“Why are you doing this to me?”
“Are you really that stupid? I want your signature.”
He slaps my face hard and my head flings to the side.
I could let him go on all day, but I rather not. In the end, I give him my signature. I doubt it would hold up in court when it came to a confrontation. Ama Seagar doesn’t exist in any register and my signature is nothing like Elise or Lilly’s.
He leans down and his hot breath is revolting when whispers into my ear, “I will not have you ruin everything I’ve worked for.” He spits the words at me and a spray of saliva hits my cheek. “I will teach you a lesson you won’t forget.”
He’s hurting me and is getting off on it. Without warning, he pulls me up by my hair. Why always the hair? He pushes me across the room until my back is hitting the wall. He grabs my throat with one hand and pins me against the cold wall. I close my eyes and make sure everyone is safely locked up in the tree house. This is not a situation I want the children to be conscious of.
“If you want your precious Scott to survive the day, you sign the contract.”
He gloats at me and I don’t resist any longer but slack like a puppet on the string where the puppet master has cut the strings.
He’s surprised. I’m sure for a moment he doesn’t know what’s going on.
“I sign.”
“I knew you would. Wise move.” He shoves the paper in front of me and watches me sign. He then opens the door and signals two men in white hospital uniforms. “Get her upstairs together with the man.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Elise/Lilly: 24 March 2017, Gateway
From all the ways of taking control of the body, being shocked into it is the most disorienting one. In the past, I never knew what happened, where I was, how I got there, and what was expected of me. Since we’ve worked on our integration, that has become much easier. Nowadays it’s more like a handing-over briefing from the day shift to the night shift. I kind of know what happened. I have a fuzzy idea and as the minutes pass, the picture becomes clearer.
Raymond had caught us. I remember. Two of his minions are pushing me into a white room. They covered the floor and walls in shiny, white tiles. I stumble, blinded by searchlights glaring down from the ceiling. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust. There is not a single piece of furniture in the room. Only a row of large metal rings attached to three of the walls. They tied a lifeless, mangled body of a man to one ring on the wall opposite the door.
“Scott!”
I cry out in agony. Pain sears through me. My heart misses a beat. He doesn’t move. For a moment my mind goes offline, disconnects and leaves only my reptilian brain to keep this body alive, by breathing and having my heart pump blood through my veins. I pray for the merciful arms of unconsciousness to take me away. But …
“Not now. You are stronger than giving up.”
“Ah, Sky. You’ve returned.”
“We all have and always will when you need us.”
I feel already stronger and want to run to Scott but one of my guards forces a sharp object into my back. I cry out in pain and tumble toward the wall. Then he shoves me to the floor, just like Scott, and first ties my hands at my back with a rope and then to a metal ring. As if we are cattle.
“Sit and shut up.”
I glance over to Scott. I can’t tell if he’s still alive. Rivulets of dried blood had turned his face into a macabre landscape with cuts and bruises. His right eye is swollen closed and turning reddish-purple. The promised freedom looks ever more out of reach now. Raymond lied to me and, I’m not surprised.
Raymond comes into the room, walks up to Scott, and kicks him. I can’t tell whether he is satisfied or frustrated that Scott doesn’t react. He pulls his face into a maniacal grin.
“He’s had enough, I guess.”
The man must have gotten his ideas from all the cheap spy and action movies where torture is the done thing to get important secrets out of the victim. What does he want from us? We don’t have any more secrets. He knows all that’s worth knowing about us. Ama has signed the contract.
“We’ve signed the contract, why aren’t we free?”
“You think you were clever breaking into the office, do you? Signing with the wrong name. You will sit here until you sign the contract. After that, you’ll be free to crawl into whatever hole you choose to crawl into.”
“You want me to believe that you’ll let us live? Do you think I’m stupid?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.”
“It was never about the sales contract for our house. You can’t fool me.”
“Aren’t we clever? What’s it about then?”
“I will find out. Don’t you worry.”
He smirks at me. “I never expected you to come to Gateways unless under force. And yes, you will live. Not in New Zealand, mind you, but in Shanghai. There are lots of people interested in women like you. It’ll make excellent entertainment. You’ll love it.”
Scott’s head flies up, and he pulls on his rope. I’m glad Raymond is so focused on me he doesn’t notice Scott’s movements. He’s alive. I’m so relieved.
“You can wait for your signature until the cows come home. I’m not signing anything over to you.”
Raymond’s phone rings and
