Page 31 of Condemned By Pain
“Tell her, Antonio.” The cold voice snaps us both around.
He’s staring at me. “Tell her what her father did.”
He turns and walks away. I face Antonio again.
“Your father killed his father. After that, his uncles and his father’s men tortured him and his mother.” Antonio forces out.
His face hardens—emotions warring across it: anger, pain, grief.
“She couldn’t endure it. She killed herself.”
His eyes redden. My heart drops. There are details in this story I’m not sure I want to hear.
After a long pause, Antonio rasps. “He wants your father to feel the same grief he felt.”
My heart, already sunk, stops.
“He wants to torture me to death?”
Antonio doesn’t answer. But fear roots deep in my chest. What kind of torture does he have planned? What I’ve experienced so far is bad, but not enough to kill me.
“He can’t,” Antonio breathes, his voice barely there, like he’s saying it to himself, not me.
This conversation isn’t something he wanted. It’s torture for him. Maybe his parents were close to Antonio. I want to ask more—but I won’t hurt him further.
I wrap my arms around him, silently wishing it would make him feelbetter. He doesn’t resist.
Chapter 9
Elowen
I push the door open. Bruno follows me inside.Yesterday, wandering the first floor with Bruno while feeling low, I found this storeroom. I stole a book from here and finished it today since I had nothing else to do.
Nobody called me for work. In fact, someone brought me food three times—in bed. I don’t know the reason for the sudden change, but whatever. Who cares? I’m happy as long as they leave me alone with Bruno and good romance books.
So I’m back today, hunting for another book. I don’t understand what kind of man stores books in a storeroominstead of a library. Maybe there’s a library on another floor. I haven’t ventured beyond this one yet.
“Bruno, tomorrow we’ll check upstairs.”
Bruno glances at me, then returns his attention to the box. I think he’s hunting for something too—something interesting.
I pull out a book with a golden spine.My Soulis engraved in the gilt. Looks like a collector’s edition. The cover is stunning too. I open it, skim the prologue.Hmm. A historical romance.
I tuck the book under my arm and keep searching, for something else. Like Bruno. We’re both digging through boxes now, hoping to find toys.
After only a few minutes, my eyes land on treasure. A music system box. I grab it instantly and tear it open. Inside is a small speaker fitted with lights. I take it out and turn it over. There’s a plug on the back.A cable input on the bottom. Four buttons on the front.
“Bruno, let’s go,” I announce excitedly. “Tonight, we’ll dance our souls out.”
We leave the storeroom and head to our place. I set the book on the couch and plug in the speaker. I press the lights button, and colors start swirling across the walls. I turn off the warm ambient light, transforming Bruno’s room into a disco.
I hit play, and music fills the room. It sounds like an old track. I’ve heard it before, but I can’t quite place it from the opening beat.
The lyrics start:“Do you know? Do you know? Do you know?”
Oh, now I remember. My mom used to play this a lot.
I move away from the speaker and turn toward Bruno, who’s watching me curiously.
