Page 48 of Death

My gaze lowers to his hands, and I watch as he presses his thumb to the screen to unlock it with his fingerprint. He opens the gallery, and I see photos of a baby.

He scrolls down and taps on the screen. The next second, I’m staring at Grace. Her hair is all over the place, and she looks exhausted, but there’s a happy smile on her face. She’s holding a baby.

I’m bombarded with emotions, and they rip the air from my lungs.

Grace has a baby?

I stare at her eyes, seeing happiness sparkling in them. I’m filled with relief, but at the same time, the loneliest feeling I’ve ever had wraps heavy around me.

I don’t fit into her life. Where she’s happy, I’m a shell.

The longer I stare at her, the more I notice little things. Her face is plumper, but that’s probably because she was pregnant.She’s wearing a wedding ring, and her nails are manicured into a short, neat style.

Even though it’s clear from the photo that she just gave birth, she looks really good.

Grace has a baby.

I have a niece or nephew.

I keep looking at the photo, drinking in Grace’s beautiful face for as long as Santiago will allow me.

Suddenly, the phone beeps, and knowing my time is up, I lower my head and wrap my arms around my middle, waiting for Santiago to demand that I thank him.

Instead of telling me to kiss him, he asks, “Are you done looking?”

My eyes dart to him before lowering to the photo of Grace again. “I can look longer?”

“For as long as you want. I can print the photo for you.”

The tiny seed of hope sprouts in my heart. “Really?”

He tips his head toward the door. “Let’s go to my office. I have a printer there.”

Santiago stands up, and I quickly rise to my feet. I follow him to the office that’s on the same floor and watch as he taps on his phone. I take in the black desk and the comfortable leather chair. On one wall, there are bookshelves, with some titles in English and others in a language I don’t recognize. Screens cover the opposite wall, but none of them are on, and there’s also a black couch that looks like it’s been sat on a lot.

The printer starts to work, drawing my attention to it. When a page showing Grace and the baby appears, I step a little closer.

Santiago takes the paper from the printer and holds it out to me. I give him a cautious look before I take the photo, and when he doesn’t yank it away, I quickly press it to my chest.

“I’ll get the photo framed for you and ask Dominik to send more.”

My eyes meet Santiago’s, and my voice is hoarse with fear when I dare to ask, “How will I have to thank you?”

A frown forms on his forehead. “The words thank you will be enough.”

“Just thank you?” I double-checked.

He tilts his head, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Did Nolan make you thank him?” When I nod, he asks, “What did you have to do?”

I lower my head, and my gaze locks on the sheet of paper. “He would undress me and masturbate.”

My muscles tense up even more, and the horrific memories knock me a step back.

Nolan slamming me down on the wooden floor and rubbing his cock over my breasts until he orgasmed.

Nolan rubbing his release into my skin.

Nolan beating me for not keeping still.