Chapter 4

I watched them leave, Hayden's arm wrapped possessively around Kaitlin's waist. He murmured something in her ear, and she tilted her head back to laugh, a triumphant, glittering sound. The sight was so grotesque it made me want to vomit.

My head throbbed, and a wave of dizziness washed over me. I ignored it, scrambling to my feet and rushing to Ivy.

"Ivy? Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" I pulled her into my arms, my hands shaking as I checked her for injuries.

She was trembling uncontrollably, her face ashen. "I'm okay, Char. Let's just go. Please, let's just go home."

I held her tight, trying to shield her from the leering eyes of Kyle and his friends. "We're leaving," I said, my voice shaking with rage.

But Kyle blocked our path to the back door, his bloody face twisted into a malicious grin.

"Not so fast," he sneered. "The party's just getting started." He looked past me at Ivy, his eyes crawling over her. "Your sister's a real firecracker. I wonder if little mouse here has some fire in her too."

The vile words made my stomach churn. Before I could react, his thugs grabbed me again, pinning my arms behind my back.

"No!" I screamed, struggling against them. "Don't you dare touch her!"

Kyle laughed and stalked toward Ivy. I watched in horror as he backed her into a corner. I heard her whimper, a small, terrified sound that shattered my heart.

"Let her go!" I shrieked, thrashing wildly. "I'll give you anything! Money! Just let her go!"

Kyle ignored me. I could hear Ivy's choked sobs, the sound of tearing fabric. His friends were laughing, egging him on, pulling out their phones to record the sick spectacle.

"Look at her," one of them jeered. "She's shaking like a leaf."

Suddenly, Ivy's crying stopped. A terrible, gurgling sound came from her throat. Her body started to convulse violently.

"Her seizure!" I screamed, a new, more profound terror seizing me. "She has epilepsy! You're killing her!"

I fought with the strength of a cornered animal, kicking and biting, but they held me fast. Ivy's pleas for help grew weaker, softer, then stopped.

"Please," I begged, tears streaming down my face. I looked toward the front door, praying that Hayden would come back, that some shred of the man I married still existed. "Hayden! Help us!"

But the door remained closed. He was gone, wrapped up in his new life with his mistress, leaving us to be devoured by the monsters he kept as pets.

Ivy's body went limp. The gurgling stopped. There was only a deafening silence.

A primal scream tore from my throat, raw and animalistic. With a surge of adrenaline I didn't know I possessed, I broke free from my captors and lunged for my sister.

I fell to my knees beside her, gathering her into my arms. Her eyes were open, vacant. Her skin was already growing cold.

"No, Ivy, no," I cried, rocking her back and forth. "Wake up. Please wake up."

I scooped her up. She was so light. I ran out of that bar, screaming for help, and didn't stop running until I burst through the emergency room doors of the nearest hospital, leaving a trail of blood and tears behind me.