The Promotion

Chapter Sixty-Two

Louisa's POV

Darkness wrapped around me like a suffocating blanket.

At first, I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or closed. Everything felt blurred, distant, unreal—like I was trapped somewhere between sleep and consciousness. My head throbbed relentlessly, each pulse sending sharp pain through my skull as though something heavy was striking it from the inside.

I tried to move.
Nothing happened.

My body felt impossibly heavy, unresponsive, as if it didn't belong to me anymore. Panic stirred faintly in my chest, but even that felt muted, dulled by whatever had been used on me.

Then fragments began to surface.

A car.
A stranger.
A knife glinting in the dim light.

My breath hitched weakly as the memory sharpened. A cloth. Rough hands. The overwhelming smell of something chemical. The moment my lungs screamed for air—and then nothing.

Darkness.

I forced my eyes open with what little strength I had left.

The room swam into view slowly, shadows bleeding into shapes. The air was thick with dust and dampness, the smell old and stale, like a place that hadn't been lived in for years. A single exposed bulb hung overhead, flickering weakly, casting long, distorted shadows across cracked walls.

My wrists burned.

I gasped softly, the sound scraping painfully against my dry throat, and tilted my head just enough to look down. Rope. Thick. Rough. Tied so tightly it bit into my skin, leaving angry red marks that throbbed in time with my heartbeat.

Fear finally surged fully awake.

I tugged instinctively, panic flaring—but the rope didn't budge. Pain shot up my arms and I cried out, my voice hoarse and unfamiliar to my own ears.

That's when I noticed it.

My left hand.

Something was wrong.

I stared at it, my mind sluggish, struggling to understand what felt different. My fingers trembled as I moved them slightly—and then it hit me.

My ring.

My engagement ring was gone.

"No..." I whispered, the sound barely audible.

My heart plummeted violently, like it had dropped through the floor. I lifted my chin as much as I could and swallowed hard, my fingers instinctively brushing against my chest.

The necklace.

Gone.

The delicate chain Alexander had clasped around my neck, the one he kissed every time he told me he loved me—it was gone too.

Tears filled my eyes instantly, blurring my vision. The fear wasn't just about where I was anymore. It was deeper. Colder. It felt like someone had torn away pieces of me—pieces that grounded me, that reminded me I wasn't alone.

I struggled again, sobbing now, desperation clawing at my chest.

Then—

"Finally."

The voice cut through the silence like a blade.

I froze.

"I was starting to think you'd never wake up."

My breath hitched as I slowly lifted my head, every movement heavy and painful. My vision shifted toward the corner of the room.

And my blood ran cold.