Page 182 of Bound By Crimson

She hit the ground.

And everything went black.

Chapter Sixty-Six

Not This Name

She woke to pain.

A slow, grinding ache low in her stomach, like something was trying to claw its way out.

For a moment, she thought she was dreaming. A nightmare. A sick hallucination.

But then she opened her eyes, and the world didn’t shift. It stayed. Heavy. Real.

Her heart lurched painfully against her ribs.

She was back in her room. But it wasn’t the same.

The clothes she’d worn were gone, replaced with soft cotton and loose fabric. Her hair was brushed. Her bare feet clean. She quickly reached for her mother’s locket. It was still there. Still safely around her neck.

But someone had touched her. Someone had changed her. And she hadn’t even known.

Her breath caught in her throat.

She scrambled toward the door, yanking at the handle with both hands. It didn’t move.

She pulled harder, frantic now. Nothing.

“Hello?” she shouted. “Let me out!”

No answer.

She pounded on the door with her fists until her arms ached, her voice cracking against the silence.

She stumbled to the window, clutched the frame—but it wouldn’t budge.

Her breath hitched. She tried again, harder. Still nothing.

That’s when she saw them.

Nails. Driven straight into the wood.

Her stomach turned.

Even if she screamed, who would hear her?

There were no neighbors. No passing cars. Just acres of forest and silence.

Tears blurred her vision. She turned, staggered back to the bed, every step heavier than the last.

Fresh berries sat in a ceramic bowl on the nightstand. Toast. A pitcher of water. A napkin folded neatly beside it.

Like she wasn’t a prisoner. Like she wasn’t falling apart.

She sank onto the edge of the bed, clutching her stomach. Her baby.

And that’s when the memories came crashing back.