Chapter 47

• Belle***
• Victor’s laughter was the first thing I heard—cold, sharp, like ice cracking beneath my feet. The air felt heavy, thick with the scent of smoke and something metallic, as if the walls themselves had soaked in years of pain. Far off, the faint drip of water echoed, the only witness to my misery—a cruel, guttural sound that crawled under my skin and settled in my chest.
• His grip on my wrist was cold, relentless, nails digging into my flesh as he dragged me forward. Pain shot through my body, but it was nothing compared to the hollow ache gnawing at my heart.