shadows framed her aunt’s face, the silvery moonlight highlighting her sharp, tall nose, giving her figure an ethereal quality despite the ugly sneer on her face. Emily bent down till she was so close her breath ghosted along Amber’s cheek. “Where were you going?”
Silence stretched out. Out of here. Possible replies flitted through her head like butterflies. Away from you. None of your business. But she said nothing, because there was nothing to say. A hiss of breath, another snort. Emily whipped around and stormed off to pace a few feet away. Amber lay on the floor, supine, as still as possible. “Just like your father,” Emily’s tone was disgusted and full of loathing. “He never told me anything. Never answered questions. All he did was stare at me!”
“Leave my dad alone!” The words were out before Amber could even stop herself. She could feel it rising up—a tidal wave, a hurricane, bigger than anything she had felt before. Emily sneered at her hatefully. “He never did anything to you,” she couldn’t help but add softly.
“He never did anything to me?” Her aunt echoed, fury evident, in her twisted features. “He ruined my family. He ruined Cassandra. He ruined everything!”
Amber felt the world rise and realised that she had stood up without even noticing. Her hands were clenched into fists. Keep it in. Control. Stop. Please just don’t let—
“I hate him. I hate him.” Emily’s gaze swivelled to Amber. Her face twisted. Maybe the resemblance to Cassandra and Lucian Starling was too much, too hard to miss. “I hate you, Lucian’s daughter!” She must have seen the tight mask of concentration on her face. Emily grabbed Amber and shook her roughly by the shoulders. “Are you even listening to me? You hateful little—”
“Stop! Stop it!” Amber shoved her away. All she could hear was a roaring in her ears.
“You dare tell me to stop! You—”
“Stop it. Please.” She could feel hot tears streaking down her face. She was trying—trying so hard—to fight it, fight the urge, because once she let go, there would be no stopping, no going back. Why couldn’t she just stop?
“Brat! Get out of the house. I never want to see your disgusting face again!” The world fell sideways and then Amber was on the floor, curled up into a ball, rocking back and forth. A foot connected with her side, as if she was merely a dog, to be banished to the lawn outside the house. Calida’s face flashed in her mind. She had done the same thing, but back then Amber had had a plan. She didn’t have anything now.
Her ears were ringing and her vision was becoming black around the edges. Stop. Please just stop. I can’t take it. Not anymore. Please…
Another kick, this time in the abdomen. A rain of slaps on her face, her back, her arms. Her head slammed sideways and then—