Chapter 7

Cedric's voice was a soft plea. "Please, Ella. Just a little. For Cassidy. She saved my life once, you know."

I laughed. A hollow, bitter sound. "No."

His eyes hardened. The gentle plea vanished. "You will give blood, Eleanor. She needs it." His tone was now a command.

Two orderlies came in. They held my arms. My body felt weak. My side throbbed. I couldn't fight them.

They wheeled me to the blood draw room. The needle slid into my arm. The rhythmic throb of the pump filled the silence. My blood, my life, drained away.

My vision blurred. Black spots danced before my eyes. My body felt heavy. Cold.

Cedric rushed past the door. A bag of my blood clutched in his hand. He didn't see me. He didn't look.

I stared at his retreating back. My teeth gritted. My nails bit into my palms.

I stumbled out of the room. My legs buckled. I leaned against the cold wall. I needed air. I needed to escape.

A door was ajar. A muffled conversation drifted out. Cassidy's voice. Strong. Clear.

"Did it work? Did she give blood?" Cassidy giggled. "I knew she would. She's such a pushover."

My breath caught in my throat.

Cedric's voice. Gentle. Loving. "Of course, it worked, honey. She doesn't have a choice."

"And the injuries?" Cassidy asked, her voice laced with triumph. "The ones I didn't really have?"

Cedric chuckled. "Just a little lesson for her. So she knows her place. So she stops questioning my choices."

"Good." Cassidy purred. "She needed to be taught a lesson. For trying to steal my spotlight."

My body felt cold. Colder than the marble at my parents' grave. A searing pain ripped through my side. Blood bloomed across my hospital gown.

A doctor rushed towards me. Someone screamed. The world tilted.

Then there was nothing.

I was a child again. C small. Alone. The world was a blur of chaos. A man in a dark uniform stood over me. He had kind eyes.

He knelt. He looked at me. "Don't cry," he said, his voice clumsy. "Don't be afraid."