Chapter 15 Terror in the Dark Room
The darkness was absolute. Total. Complete.
Nora had lost track of time almost immediately. Hours blurred into each other, indistinguishable in the black void. She couldn’t see her own hand in front of her face. Couldn’t see the walls or the floor or anything. Just endless, suffocating darkness.
The concrete floor was cold and damp beneath her. Her body ached everywhere from the beating. Her ribs screamed with every breath. Her face was swollen, crusted with dried blood. The wounds on her back had reopened, sticking to her shirt in painful patches.
Once a day, the door would open. Light would flood in, blinding and painful after so much darkness. A guard would shove a plate through the opening and slam the door shut before Nora’s eyes could adjust. The whole interaction lasted maybe five seconds.
The food on the plate was disgusting. Scraps that looked barely fit for animals. Cold, congealed, often rancid. The kind of meal designed not to nourish but to humiliate. To remind her that she was nothing. Worth nothing.
For the first two days, Nora didn’t touch it. The smell alone made her stomach turn. She had no appetite anyway. The pain, the darkness, the isolation, it all killed any desire to eat. The plates piled up in the corner where she’d pushed them, the food growing more putrid with each passing hour.
On the third day, the smell was so bad she couldn’t breathe without gagging.
She tried to sleep, but sleep in the Dark Room was different. Without any visual reference, without any sense of day or night, her mind played tricks on her.
She thought about Sam. About his easy smile and patient explanations.
The guilt was worse than the pain.
On what she thought was the fourth day, though it could have been the fifth, something different happened.
The door opened as usual, but this time, no plate was shoved through. Instead, footsteps entered the room. The door closed behind them, plunging everything back into darkness.
“Nora?” A whispered voice. Familiar. “Nora, where are you?”
“Noah?” Her voice came out as a croak, hoarse from disuse.
“Yeah, it’s me. Keep talking so I can find you.”
“Here. I’m against the back wall.”
She heard him moving carefully through the darkness, his hands outstretched. When his fingers found her shoulder, she flinched at the contact, her body so starved for human touch that even gentle pressure felt overwhelming.
“It’s okay,” Noah whispered. “It’s just me.”
Then his arms were around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. Nora buried her face in his chest and started crying. She hadn’t let herself cry in the darkness, afraid that once she started, she wouldn’t be able to stop. But with Noah here, with his arms around her, all the fear and pain and loneliness came pouring out.
“Shh,” Noah murmured, one hand stroking her tangled hair. “You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be out of here soon.”
“How did you get in?” Nora asked between sobs.
“I bribed the guard. Told him I needed to check on you, make sure you were still alive. He gave me five minutes.” Noah kissed her forehead gently. “I brought you food. Real food. Not that garbage they’ve been giving you.”
He pulled away slightly and pressed something into her hands. A container. When she opened it, the smell of actual cooked food hit her. Chicken, rice, vegetables. It smelled like heaven.
“I can’t see anything,” Nora said.
“Here, let me help.”
Noah felt for her hands in the darkness and guided them. He fed her slowly, patiently, talking quietly while she ate. The food was warm and tasted better than anything she’d ever had. She devoured it, realizing how desperately hungry she’d been.
“How long have I been in here?” she asked between bites.
“Four days. You have three more to go.”
Three more days. The thought made her want to scream.
“I’m going to talk to the Mafia King when he gets back,” Noah said. “I’ll plead your case. Get him to let you out early.”
“Noah, don’t. He’ll just punish you too.”
“I don’t care. I can’t leave you in here for three more days.” His hand found her face in the darkness, his thumb gently brushing her swollen cheek. “You’re going to be okay. I promise. I’ll get you out of here.”
“What if he says no?”
“He won’t. He can’t. You’ve been punished enough.”
They sat together in the darkness for the remaining few minutes, Nora’s head resting on Noah’s shoulder, his arms around her. When the guard’s voice called out that time was up, Noah kissed her one more time.
“I’ll come back,” he promised. “As soon as I can.”
Then he was gone, and Nora was alone in the dark again. But the food in her stomach and the lingering warmth of his embrace made it slightly more bearable.
\-----
Two days later, the Mafia King returned from whatever business had taken him away from the compound. Noah had been waiting, rehearsing what he would say on how he would convince the King to release Nora early.
He found the Mafia King in his office, reviewing reports about the security upgrades. Noah knocked and was granted entry.
“Sir, I need to speak with you about Nora.”
The Mafia King didn’t look up from his papers. “What about her?”
“She’s been in the Dark Room for six days now. I think she’s learned her lesson. She needs medical attention for her injuries. I’m asking you to consider releasing her early.”
Now the Mafia King looked up, his masked face tilted slightly. “You’re asking me?”
“Yes, sir. She’s new to this work. She’s only been doing it for a few months. She needs more time to learn, to understand the protocols. The tracker incident, it was a mistake, but she didn’t know—”
“Stop.” The Mafia King’s voice was quiet. Deadly quiet.
Noah fell silent.
The Mafia King stood slowly, walking around his desk toward Noah. “Let me make something very clear to you, Noah. I don’t care how new she is. I don’t care how much time she needs to learn. I don’t care about her excuses or her mistakes or her feelings. Do you understand?”
“Sir, I’m just asking—”
“You’re asking for nothing!” The Mafia King’s voice exploded, filling the room. “You will never involve yourself in anything concerning Nora again! Do you hear me? Never! She is mine to deal with however I see fit!”
