The whip cracked before I could scream. The first lash tore through skin and nerves, lightning-bright pain flashing across my back. Guests gasped. Some turned away. Some watched. The second hit made me stumble. The third made me bleed. By the fourth, I was coughing…violently. I tasted copper. Then blood hit the floor. A lot of it.
I fell to my knees, trembling, arms barely holding me up as more blood spilled from my mouth.
I heard Hakeem’s footsteps running. He knelt in front of me, cupping my face roughly.
“What the fuck! Harmony?!”
My lips were red. Dripping. I tried to speak but couldn’t. Then behind him Margaret suddenly doubled over, coughing loud, gagging. Dramatic, practiced.
“Something’s wrong,” she sobbed. “I can’t breathe…”
That was all it took. Hakeem stood up in panic. Shouted toward the bridge.
“Get the med team! I need the fucking helipad cleared, NOW!”
They carried Margaret away like she was made of gold. And me? He turned cold again. Didn’t even glance back.
“Bring her home,” he told the guards. “Lock her in the basement.”
They dragged me by the arms through the lower deck, past the shocked eyes of strangers, the stained memories of roses and red wine. Through the private corridor, into the black car waiting at the dock.
That night, I didn’t sleep in silk. I slept on a cold stone. Beneath the house I once ruled.
While she lay in a hospital bed, faking every breath.
And Hakeem… still hadn’t learned to see the difference.
---
The next morning, his men took me out again from the basement. I didn't even have a chance to change my clothes or clean my wounds. The car ride was fast. Violent. No one said a word. When we stopped, I stepped out into the rain. Cold. Heavy. It soaked my clothes in seconds, but that wasn’t what made me freeze.
It was where we were.
Cemetery.
No. Not here!
My heart dropped. I took a step back, chest tightening. Panic wrapped around my ribs like a vice.
“Hakeem,” I breathed. “Please. Don’t do this. Not here.”
He was already standing a few feet away, still as stone, rain dripping off his coat. He didn’t speak at first. Just stared at me like he didn’t recognize me anymore.
Then: “You’re not listening. You haven’t been listening for a long time. And now… I’ve got no other way to get through to you.” He turned to his men. Nodded once.
“Start digging.”