After the Drug, I Made Them Beg for Forgiveness

1 The night before our wedding, Jayce took me to an immersive mystery game. It was there, hidden in the shadows of a hallway, that I overheard him talking to his friends. “Jayce, man, are you really going to drug Sienna tonight? I hear those guys you hired are animals. What if they break her?” Jayce’s voice was heavy with a sigh. “I don’t have a choice. Cathy’s been raising hell. I have to give her something.” The others erupted in a chorus of lewd jeers. “Dude, why hire strangers? A job like this, we’d be happy to handle for you.” “Yeah, for real. You’re not gonna share a goddess like Sienna? Let your boys have a taste.” “Exactly! We’re your friends, we’d know how to handle her. Enough to give Cathy her satisfaction, but… heh heh heh.” I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream. I just smiled, accepted the scandalous costume Jayce had picked for me, and deliberately drank the tainted wine he offered. The next day, the wedding didn’t just make headlines. It blew them up. … I had only stepped away to use the restroom. On my way back, I heard my own name. “Jayce, man, are you seriously going to drug Sienna? I heard the players you found are rough. No restraint. The wedding is in two days, aren’t you worried they’ll actually hurt her?” A short silence, then Jayce’s weary voice drifted through the door. “So what if they do? I’m still marrying her.” “Cathy’s been a mess, crying nonstop, her eyes are all swollen. You guys know how she gets. She thinks Sienna coming back stole everything from her. She won’t calm down until she gets some payback.” “I promised I wouldn’t touch Sienna. This is how I make it up to Cathy, how I give her peace of mind.” The cold wall was the only thing keeping me from collapsing. Peace of mind? He was going to use my body, my dignity, to give Cathy peace of mind? “True,” someone mused, his voice dropping lower. “If that country girl Sienna hadn’t shown up out of nowhere, you and Cathy would be the ones getting married. You two grew up together… I bet you’ve already done everything, right?” “But seriously, Jayce, why bring in outsiders? This is the kind of fun we could have. Keep it in the family, you know?” The suggestion was met with a wave of rowdy laughter. “He’s right! Sienna’s body, that face… she’s a masterpiece. If you’re willing to let her be played with, you should let your friends be the first to sample the goods.” “Yeah, man! We’re your crew. We’d know the limits. We’ll make sure the video is satisfying enough for Cathy, but we won’t cause any real trouble. Heh heh heh.” The filthy words slithered through the crack in the door, coiling in my ears. Two years ago, he was the one who claimed it was love at first sight, that everything was finally falling into place. I bit my lip so hard the metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth. Just then, a phone rang. Cathy’s sickly-sweet voice dripped through the speaker. “Jayce, darling, I’m almost there! You promised you’d play Sienna’s little video at the wedding, okay? You can’t go back on your word.” Jayce’s tone was dripping with indulgence. “Don’t worry, princess. Have I ever broken a promise to you? Just wait for the show.” Someone whistled. “Whoa, so this whole crazy idea was yours, Cathy? Playing this hard… damn, girl. That’s next level.” Cathy’s voice on the phone was smug. “Hmph. Of course. You try to steal my man, you pay the price. I want her to know that even if she marries into the Harrison family, she’ll never be able to hold her head high again.” The call ended, followed by a burst of unrestrained, mocking laughter. “Seriously though, Jayce? You’re really not going to touch her after the wedding? What a waste of a perfect body.” Jayce paused. “Of course not. She’s dirty.” So that was it. The loving gazes, the gentle promises—all of it was just poison wrapped in a sugar-sweet shell. But why? It was Cathy who had stolen my life, who had basked in the love of my parents for twenty years. And now she acted as if I were the thief, willing to destroy me in the most vile, despicable way imaginable. Fine. If that’s how they wanted to play, then let them choke on their own poison. I shoved down the storm raging inside me, smoothed my expression into one of serene innocence, and pushed the door open. The room fell silent. Jayce walked over to me. “Sienna, darling. This is for your character. You’ll look stunning in it.” He handed me the so-called costume. It was as sheer as a whisper. The neckline plunged nearly to my navel, and the skirt was so short it barely covered the tops of my thighs. My lips curved into a brilliant smile. “Of course. If you picked it, I’m sure it’s perfect.” When I