Noah’s jaw clenched, but he said nothing.
“You think I don’t see what’s happening between you two?” The Mafia King circled Noah like a predator. “You think I’m blind to your little romance? Your secret meetings? Your pathetic attempts to protect her?”
“Sir—”
“I own her, Noah. I own you. I own everyone in this compound. And I will do whatever I please with what belongs to me.”
The Mafia King stopped in front of Noah, so close Noah could see his own reflection in the silver mask.
“In fact,” the King said, his voice dropping to something almost casual, “I think I’m going to pay Nora a visit tonight. In the Dark Room. And I’m going to sleep with her. Right there on that cold floor."
Noah’s entire body went rigid. “You wouldn’t.”
“Wouldn’t I?” The Mafia King laughed. “What are you going to do about it, Noah? Stop me? Fight me? Kill me? Go ahead. Try. See what happens.”
Noah’s hands clenched into fists at his sides, every muscle in his body screaming to attack, to defend Nora, to do something. But he couldn’t. No one crossed the Mafia King and lived. Leaving the cartel meant death. Fighting back meant death.
He was utterly, completely helpless.
“That’s what I thought.” The Mafia King’s voice was smug. “Now get out of my office. And don’t ever come to me about her again.”
Noah left, his whole body shaking with impotent rage. In the corridor, he slammed his fist into the wall hard enough to split his knuckles. But the pain was nothing compared to what he felt knowing what was about to happen to Nora and being powerless to stop it.
\-----
Nora was huddled in the corner of the Dark Room when she heard the door open. She assumed it was the daily food delivery, but then the door closed and she heard footsteps entering. Multiple footsteps.
“Who’s there?” she called out, her voice shaking.
“It’s me,” the Mafia King’s voice said from the darkness. “I thought it was time we had a conversation. Just the two of us.”
Nora’s blood ran cold. “Get out.”
“Get out?” He laughed. “This is my compound. I’ll leave when I’m ready.”
She heard him moving closer, his footsteps echoing off the concrete. Nora pressed herself against the wall, trying to gauge where he was in the darkness.
“I’ve been thinking,” the Mafia King said conversationally. “You’ve been in here for six days. That’s a long time to be alone in the dark. Perhaps you need some company.”
“I don’t want your company.”
“What you want is irrelevant.” His voice was closer now. Right in front of her. “In fact, l decided to pay you an intimate visit this night."We’ll get to know each other better. So intimately.”
Nora’s stomach turned. “Over my dead body.”
“That can be arranged.” She felt his hand grab her arm in the darkness, pulling her away from the wall. “But I’d prefer you alive. More fun that way.”
“Let go of me!” Nora tried to wrench free, but his grip was iron.
“Stop fighting. You’ll only make it worse for yourself.”
His other hand found her face, tilting it up. Nora could feel his breath on her skin, smell his cologne. She wanted to scream, to fight, to do anything, but she was weak from days without proper food, injured from the beating, trapped in darkness with a monster.
“Please,” she whispered. “Please don’t do this.”
“Begging won’t help you.”
His hands moved to her shoulders, pushing her down. Nora struggled, but he was too strong. She felt tears streaming down her face as his weight pressed against her.
Then suddenly, light flooded the room.
The door had opened. The Mafia King froze, turning toward the entrance.
The Mafia Queen stood in the doorway, her masked face tilted slightly as she took in the scene before her.
“What,” she said quietly, “are you doing?”
The Mafia King released Nora and stood quickly. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“Doesn’t it?” The Queen stepped into the room fully. Even in the dim light from the corridor, Nora could see the tension in her posture. “You’re about to rape a prisoner. I’d say that concerns me very much.”
“She’s being punished.”
“For what? Being careless? That doesn’t warrant this.” The Queen’s voice was hard. “Let her out.”
“No.”
“Let. Her. Out.” The Queen moved closer, and there was something dangerous in her stance now. “She’s been punished enough. Six days in the Dark Room. The beating you gave her. She’s learned her lesson.”
“She hasn’t learned anything.”
“Then let her fail one more time.” The Queen gestured to Nora, who was still crumpled on the floor. “Give her one more chance. If she messes up again, we kill her. Simple as that. But this?” She gestured between the Mafia King and Nora. “This is beneath even you.”
For a long moment, the two masked figures stared at each other. A battle of wills in the dim light.
Finally, the Mafia King spoke. “Fine. One more chance. But if she fails again, I want her dead. Not punished. Not imprisoned. Dead. Do we understand each other?”
“Perfectly.”
The Mafia King turned back to Nora one last time. “You heard that? One more failure, and you’re done.”
Nora couldn’t speak.
“Get her out of here,” the Mafia King said to the Queen. “And get her cleaned up. She looks disgusting.”
He left the room, his footsteps echoing down the corridor.
The Mafia Queen stood in the doorway for a moment longer, looking at Nora. “Can you stand?”
Nora tried to push herself up but her legs gave out. The Queen stepped forward and helped her, supporting most of Nora’s weight as they stumbled out of the Dark Room.
As they walked through the corridors toward the medical wing, Nora’s mind was a chaotic mess of thoughts. Relief at being out of that room. Terror at what had almost happened. Gratitude toward the Queen for stopping it. And underneath it all, a deep, bone-deep regret.
She regretted coming back to Shadowveil. Regretted ever thinking there was anything here worth returning for. Regretted believing she could survive in this place.