"Cecil, does she really hate me that much? I just wanted a child to keep me company. If she minds this much, I'll give back the stem cells. My life isn't worth anything anyway."
Cecil pulled her tight against him, then turned and glared at me with pure venom.
"Listen to what she's saying! She's been thinking of you at every turn, and this is how you repay her? I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't forget."
Without hesitation, he pulled off his belt and bound my wrists behind me to the radiator pipe.
The leather bit deep, raising purple-red welts, the kind of pain that doesn't stop at the skin.
"I'm warning you. Upset Ruby one more time, and I will make you wish you were dead."
Vivian handed him a syringe.
Cecil drove the needle into my arm without a second's pause, found the vein, and blood flowed out.
"Ruby got a scare. She needs blood work and a compatibility screen. Consider it an honor."
They drew a full tube of my blood and took it.
My vision blacked out. I hit the floor.
The heavy iron door ground shut behind them, lock grinding into place.
Darkness again.
:00:00.
The countdown ticked. Every second counting down what was left of me.