Page 32 of Captive Promise

She doesn’t move for a second as she eyes me and the phone warily. But curiosity wins out, and she takes it, peering down at the screen.

A brightly colored room appears on the screen.

There’s a bright blue rug with the alphabet curving around it and blocks are scattered about.

Sitting in the center of the rug is Seraphina, wearing a purple shirt with a unicorn on it.

Her dark curls are in two pigtails on the side of her head and she’s looking down at the blocks, her dark brows furrowed in a scowl.

Suddenly, she looks up at the person filming and glares fiercely.

“No!” she shouts before getting up and stomping her foot. “I need help!” She picks up a block and throws it, glaring even harder at the person off-screen.

A woman leans into frame, reaching for her, saying something too soft for the camera to catch.

Seraphina full-on shoves her away, screaming louder, and throws herself backward onto the rug, kicking both feet, fists pounding the floor like the floor is the one who knocked her tower down.

The woman doesn’t try again. She just waits, hands in her lap, letting it happen.

It takes almost a full minute.

Then, mid-scream, Seraphina stops.

She hiccups once and rubs her wet face before she sits up and picks up a block like nothing happened at all.

She looks at it before tossing it down and grabbing a doll and hugging it.

The timestamp reads today.

Katerina goes completely still.

“Play it again,” she whispers.

I let her watch it twice more and while she does so, I drink her in instead.

Her shoulders drop an inch and her breathing slows.

Her eyes are bright and wet, and she blinks hard, furious at her own body for doing it in front of me.

“She’s okay,” she says quietly to herself as her fingers trace the shape of Seraphina’s round cheek.

I incline my head. “She’s okay,” I confirm.

She hands the phone back like she doesn’t want to let it go. I pocket it before I say the rest.

“You’ll get a new video every three days,” I tell her. “That’s how you’ll know she’s alive.” I pause for a moment. She’s not going to like what I say next. “It’s also how I’ll know whether you’ve earned the next one.”

I wait a few seconds and watch as what I said process on her beautiful face.

“You son of a bitch,” she snarls. “You’re going to dangle her in front of me like a—like a reward? Like I’m a dog you’re training?” She takes a step toward me, chest heaving, and there’s nothing left in her voice other than rage. “You don’t get to do that. She is not a bargaining chip, she is a little girl, and if you think for one second I’m going to sit here and perform good behavior for you just to earn a video of a two year old crying, you can go straight to hell.”

“I think you’ll do exactly that,” I tell her, slightly amused at her vehemence. “Because you don’t have another option, and we both know it.”

She bares her teeth at me, hatred clear. “Fuck you,” she snarls.

I shrug. “Probably,” I retort, wanting to see her react. Her face goes nearly purple. “Not today, though.”

Her hand comes up before either of us sees it coming and my head jerks to the side with the force of the slap.