Hope flooded through Sonia as she rushed to the door. "Hey! Whoever's out there, open this damn door!"
Was Jenny back already?
Click. The lock turned and the door creaked open.
Sonia nearly cried with relief – finally, someone was here to get her out of this nightmare. But as she moved to leave, a massive figure filled the doorway. Before she could even react, another guy pushed in behind him. Then another…
These men… shit, were these the thugs she'd hired to deal with Anastasia?
Sonia went rigid.
The stench hit her like a brick wall – unwashed bodies and God knows what else. Her stomach lurched.
Every fiber of her being screamed run. She tried to push past them, but the first guy stepped right into her path.
"Whoa there, sweetheart. Going somewhere?"
Sonia's throat went dry, but she forced herself to sound confident. "Move! Do you morons know who I am?!"
The guy flashed a disgusting grin, revealing a mouthful of rotting teeth. His breath was so foul she nearly gagged. "Oh, we know exactly who you are. Someone's paying us real well to be here."
"Yeah – ME! I'm the one paying you idiots! I'm Sonia Vinci, not Anastasia Kingsley! You've got the wrong fucking person!" Sonia shouted.
CRACK!
The backhand came so fast she didn't see it coming.
"Shut your mouth. You're gonna do exactly what we say, or we'll beat you so bad your own mother won't recognize you," the leader snarled.
Sonia's world tilted as pure terror crashed over her. "You're making a huge mistake! I hired you! I'm not supposed to be– how can you do—" She was babbling now, desperate. What the hell was going on? Had these animals lost their minds?
The men looked at each other and erupted in sick laughter.
The leader grabbed her face roughly, his putrid breath making her eyes water. "Lady, we get paid, we do the job. Someone just doubled our fee to give you the full package. So quit your whining and get ready to have some fun."
Every muscle in Sonia's body was shaking. "You don't understand – I'm Sonia Vinci! Not Anastasia!"
The guy's patience snapped. He grabbed a handful of her hair and backhanded her again, even harder.
Sonia's cheek exploded in pain, swelling instantly. Her face went completely numb while her scalp felt like it was being torn off. The agony was unbearable. Tears poured down her face as she let out a blood-curdling scream.
The men's laughter turned predatory. "That's just the warm-up, babe. Better save some of that energy for later."
"Damn right. We've broken plenty of stuck-up bitches like you. Play nice, or we'll make this a lot worse."
Then their hands were all over her.
Sonia wanted to throw up. She was completely losing it.
Someone help me! Please, God, someone help me!
She wanted to scream for help, but who would hear her way out here? She could scream until her throat bled and no one would come.
Her only hope was that Jenny would show up soon.
The door slammed shut with finality.
Pale light leaked through broken windows as the men closed in on Sonia. Soon the warehouse filled with the sounds of violence – flesh hitting flesh, along with Sonia's desperate screams and sobs. You could hear her spirit breaking in real time.
From her position in the shadows outside, Anastasia watched with cold satisfaction. She'd figured it was probably Sonia behind all this. They'd been at each other's throats lately, after all. But she never imagined Sonia would sink this low – cooking up such a sick, twisted scheme.
Anastasia's lips curved in a humorless smile. Well, well. What goes around comes around. She was just giving Sonia exactly what she'd planned for someone else.
Cassian was positioned nearby in the darkness. She wasn't sure if he'd figured out it was Sonia in there. But honestly? It didn't matter whether he knew or not. Anastasia wasn't about to grow a conscience now.
If she hadn't been smart enough to see through this setup, she'd be the one getting brutalized in that warehouse right now.
The thought made her blood run cold.