Chapter 46
Stella was trapped in a cage, treated no better than an animal. The brutal beating left her unconscious for hours. It wasn’t until someone entered the room that evening that she slowly stirred awake
She thought Henry wouldn’t send someone to bring her food. But to her shock, Henry himself appeared at the door, carrying a meal.
The meal was sumptuous–a piece of steak, chicken drumsticks, fresh seasonal vegetables, a whole fish, and a plate of spaghetti, with four kinds of fresh frat on the side
Henry said with a fake smile, “Go on, Stella. It’s all yours for dinner.”
Stella reached her hand out from between the cage bars and took the food. She thought, I have to eat. Otherwise, how am I supposed to escape this hellholer
But she could barely stomach any of it. After just a few hites, she pushed the lood away. She couldn’t eat anymore.
Henry’s gaze bore into her. He asked, “Why aren’t you eating?”
Stellashook her head weakly and whispered, “I can’t eat anymore.”
make your mouth water!” He thrust the chicken drungick
Henry put on a fake smile and coaxed, “Come on, just look at this juicy drumstick. Doesn’t it make your n ather, his eyes gleaming with false concern as he commanded, “Eat”
Stella hardly ever got to eat meat in the small town, and every time she did, it made her feel violently ill. Staring at the drumstick, she felt no temptation, only disgust at the greasy sheen costing its surface.
“I can’t stomach this anymore,” Stella whispered faintly.
Henry coaxed Stella with feigned gentleness, “Eat a bit more. It’ll help you regain your strength.
Stella refused.
Perhaps after several feigned attempts to coax her, Stolla’s repeated refusals finally wore Henry’s patience thin. He seized Stella by the jaw and forcibly
showed the chicken drumstick into her mouth.
He snarled, “Eat when I say cat. Where do you think all that blood comes from? Swallow it now, or I’ll fucking kill you”
Stella had long since stopped trusting anyone, but Henry drove that lesson home brutally.
As Staged and tried to spit it out, Henry struck her across the face again.
He snarled, “You fucking whore. I’m feeding you, and you dare to throw it up? You will eat every last bite. Even if you puke it out, you’ll swallow it back down
Stella had suffered through hell, and a single sentence from Henry utterly crushed any lingering hope she had of escape.
Henry sneered, “Don’t even dream your family will come to your rescue. Before we got here, I called and told them you were staying out with me. They were thrilled, told us to have fun
“Honestly, they can’t wait for you to get pregnant with my kid. That’ll cement our relationship.”
Stella thought she had no more tears left, yet they still fell, one by one. She screamed inwardly, “Why? Why is this happening to me? in their eyes, am I really that unimportant?
Even at full health, Stella could never have Inished that much food. Wet Henry kept force–feeding her, shoving it all down her throat.
As soon as Henry left, Stella couldn’t hold it in any longer, she vomited violently. But that was the least of her worries
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Chapter 46
The real agony was in her stomach. She hadn’t eaten this much in three long years. Overwhelmed by the pain, she didn’t even know how to bear it
Stella thought in despair, “What’s even the point of living anymore P
Back at the Hayes residence, when Eleanor took her seat at the table, she found Stella was nowhere to be seen. She asked, “Wh her room?”
Others exchanged a few glances,
Then Fiona, with a practiced smile, said to Eleanor, “Stella isn’t back yet”
“Not back yet?” Eleanor asked. Her voice was sharp with suspicion.
Shalla? in sha podt in
Fiona replied, “Yeah, Henry just called. They’re having fun at Crescent Villa and won’t be back for a while. Let the kids enjoy themselves
“Not even coming back tonight?” Eleanor demanded sharply.
Anna gently placed her hand over Eleanor’s and said, “Grandma, Stella’s all grown up now. She can take responsibility for herself. Maybe you should just let her do what she wants. After all these years, she’s been out on her own.”
Eleanor coldly brushed Anna’s hand away, her face hardening. She said, “Stella truly wanted to stay out, I wouldn’t say a word. But what I doar is that certain people here simply don’t want her to come back.”
Fiona quickly said, “Mom, how could we possibly not want Stella back? She’s finally home after all this time, and I just want to make up for the three years she wasn’t by our side.”
Eleanor’s face darkened further. She said, “So she’s not coming home tonight?”
Fiona said, “Stella doesn’t drive, and it’s already so late, She’s not coming back tonight. Don’t worry, Henry knows his limits. Besides, they’re practically engaged anyway. Mom, you’re being too old–fashioned.”
Eleanor slammed her palm down on the table, startling everyone. She demanded, “Call Henry now. I want to hear Stella say it to me herself”
Andrew said helplessly, “Mom, don’t be like this. If Henry had any ill intentions, he wouldn’t have called us at all. The fact that he did shows he knows what he’s doing, We can’t just not trust him, can we??!
Eleanor snapped, “You trust him? I don’t. Mary, summon the car, I’m going to Crescent villa myself”
Mary replied, “Yes, Mrs. Hayes. With that, she went to summon the driver
Eleanor stood up to leave, sending Andrew and Fiona into a panic.
Andrew said, “Mom, please don’t do this.”
Eleanor wouldn’t hear a word of it
Andrew cast a desperate glance at Fiona, silently urging her to come up with a plan.
Fiona
a was at her wits end. Completely overwhelmed, she shot a desperate glance at Max
Max paused thoughtfully, then said, “Grandma, how about this? I’ll go to Crescent Villa right away and see how Stella is doing myself.”
Eleanor said, “Bring Stella back,”
Max nodded and said, “Yes, Grandma.”
Eleanor fully relented.
While Eleanor wasn’t looking, Fiona slipped out after Max. She sneaked a glance inside and whispered, “Are you really going? We can’t afford to offend
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Chapter 46
Henry. He has promised the investment. But what if you go and
Max said, “Don’t worry, Mom, I just make a quick trip out and, when I get back, I’ll bell Grandma that Stella refused in come home with
Hearing this, Fiona’s face lit up as she gave Max an approving pat on the shoulder. She said, “That’s my boy You are always so resourceful. Alright, horry up and go now.”
Max hummed in agreement.
Stella had lost all sense of time in her agony when voices suddenly pierced through the hare
Aman wrinkled his nose in disgust and said, “What’s that stench? It’s foul.”
Another sneered, “Look at that she puked. Fucking disgusting”
The first man sneered, “Shit, is she gonna die or what?”
The second man replied, “Who cares if she dies? She won’t be the first. Look at her scrawny little body, she’ll probably be the quickest to kick the
bucket.
The first man asked, “How many days do you think she‘ last?”
The second man scoffed, “From the looks of it, she’s got a week, tops.”
The first man said, “My money’s on four days”
Stella kept her eyes shut, but she could sense the two men looming over her
The first man said, “Hey,)
y, you dead or what? if not, open your damn eyes.”
Stella kept her eyes tightly shut
One of the men crouched down, put his hand under her nose to check for breath, and then suddenly slapped her hard across the face. He said, “Quit faking it. Get this cage open.”
je boss said we’re not supposed to open it.”
The other man muttered, “The l
The first man snapped, “What the hell are you scared of? We opened it before, and nothing happened. I haven’t seen a woman in ages. Don’t tell me you’re not itching for some fun?”
The other man replied, “Hell yeah!”
The first man said, “Exactly. Heard this bitch crawled out of some backwater town. Christ knows how many men have had her. If they all got a turn, why the hell can’t we?”
The other man said, “You are right.” Grinning wickedly, he pulled out the key and unlocked the cage door.
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