pulled back the dressing room curtain and stepped out, the air in the room seemed to freeze. Several pairs of sticky, greedy eyes latched onto my body. “Holy hell, Jayce… you’re a generous man!” “Cathy, your sister… she’s unreal. Like she was born to play this part.” “Damn, Jayce. You’re one lucky bastard. Got all of us feeling… heh heh.” The smile on Jayce’s face faltered for a second, his eyes flashing with a complex mix of shock, annoyance, and even… a possessive glint. He closed the distance between us in a few quick strides, pulling me against him as if to shield me from their leering gazes. “Alright, that’s enough. Settle down. She’s shy, don’t scare her.” Before, I would have mistaken that for protectiveness. Now I knew it was nothing more than a charade, the primal instinct of a male protecting his territory. “Ooooh, listen to him! Getting all defensive!” someone crowed, sparking another round of laughter. Jayce shot them a warning glare that finally shut them up. Just then, Cathy approached, a glass of red wine in her hand, her face a perfect mask of concern. “Sienna, you grew up in the country, right? You probably haven’t played an immersive game like this before. You might be nervous. Why don’t you have some wine to help you get into character? I picked this vintage myself.” She raised the glass. “Think of it as an early wedding gift from your little sister. Here’s to you and Jayce, and a hundred years of happiness.” A celebration? Celebrating what? My ruin? She tilted her chin up slightly, a flicker of contempt and superiority in her eyes that she didn’t quite manage to hide. Twenty years of living my life had made her believe she was entitled to it. The marriage pact had been between the Scotts and the Harrisons for a generation; my return had thrown a wrench in her plans to marry Jayce. I remembered how, after our families announced that I would be the one to marry him, she had taken me aside, her voice full of false sincerity. “Jayce is a wonderful man, Sienna. You’ll be so happy with him.” “I’ll be your maid of honor! We’ll make sure you have the most beautiful wedding ever.” “And if he ever mistreats you, you just tell me. I’ll always have your back.” It was all an act. A carefully constructed lie designed to set me up for the most devastating blow. When I didn’t take the glass, the hand Jayce had on my waist tightened. “Cathy went to a lot of trouble for this. Don’t be rude. Be a good girl and drink it.” His voice was soft, but it held the hard edge of a command. I slowly lifted my eyes to meet Cathy’s—so innocent on the surface, so venomous underneath—and smiled, a smile brighter and sharper than hers. “Thank you, Cathy. You’re too kind.” Without a moment’s hesitation, I drained the glass. “The taste… is unforgettable.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, then turned the empty glass upside down, showing it to her with a little flourish. Cathy seemed stunned by my compliance, the triumphant joy in her eyes practically overflowing. “I’m so glad you like it, sister. Well, I should go get ready myself.” She turned and walked away, her steps light and eager. I swayed, staggering backward as if my body was no longer my own. The men in the room watched me, their stares growing more brazen, like wolves circling a lamb ready for slaughter. Jayce’s voice cut through the haze, laced with the perfect amount of concern. “Sienna? Are you okay? Maybe I should take you to a room to lie down.” I clutched my chest, opened my mouth to speak, but instead, I choked, and a splatter of dark blood hit the floor. Jayce’s arm around me went rigid. “What the hell?” The leers on the other men’s faces froze. “What’s happening? Why is she spitting up blood?” “She’s so pale… this doesn’t look like she’s faking.” “Jayce, man… maybe this isn’t a game anymore. We should get her to a hospital.” By then, I was foaming at the mouth, my body convulsing on the floor. A staff member walked in with props and screamed. “Something’s wrong! Somebody call 911! Manager, we need help!” The last thing I saw before darkness consumed me was Jayce, his face a mask of panic, scooping me into his arms and running. The sharp scent of antiseptic filled my nose, and I knew I was in the hospital. “Her vital signs have stabilized. It was an acute reaction to a neurotoxin. You got her here just in time for a stomach pump, so she should be fine. We’ll keep her for 24-hour observation, and then she can be discharged.” Jayce’s voice, tight with confusion, cut through the quiet. “A neurotoxin? Are you sure? What kind?” My heart clenched instinctively. “We’re not sure yet, but it acts fast, causing rapid nerve damage. It’s a good thing you brought her in when you did.” After the