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When bedtime rolls around I’m still none the wiser on what I will do.

Stay or go.

Do I put my faith in the hands of the woman who got me into this mess in the first place, who I know lied to me?

I look at the clock on the nightstand. Uncertainty paralyzes me as the hour ticks ever closer.

Chapter 29

Leah

Idecide to go. God help me, maybe I’m being a fool for trusting Ashley, but if there’s even the slightest chance that she’s telling the truth, I have to take it.

When three AM rolls around I put on my best, Oscar-worthy performance. I start to moan and groan, softly at first, then getting louder. I stumble out of bed, clutching my stomach, and head to the bathroom. I go to the toilet, feigning checking my underpants for blood. I continue to wince and moan as I stumble back into the bedroom.

“Tony!” I cry out, my voice panicked and needy. “Tony! Help me!”

No answer.

I head toward the door, making a great show of it, being sure for it to seem difficult and painful, just in case I have an audience. I try the door and, unsurprisingly, find it locked. I bang on it with my fist.

“Tony! Please! I think there’s something wrong with the babies!”

Still nothing. I place my ear against the door, straining to hear. It’s quiet.

What should I do? What if no one comes? If Tony is testing me, watching the cameras, and I go back to bed, he’ll know I was faking. I’ve got no choice, I have to commit.

“Tony, please!” I scream, panicked now as I bang on the door as hard as I can. “I need a doctor!”

After continuing to cry out for help, being sure to add some moans of pain, I eventually hear footsteps down the corridor.

“What the fuck, Brute, can’t you hear her?” Ashley says.

The relief I feel to hear her voice is palpable.

“Boss said not to open the door, no matter what,” a deep, rather dim-witted-sounding man replies. Brute, I presume.

I continue my charade. “Please, is someone there? Help me! I think I’m losing the babies, it hurts!” I scream.

“I don’t think that applies, given the circumstances. What do you think Tony will say if she dies or loses his insurance policy on your watch?” Ashley says, using a bossy, commanding voice.

He hesitates. “I don’t know… the boss said…”

Jesus, we’re dealing with an idiot that only does as he’s told. Is the plan going to fail because of Brute’s stubbornness?

“Will someone fucking help me!” I scream angrily. It feels good to get it out and given the circumstances, I think it’s called for.

“At least let me go in there and check on her,” Ashley reasons.

Perhaps my demand did the trick, either that or Brute is sick of listening to me wailing. “Alright. But any sign she’s pulling a fast one and we lock her in again.”

“Of course,” Ashley replies, the ‘duh’ implied.

The door opens and I throw myself at them. “Thank god you’re here. I think there’s something wrong with the babies.”

Brute looks exactly as his name suggests. A great brute of a man with a clueless expression. He physically recoils from me, as if I’m a leper. Knowing Tony’s strong warnings over what happens to any man who touches me, I’m not surprised that he’s terrified to do so.

“Alright, calm down, let me take a look at you,” Ashley soothes, leading me toward the bed. I moan and cry out as we do so. “You’re doing great, just breathe.”