‘I think he didn’t want to leave any loose lips and, figured correctly, I might add, that I might have loose lips. All who benefit must be implicated was what he said.’
Dorian strolled over and stood in front of me.
‘Why on earth is she covered in plastic?’
‘We didn’t want to leave tie marks on her wrists or ankles,’ Dr Spencer explained. It has to look like an accident.’
‘What kind of an accident?’ he asked almost childishly.
‘An accidental drowning in the lake. I’ve already prepared a large pail of lake water that her face will be submerged in until she drowns and then she will be put in the lake so it looks like she fell into the cold water and drowned.’
‘A pail of lake water?’
‘Yes, if she downs in the bathtub the type of water inside her will be different than the lake’s.’
‘Fan of CSI, are you?’ Dorian asked sarcastically.
‘No,’ Dr Spencer denied stiffly. ‘Unlike you I thought it out.’
I listened incredulously. They had thought of everything and I had been led here like a lamb to slaughter.
‘I’m far too squeamish for details like that.’ He turned to look at me. ‘Goodness is it kinky that all this plastic is giving me a hard on.’
‘Shut up,’ Bianca said nervously. ‘None of this is funny.’
Dorian ignored his sister and turned to Dr. Spencer. Can I fuck her very quickly?’
‘You’re drunk, aren’t you?’ Rosalind fumed. ‘Just once you couldn’t come sober.’
‘Chill out, sis. I had half a glass of Merlot at lunch. It isn’t like I was going in bareback. I’ve got condoms.’ He comes closer to me. ‘I’ve always wanted to give her one. Ivan got to, I don’t see why not me too.’
‘God, you are such an idiot. Do you want to leave your calling card inside her,’ Rosalind sneered.
Dr Spencer cleared his throat. ‘Yes, you definitely don’t want to leave your DNA on her. Even the smallest particles can incriminate you.’ He lifted up his hands to show that he was wearing surgeon’s gloves.
Dorian shook his head regretfully at me. ‘All you had to do was fucking share.’
In his weak jaw I saw my chance. The weak link in the chain. I made a muffled sound and begged him with my eyes.
He stared at me for a moment as if considering my request then suddenly reached his hand out and viciously ripped the tape off my mouth. I gritted my teeth to stop myself from crying out with the pain.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ both Rosalind and Bianca screamed.
‘Relax, what’s she going to do? Scream and alert the neighbors. There’s nobody for miles in this godforsaken part of the world. Let her have a few last words. Besides I like hearing her talk. I like her lips.’ He leered as he said that.
‘I can give you money,’ I cried.
He sighed exaggeratedly in a pretend sad way, the way Mafia killers in movies do. He was really enjoying this. ‘I allow you to talk and this is what you say. Disappointing. Truly disappointing.’
Tears burned the backs of my eyes. I knew my last hope was my secret. I had vowed never to tell, but there was no point in keeping it any more. In fact, I no longer knew why Robert had put me through this whole charade. In the end I still ended up their prey. I wanted to live and I would do what it took to survive.
‘I’m not who you think I am,’ I cried out.
Dorian smiled, the sick twisted, smile of a nasty boy pulling the legs off insects just because he could. ‘Go on then. Who are you?’ he taunted. The others said nothing.
‘I’m not your stepmother. I’m your half-sister. I’m Robert’s daughter.’
Dorian’s eyes bulged with shock. ‘Bollocks’ he shouted.
‘No, it’s not. I can prove it. I have the results of the paternity test. It’s with my solicitor. We’re flesh and blood.’
Rosalind stalked towards me. ‘You’re telling me, you’re my sister?’
‘Yes,’ I said.
‘And why are you telling us this now? Do you think that we will take pity on you because one microscopic sperm from my father, one that should have been flushed down the toilet, instead impregnated a whore’s egg and produced you?’
‘My mother was not a whore,’ I said through gritted teeth.
‘Yes, she was.’
‘She wasn’t. She was a dancer.’
‘Oh well, here’s something you didn’t know. Your mother sold her body to pay for her treatments.’
I felt angry tears flood my eyes and start dribbling down my face. ‘I don’t believe you,’ I shouted angrily. My mother was the one pure thing in my life.