Chapter 94 Preparation
CAITLYN'S POV
A female guard came into the room around eight pm. She was carrying a dress on a hanger and a makeup bag.
"Boss says you need to get ready," the woman said. She did not look at me. Just set the dress down on the bed and open the makeup bag.
"I am not getting ready," I said. "I am not playing along with whatever sick game Collin is planning."
"You do not have a choice," the woman said. "Boss said if you do not cooperate I am supposed to call the male guards in to help. Trust me. You do not want that."
I looked at her face. She looked tired. Worn down. Like she hated this job but did it anyway because she had no choice.
"Please," I said. "Please help me. I am pregnant. He is going to kill my baby. You cannot let that happen."
"I am sorry," the woman said. She still would not look at me. "But I cannot help you. I have a family. If I cross the boss my family pays. I cannot risk that."
"So you are just going to help him murder me," I said.
"I am just following orders," the woman said. "Now get dressed. Please. Do not make this harder than it has to be."
I looked at the dress. It was dark blue. Elegant. One I recognized from my days as Collin's wife. He wanted me to look nice for my own execution. The thought made me sick.
But I also knew the guard was right. If I did not cooperate they would force me. And that would be worse.
"Fine," I said. "I will get dressed. But I need privacy."
"I have to stay in the room," the guard said. "Boss orders. But I will turn around."
She turned her back and I slowly got out of bed. My whole body ached. From stress. From fear. From carrying this baby while knowing we were both about to die.
I took off the nightgown they had put me in and put on the dress. It was tight around my pregnant belly but it fit. Barely.
"Okay," I said. "I am dressed."
The guard turned around and looked at me. "Now sit down. I need to do your hair and makeup."
"Why?" I asked. "Why does it matter what I look like?"
"Because the boss wants you to look presentable," the guard said. "He wants everyone to see you at your best before you die."
"This is sick," I said.
"I know," the guard said quietly. "But we do not have a choice. So please. Just sit down and let me do this."
I sat down in the chair by the dresser. The guard started working on my hair. Brushing it. Styling it. Making me look like I used to look when I lived here.
"How many people are downstairs?" I asked.
"A lot," the guard said. "The whole organization. Plus some cops and officials. The boss called everyone."
"He is really going to do this in front of everyone," I said. "He is really going to execute me publicly."
"Yes," the guard said. "I am sorry."
"Is there any chance someone will stop him?" I asked. "Any chance someone in that room will stand up and say no?"
"I do not think so," the guard said. "Everyone is too scared of him. Or too dirty. They all have too much to lose."
"So no one is coming to save me," I said.
"I do not think so," the guard repeated.
She finished my hair and moved on to makeup. Put foundation on my face. Blush. Lipstick. Made me look alive even though I felt dead inside.
"There," she said when she was done. "You look beautiful."
I looked at myself in the mirror. She was right. I looked beautiful. Like I was going to a party instead of my own execution.
"What happens now?" I asked.
"Now we wait," the guard said. "Boss will come get you when it is time."
"How long?" I asked.
"Soon," the guard said. She glanced at her watch. "Maybe thirty minutes. Maybe less."
She left the room and I was alone again. I looked at myself in the mirror one more time. This was who I was going to be when I died. Dressed up. Made up. Looking like Collin's perfect wife.
I put my hands on my stomach and felt the baby moving. "I am so sorry little one. I am so sorry this is how it ends."
The baby kicked hard like it was angry. Like it was fighting. It did not want to give up.
"I know," I whispered. "I know you want to live. I want you to live too. But I do not know how to save us."
I thought about Jason. Wondered if he was really alive like the guard had said. Wondered if he was thinking about me. Wondering if he was trying to find me.
But even if he were alive he would not find me in time. How could he? He did not know about this meeting. Did not know Collin was planning to execute me in front of everyone.
I was alone. Completely alone. And in a few minutes, I would be dead.
I said goodbye in my heart. To Jason. To my baby. To the life I would never get to live. To all the things I would never get to do.
I said goodbye to the idea of being free. Of being happy. Of being loved.
I said goodbye to everything.
Then I sat down on the bed and waited for Collin to come get me. Waited for the end.
Minutes passed. Each one feels like an hour. I counted my heartbeats. Felt the baby moving inside me. Tried to memorize what it felt like to be alive.
The door opened and Collin walked in. He was wearing an expensive suit. Looking calm and collected like always.
"It is time," he said.
"I am not going," I said even though I knew it was pointless.
"Yes you are," Collin said. He walked over and grabbed my arm. Pulled me to my feet. "We have an audience waiting."
He dragged me out of the room and down the hallway. I tried to resist but he was too strong. My feet stumbled on the stairs as we went down.
At the bottom of the stairs, I could hear voices. So many voices. Coming from the meeting room. All those people gathered to watch me die.
"Please Collin," I said one last time. "Please do not do this."
"It is too late for please," Collin said.
He pushed open the doors to the meeting room and pulled me inside.