Chapter 8(Tori P.O.V)

“Hello, miss.”

The voice boomed through the haze in my head. Deep. Formal. Definitely not Judith, or any of the monsters I was used to. The stranger. The one with the unreadable green eyes.

Has he started working here?

I forced myself to lie still, patient. Observant. I needed to know if he was like the others… or different. Something about him didn’t feel rotten.

My thoughts drifted back to the day I tore my veins with the broken glass. The moment he snatched it from me, the expression on his face- shock? anger? pity? had been impossible to decipher. His eyes pierced straight through me, pinning me in place.

One wrong move and everything would crumble. I couldn’t afford that.

My hands twitched involuntarily. My breathing quickened. My eyes fluttered open, and a harsh light stabbed into my vision. Above me hung a strange device, a sensor machine.

“That wasn’t there before,” I thought.

Of course. They were tightening security after the last incident. If I moved, the alarm would call Judith immediately. Perfect.

“You have to be calm, Victoria,” I whispered to myself. “Focus.”

Judith’s heels clicked down the hallway. I shut my eyes instantly. She entered, humming, and began changing my drips. When she finished, she scanned the room suspiciously before leaving.

I wrapped my fingers tighter around the tube. Not today.

I wasn’t ready to fall back under their control,not yet. I needed to finish something first.

Judith.              

Time to teach the old witch a lesson.

I moved my hand slightly toward the sensor.

The alarm shrieked.

Judith stormed in. Checked the tablet. Looked at me. Left.

I did it again.

She returned, annoyed this time. Checked. Left.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Watching her frustration build was delicious. She deserved every ounce of it.

I looked around. No CCTV cameras. Not a single one. Zayn must have thought I was too broken to attempt anything again.

Fool.

I slipped the needles out of my hand and sat up carefully. My muscles screamed, but adrenaline drowned the pain. I glided across the room toward the couch. Empty wine bottles littered the floor, Judith’s ritual after stealing my meals.

Perfect.

I gripped one tightly.

Judith barged in again, face twisted, exhausted from my little game. She stomped toward the bed… but froze when she saw it empty. Confusion washed over her,then fear.

She didn’t see me behind the oxygen machine.

I raised the bottle and smashed it against her skull.

She shrieked and collapsed but grabbed my injured hand, crushing the swollen flesh riddled with needle marks. Her eyes burned into mine as she lunged, fingers locking around my throat.

“You spoiled, rotten b!tch!” she screamed, choking me harder as I gasped for breath. “You want to go home? Huh?” She slapped me so hard I spat blood. “I’ll make sure you DIE here, Tori!”

She raised the broken bottle, aiming straight for my chest.

“I’ll kill you and make your story pathetic,” she hissed.

The bottle plunged into my arm. Pain exploded as it sliced my veins again.

“So you’re fighting back now?” Judith laughed, wild and delirious.

Blood ran down my arm, but I was done being helpless.

With everything in me, I shoved her. Hard.

The broken bottle clattered away.

Judith fell on her back, dazed.

I climbed onto her, pinning her down. My face inches from hers.

Her confidence evaporated instantly.

“Please… don’t hurt me,” she whimpered.

“I won’t,” I said softly.

“What are you doing?” she sobbed. “I’m sorry, I only did what Big Boss wanted, please. please.”

Her head was bleeding heavily, but I didn’t care. My fingers trembled, a twitch, bad timing, I thought. I was running out of time.

“Let me go,” she whispered. “I won’t tell anyone-”

I leaned closer.

“I want everyone to know.”

Before she could scream, I dragged the jagged edge of the glass across her throat.

The sound gurgled in her lungs. Her eyes froze. Silence followed.

I rose slowly, walked back to the bed, and slid the needle back into my skin. Blood pooled around me, warm, but I no longer cared.

I lay back down, closed my eyes, and let darkness wash over me.

“Let the show begin,” I whispered.