doctor left, the men started talking in hushed, anxious tones. “Jayce, I thought it was just a sedative. How did it turn into poison?” “Yeah, this was supposed to be a prank. We can’t have a death on our hands.” “Cathy gave her the wine, right? Maybe she swapped the drug without telling you? That’s… that’s insane.” “Enough! Shut up!” Jayce snapped, his voice raw. “Cathy would never do something like that. She can be a brat, but she’s kind. She wouldn’t even hurt a fly.” He took a deep, shaky breath. “I prepared that drink for Sienna myself. It was just a simple sleeping pill. How could it turn into poison?!” I never imagined he would take the fall to protect Cathy. As if trying to convince himself, he continued, his words tumbling out faster and faster. “Maybe… maybe Sienna has some underlying health condition. Or she ate something earlier that reacted with it. It has to be a coincidence.” The faster he spoke, the more it seemed like he could bury the truth under a mountain of denial. “Cathy is innocent. She just wanted to teach Sienna a lesson, to make her understand who the real daughter of the Scott family is. To stop her from dreaming about things that belong to Cathy. She would never use poison.” Wouldn’t hurt a fly? The same girl who concocted a plan to have me drugged and assaulted on video was, in his eyes, a pure, innocent angel. The truth was, the wine had only contained a sedative. The real poison was a powder I’d coated on my hand, which I transferred to my lips when I wiped my mouth. I had gambled, certain that Jayce and his pack of hyenas wouldn’t dare let things escalate to murder, especially with staff around. It was a risky move, and it hadn’t yielded the result I wanted. Jayce’s selfish, twisted logic left his friends speechless. After a few awkward glances, they quietly filed out of the room. He walked to my bedside, looming over me for a long moment before letting out a heavy sigh. The exhaustion and the lingering effects of the drugs pulled me back under. When I opened my eyes again, the room was empty. I was just about to get up to use the restroom when I heard voices coming from inside it. It was Cathy. “Jayce, what are you waiting for? She’s lying right there. The wedding is in less than 24 hours. This is our last chance.” “Can’t you see it? This whole poisoning thing was an act. She staged it to make you feel sorry for her, to keep you here by her side.” “I’ve already called the guys. They’re on their way. They can come in, make the video, and ruin her face while they’re at it. I want her left so broken she’ll be rotting in the gutter!” A cold dread washed over me, chilling me to the bone. Cathy was so unhinged she was going to attack me in the hospital. This time, she wanted me disfigured. After a tense silence, Jayce’s low voice finally answered. “Cathy, calm down.” “This is a hospital, not some private room at a game lounge. There are nurses in the hallway, security cameras everywhere. What if someone walks in? What if she wakes up and calls the police?” “I don’t care!” Cathy’s voice rose, cracking with hysteria. “I want her gone! I want her ruined!” “Why did she have to come back? Why did she have to steal my parents, and you?!” “Jayce, you’re feeling sorry for her, aren’t you? You see her lying there all pathetic, and you’re getting soft. You’re falling in love with her, aren’t you?!” “That’s ridiculous!” Jayce cut her off, his tone sharp and absolute. “How could I ever fall for a woman who grew up in the sticks?” He took a deep breath, his voice shifting to one of gentle persuasion. “Cathy, listen to me. I’m worried about you. You can’t risk getting caught over someone so worthless.” “I have a better idea. It’s completely safe, just as devastating, and it will leave her with no way to defend herself.” Every nerve in my body went taut. I had a terrible feeling about what was coming next. Jayce lowered his voice even further. “We can hire someone, dress them in her clothes. We’ll shoot from the right angles, get all the footage we need.” “As for the face… we can blur it just enough. But the body type, the clothes, even the birthmark on her back—we can fake all of it perfectly.” “We’ll play that video at the wedding. Her reputation will be destroyed. She’ll never set foot in our world again. And you, Cathy, will remain the one and only pristine daughter of the Scott family.” Cathy hesitated. “But… that’s letting her off too easy. I want her to really suffer, to really be…” “Cathy!” Jayce interrupted her again, a rare note of command in his voice. “Trust me. This is the smartest way. I don’t want you taking any risks. Think about your family. Think about our future.” That last phrase, “our future,” was like a tranquilizer