CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

"Please, I beg you, James, you don't have to do this" One of the men that dragged me out of the room is tying my hands together. Tears roll down my eyes as the time of doom for my child nears. I can't believe I ran away from Thomas to protect my child, and I will lose it to the same monster who took my first one. God! What have I done to deserve such punishments?

"Begging won't do you any good. I advise you make peace with your baby before we begin" James unbuttons his shirt.

"Please, James, please, my child is innocent. I will do anything you want, please don't do this. My child will die if you do this" The rope used to tie my hand is lifted up and hooked to something above me. My legs barely touch the ground as my body hangs in the air.

James smirks as he walks toward me. "As much as that is inviting, I will have to pass" He cracks his knuckles.

"Please, James, please" Tears roll down my eyes like a waterfall. I can't believe I will lose my child again as I did before. This is so unfair; God, why is this happening to me.

"Is the camera ready?" James asks one of the men in the room with us.

"Yes, it's ready, sir."

"Let's put on a nice show for him, love," James widely grins, showing off his perfect white teeth.

I don't even pretend like it doesn't hurt as the first punch is thrown at my belly. His knuckles filled with iron rings punch into my stomach, breaking my ribs into the pit of my belly. I feel pain like I have never felt before in my life. My ribs burn like I am being set on fire. My face drops forward as my jaw breaks into two once a punch lands on my face. My scalp hurts as he grabs my hair, forcing me to look at him.

"This is just the beginning, love. By the time I am done with you, Thomas will know never to mess with the Mexican cartel again."

Punch, Punch, and Punch. This goes on until I am unable to keep my eyes open. Every single part of my body hurts beyond words can explain. I feel like I am being ripped apart piece by piece. My ribs are broken, my hands burn from being stretched for long, my toes are bleeding as they scrape the floor as I hang from the ceiling, and my face is deformed. My whole body is in pain unimaginable to this world.

"Hey, hey, no sleeping," James slaps my face to wake me up. My eyes are too bruised to stay open, and I am too weak to even force them open. I can taste blood in my mouth and feel something dripping down my legs. I don't even have to look down to know it's blood. My baby is gone. My baby is gone, and I am about to die because of a man who could care less about me. I really wish James finishes the job this time around. I don't even want to see tomorrow. I would rather be dead than continue to live in this horrible world.

My battered eyes shoot open as ice-cold water is poured on me. Tears stream down my face as my wounds become on fire from water touching them.

"No sleeping"

"Please end it; I am tired," I rasp out. My voice is crooked, and my throat burns as I speak.

"No, love, not going to happen."

"Please, I beg of you."

"It's too soon, love," James begins to walk away from me. Where is he going? He should come back and end it. "Stop the video and bring her down" James collects a towel from someone and cleans my blood on his body.

"No," I scream as the man begins to unhook my hands from above. I don't want him to stop. He needs to continue. The second my hands are free, my body drops to the floor like paper thrown into the wind. A wince escapes my bruised lips as my injured body touches the cold floor.

"Take off her clothes."

I don't fight the man as he rips my clothes off my body. I sit up, pull my knees up to my chest, and cover as much of my body as possible. It hurts even to wrap my arms around myself.

"Let's see how you fall asleep now" James positions a hose at me on the ground.

I get hit with a lot of water at an uncontrollable speed. My hands leave my knees and try to block the water from the hose. I struggle to breathe as my nose gets filled with a lot of water. It hurts like hell. I try to avoid water from hitting my nose as best as possible, but this doesn't ease all my pains. The force of the water is so much that anywhere it touches on my body hurts. My hands are barely enough to cover my face, so I pull my knees to my chin and bury my face in them. James also changes his position and begins to pour the water from above. I struggle to breathe and feel like I am drowning, so I drop my knees to the ground and use only my hand to shield my face.

Why is James hurting me so much? I haven't done anything to him to deserve this? He is the one who has used me, and I should be the one wanting to inflict pain on him, but I am the one suffering. They think this will get under Thomas's skin, but it won't. They are just hurting me for nothing. Thomas hates me and won't care that they hurt me. I wish they knew that.

After an endless cycle of feeling like I am drowning with no hope of survival, James finally switches off the hose. I cough out my lungs the second I am freed from the water torture. My chest rises and falls as I try to breathe as much air as possible before he begins again.

"Don't worry, that's all for today." James drops the hose on the ground and walks toward me.

