Page 111 of Degradation

Guthrie moves his arm, does something to make his fancy suit ruffle. “No one will know. You have this place locked down better than even your father managed.”

Magnus grunts, murmuring about transferring the money and the need to see to his brother.

“Wait,” I scream as he turns to leave. “Please, wait, Devin…”

His fist slams into my face. The force of it smashes my head back into the stone and pain explodes behind my empty sockets. “You keep his name out of your mouth.” Magnus snarls. “You forget him. Forget he even exists, do you hear me?”

“But…”

Magnus goes to beat me again and Guthrie is there, stepping between us. “I’d rather you didn’t ruin all of my fun.” He says. “Give me a month and this bitch won’t even remember her own name, let alone anyone else’s.”

Magnus grunts, probably giving me a look his brother has given me so many times before.

“Fine.” He spits. “I’ll have her moved by nightfall.”

He walks out without another glance at me.

Guthrie is still stood so close and while I hate this man almost as much as I hated my husband, he’s my only chance now.

“Please…” I beg as soon as the door shuts.

Guthrie immediately backhands me. “You keep your mouth shut, bitch. The only time you get to open it is when you’re choking down my cock, do you hear me?”

My chains rattle from the violent shaking of my body. I can’t keep the tears down as I realise what this is, what my future is now.

He squats down, taking hold of my face. “He never let me touch you. I sat there and I watched from the sidelines as he let everyone else fuck you. As he let his guards have their fun, as he let his damned Senate get to play, but me, me, I was off-limits.”

His hand smashes into my face. Into my socket. My head jerks back, slamming once more into the stone and I scream, turning my head, reeling from the impact.

“What makes you so special? What makes you so fucking precious that my brother kept you from me?”

He hits me again, aiming for my mouth this time. I feel my lip split, I feel my blood start to pour, and I can taste it on my tongue, between my teeth.

“I guess I get the last laugh, don’t I? You’re mine now. All fucking mine. Gunther thought he was so smart, strutting around, telling us what to do all the time, but you wanna know a secret?” He yanks my head, lowering his disgusting face so that he’s right by mine. “I know who killed my brother.” He taunts. “And I know it wasn’t you or that fucking guard either.”

He shoves my head back, crushing it into the stone. I swear my skull actually cracks; I swear my brain turns to mush. A pain so excruciating I can barely describe explodes in my head, shoots down my spine.

“You’re mine now, bitch. Mine to touch. Mine to fuck. Mine to hurt in any way I please.”

I jerk in my chains. I scream out as I hear him undoing his belt. I know what’s coming. What he’s going to do. Somehow it feels so much worse knowing it’shimviolating me. Him touching me.

But this is my future now. This disgusting brute of a man.

And I can’t escape it. I can’t get free.

And worse than that, I know no one is coming to save me. No one even knows I’m here.

As far as the world is concerned, Paitlyn Helseltine no longer exists. Paitlyn Helsetine is dead.

I’m a nameless slave now. A nobody.

And I’m trapped in this hell until the day I’m finally allowed to finally die.

Devin

I’m thrashing, jerking, trying to get my arms free but the jacket they put me in keeps them pinned to my sides. God only knows how they found a thing big enough to fit me.

I’m in a padded cell. It’s big enough that I can do a running smash into one wall and then the other. But all I do is faceplant against the cushioned sides. I don’t even know where the door is, it’s concealed by the giant squares of foam.