dart, hitting the one thing Cathy cared about most. She finally relented. “Okay, Jayce. I’ll do whatever you say.” Then came the sounds of rustling clothes and soft, eager gasps. I closed my eyes just as they were stepping out of the bathroom. A short while later, my parents, alerted by Cathy, rushed into the room. “Sienna, my darling, what happened? You scared your mother to death,” my mother said, her voice trembling. “Yes, Cathy told us you were in the hospital. The wedding is tomorrow! What’s going on?” my father added. I answered weakly, my voice a hoarse whisper. “I don’t know… I just felt so sick after Cathy gave me that glass of wine…” Cathy stood frozen, her eyes red, fumbling for an explanation. “Sienna… I didn’t…” “Sienna!” Jayce cut in, grabbing my hand. “The doctor said you must have eaten something that had a bad reaction with the alcohol. It had nothing to do with the wine.” My mother patted my other hand. “It must have just been a coincidence, dear. Your sister is always telling us how wonderful you are. She would never do anything to hurt you.” My father’s eyes held a glint of disdain. “We raised Cathy. We know her. She is a sweet, considerate girl. Don’t you bring your backwoods drama and jealousy in here.” His words struck me like a physical blow, reminding me of the day I first returned home. They had wept then, telling me how much they owed me, how they would spend the rest of their lives making it up to me. They gave me the largest bedroom, presented me with twenty years’ worth of birthday presents. I had believed them. I had wanted, so desperately, to build a real relationship with Cathy. But every single time something came between us, they chose her. I knew now that they always would. And I no longer needed them to choose me. Catching the triumphant look in Cathy’s eyes, I pulled my hand away. “I’m a little tired.” After they left, deep in the night, the door to my room creaked open. Two figures in orderly uniforms slipped inside. Before I could react, a cloth was clamped over my mouth and nose, the acrid smell flooding my senses. “Hurry up, Miss Scott is waiting!” At the mention of her name, I stopped fighting. Soon, I was in the back of a van, being driven to a derelict warehouse. Cathy was there, flanked by three men whose leering eyes crawled over my unconscious form. She looked down at me, her voice dripping with contempt. “Sienna. How can I ever feel at peace if you don’t experience true suffering?” She turned to the men. “She’s all yours. Just dump her back at the hotel entrance by noon tomorrow.” “And make sure you get some good, clear shots. I want the whole world to see what kind of trash the real Scott family daughter is!” As Cathy’s laughter echoed out of the warehouse, the three men descended on me like starving wolves. Just as one of them, a man with greasy yellow hair, reached for the collar of my shirt, my eyes snapped open. He saw that I was awake, saw my lips moving without a sound. Thinking I was too terrified to speak, his grin widened. “Well, look who’s up. I was worried you’d be a dead fish. This is much more fun.” “Heh heh, little beauty. Your big brothers are going to take good care of you today. The louder you scream, the better.” “What are you two idiots waiting for? If you’re not gonna go first, then watch me. I can’t wait any longer.” The moment his hand touched my chest, his eyes went wide with terror. “Agh! What is that?!” His bloodcurdling scream made the other two drop their cigarettes. They stared, frozen in place, as a dozen glistening centipedes swarmed up the first man’s arm, their bites sending him writhing and screaming on the filthy floor. As the silent syllables continued to fall from my lips, the warehouse filled with a rustling, skittering sound. From every dark corner, a tide of venomous creatures poured forth—spiders, scorpions, and insects of every nightmarish shape and size. “Bugs! So many bugs!” “Run! These things are poisonous!” The other two turned to flee, but their path was blocked by two enormous vipers, their heads raised, ready to strike. The three men shrieked in terror, frantically swatting at the creatures crawling all over them, their skin instantly erupting in swollen, red welts as they cried for their mothers. I rose slowly from the floor. “Enjoy your new toys,” I said, my voice finally audible. “Just don’t kill them.” I whispered the ancient words of my people, and the swarm surged with renewed purpose. Without a backward glance at the three men rolling in agony on the ground, I walked out of the crumbling warehouse. A discreet black car was waiting outside. I slipped into the back seat. “Atasha,” the driver said in greeting. “Take me home. Back to the Mistwood.”