He places his hands on my arms and lifts me off the ground. My eyes are glued to the floor, but I can feel his eyes as they take in every inch of my body. I feel so vulnerable as my battered body gets looked at by him. I have never felt the urge to hide in a corner as much as I do right now. He put his hands under my legs and lifted me off the ground. My body lies limp in his arms. I can feel my eyes closing on their own again as we walk down the hall. I don't fight it, and James doesn't complain. I close my eyes and pray to God that I will be in heaven with him the next time I open it.

***

Thomas

Walking to his office, Thomas meets Richard halfway. They were able to get Richard back a few days ago. They ambushed the car that was transporting him to a safe house.

"Sir, I need you to come with me. There is something important you need to see."

"How important?" Thomas asks, turning his office doorknob

"It's about Melina"

Thomas's hand on the doorknob becomes white as he tightens his hold on it. He knows Richard is capable of finding Melina, but he didn't assume it would be this fast. "You found her"

"Not really, but I have a good guess of who took her?"

"Took her?" Thomas's brows squeeze together. Why would Richard say someone took Melina? She ran away. She wasn't kidnapped or………. was she?

"Yes, sir. I don't think Melina ran away. I have some information that proves she might have been kidnapped."

"Are you sure?" Thomas could not believe what Richard was saying. Richard is telling him Melina was kidnapped and she didn't run away. How is that possible? Her sister emptied out her bank accounts and quit her job. If she didn't do that to run away with Melina, what other reason could she have done it?

"Yes, sir, please come with me. I will show you why I believe so."

"Lead the way."

Richard leads Thomas to his office. It is smaller and filled with computer screens, unlike Thomas's office.

"Please take a seat, sir" Richard points to one of his office's chairs for Thomas to sit down.

"I am okay standing." Thomas crosses his arms against his chest.

Richard takes his seat and begins to type on his computer. He moves away from the screen once he plays the video for Thomas. Thomas freezes in his spot as the video starts to play. His nose flares up, and his pupils dilate as the screams of Melina are heard in the video. Thomas doesn't blink as he watches the video. He doesn't even know how to react. He hated Melina but never in a million years would he wish her to be subjected to this amount of abuse.

"Oh my God, no," A voice screams from behind Thomas. He turns his head so fast to the sound of the voice that his bone cracks.

"Mama, what are you doing here?" Thomas walks to his mother by the door, who has tears swimming in her eyes.

"I came looking for you."

"Do you need something?"

"I do, but that's not important, my son. I can't believe this happened to Melina. I don't even want to imagine the amount of pain she must be going through right now."

"I know" Thomas passes his hand through his hair, feeling frustrated and a little angry with what happened to Melina.

"You must also be devastated" Katherine places her palm on Thomas's face,

"Yeah" He was pissed off, but he won't say devastated

"Losing a child is not easy. I am so sorry this happened to you, dear."

"What" Thomas looks at his mother as if she has two heads right now. What the hell is she talking about?

"Oh, I remember you don't know."

"What are you talking about, mama?"

"Do you remember you told me Melina was sick before she went missing?"

"Yes," Thomas spoke to his mother about Melina's situation. Melina refused to see a doctor, so he talked to his mother about her condition in case she knew what was wrong, so she could advise him on which drugs to get for Melina.

"While the video was playing, I noticed something."

"What did you notice?"

"I noticed blood flowing between Melina's legs" Tears roll down Katherine's face as she gets closer to telling her son what she discovered.

"She had blood all over her. Why is it important that she was bleeding between her legs?"

"My dear son, I don't think Melina was sick. I believe she was pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Thomas says, shocked. He rubs his palm across his face and paces the room a little "You think she was pregnant with my child?"

"Yes, she was, and she lost it again. I can't believe this happened"

"Again?" Thomas finds it hard to understand why his mom is speaking like this is not the first time.

"Yes, this is the second time Melina is losing the baby." Katherine wraps her arms around her body. Her heart went out to Melina right now. "I can't even imagine the pain she is going through right now. Losing your child because of the same person must be the most devastating thing anyone could go through"

"What do you mean?"

"Thomas, Melina was pregnant for you before, and she lost it because of James."

Thomas doesn't move an inch or even say a word. He just stares at his mother as he tries to make sense of her words. Melina was pregnant, and it wasn't the first time she was carrying his child. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe he created a human being with Melina and not just once but twice, and he is only finding out now. Now that they are no more. Thomas could not believe it. He lost the chance to be a dad before he knew he was one. Thomas's heart squeezed in his chest. His heart is bleeding for his unborn children.

"There is something I need to tell you, Tom" Katherine places her hand on his face to bring him back from his thoughts.

"What"

"Melina told me there was no use ever telling you because you won't believe, and even if you did, it would only make you sad."

"What is that."

"What happened the week before Melina stole your money. I need to tell you why she did it."

"I am listening."