The acrid scent still hung in the air, forcing me to hold my breath with every shallow gasp. The chemical hit me like a sledgehammer, leaving my head spinning in a dizzying fog. Suddenly, a spark ignited in the pitch-black void behind my eyelids—a bright, searing flash of light. Consciousness began to crawl back, though my eyelids felt as if they had been forged from heavy lead.
"Wake up, you brat!"
Without warning, a torrent of ice-cold water crashed over my body, making my teeth chatter instantly. I gasped for air, snapping my eyes open as droplets clung to my lips. In the formless, blurred space in front of me, a feminine silhouette began to take shape.
"Here she is, Mistress," the thug from earlier smirked, showing off a prominent gap between his teeth.
"Thank you," the woman gave a curt nod, gesturing for him to vanish. He obeyed without a word. Her voice... it was hauntingly familiar, but my mind was still too sluggish to place it.
The sharp click-clack of heels echoed against the flawless parquet floor as the stranger approached. My gaze drifted from her beige stilettos to her perfectly pressed black trousers and stylish blazer. I looked up, and the world seemed to freeze.
"Kate," the name escaped my lips in a mangled groan.
I finally realized I was tied to a chair, my wrists bound tightly behind the backrest. The rope was soaked in something caustic that made my skin sting and prickle. I couldn't move an inch, but that didn't stop the sheer shock from reflecting on my face.
"Hi there, 'friend,'" the blonde smiled, her grin stretching wider than I'd ever seen. For the first time, she looked genuinely happy. But it was a radiant, mesmerizing kind of happiness that bordered on pure insanity.
"So... it was you," a lump formed in my throat, the realization hitting me with the force of a physical blow. I was paralyzed, caught in a state of utter numbness.
"It was always me," Kate nodded, pulling a chair up to sit directly across from me. "I assume you weren't expecting this."
"Why?"
"Figure it out yourself, darling," she spat, her words laced with a venom she'd clearly been holding back for a long time. She pierced me with a gaze so lethal it could have ended history.
"Christopher," I breathed out quietly.
"Bingo!" Kate clapped her hands in mock delight, a conspiratorial glint in her eyes. "Honestly, where did you even come from, you little brat?"
A silent answer flashed in my mind. I was born in a small town eighteen years ago in a hospital whose name I barely remember. Is that enough for you? Because it's enough for me.
"You ruined everything," she hissed, spitting to the side. "I worked so hard to make sure Chris broke up with my insufferable sister. I was there for him, I supported him... and then you appeared and wrecked it all."
"Maybe it's for the best," I smirked.
It was a terrible time for sarcasm, and I knew it. A split second later, a resounding slap echoed through the room. Kate hadn't held back—she'd struck me with every ounce of hatred she possessed. My head snapped to the side, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.
"Don't you dare speak!" the blonde hissed, rising to her feet. "Christopher will be better off with me!"
"And what exactly did he do to deserve such 'happiness'?" I taunted, baring my teeth in a defiant grin just to provoke her. If I was going to die, I might as well go out swinging.
"You're laughing?" Catherine noted with a chillingly sweet smile. "That's your right, little girl."
I'm not a little girl, damn it!
"Why did you kidnap me?"
"Isn't it obvious?" She arched a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "You're in the way. Christopher will be mine regardless of what you want."
Kate pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed a number, hitting the speakerphone. The dial tones filled the tense silence of the room.
"Hello?" Chris's voice—heavy and strained.
"Christopher, I need your help! Come quickly!"
Her voice transformed instantly. She sounded terrified, desperate—a masterpiece of acting that would have earned her an Oscar.
"Kate? Lily's gone! Something happened, I can feel it! I have to find her!"
"Chris, listen to me—I found her. She's in grave danger. I need your help, right now!"
"Give me the address."
Kate rattled off the location, a triumphant smirk playing on her lips as she watched my reaction. When she heard his final "I'm on my way," she ended the call.
"Well, that's that," she said with a melancholy smile, sitting back down but leaning in closer to me. "Your time is almost up."
"Yours too," I whispered under my breath, but she was already lost in her own twisted victory.