"You won't?" Charles's voice was a low snarl, laced with incredulity. He stepped closer, his shadow engulfing me. "Do you think I'm playing games, Abigail? You think you can defy me?"

He grabbed my arm, his fingers digging into my flesh, and dragged me out of the closet. I stumbled, my knees weak from fear and confinement. My gaze fell on the shattered jade amulet again, lying amidst the debris. My father's last gift. My heart constricted.

"My amulet," I rasped, pointing a trembling finger at the pieces. "Where is it? What happened to it?" My voice was thin, but it held a desperate urgency.

Charles glanced at the broken jade, then at me, a dismissive frown creasing his brow. "That old thing? It's just a trinket, Abigail. Don't be so dramatic. Haylee's dog is dead because of you. That's what matters."

"It's not just a trinket!" I cried, my voice cracking. "It was my father's! It was all I had left of him!" The pain of his callous disregard was a fresh wound. He didn't care. He never cared about anything that truly mattered to me.

Haylee, who had been silently watching, stepped forward, a sly smirk playing on her lips. "Oh, that green rock? I think Princess might have dragged it under the bed when she was playing. Such a naughty little thing." Her eyes glinted with malicious pleasure.

I glared at her, a fire igniting in my chest. She was enjoying this. Every agonizing minute. I dropped to my knees, despite my aching body and swollen belly, and peered under the bed. My heart sank. There, amidst the dust bunnies, lay the pulverized remains of my amulet. It wasn't just broken; it was ground into dust, unrecognizable fragments.

A guttural cry escaped me. My vision blurred with tears and rage. I scrambled to my feet, my hand flying, connecting with Haylee' s cheek with a resounding slap. The sharp crack echoed in the silent room.

Haylee reeled back, a look of genuine shock on her face, before collapsing to the floor with a theatrical sob. "Charles! She hit me! She's crazy!"

"You bitch!" I screamed, lunging at her again, fueled by pure, unfiltered fury. "You murdered my babies! You killed my dog! You destroyed my father's memory! You deserve to burn!"

Charles moved with lightning speed, intercepting me. He shoved me back, hard. I lost my footing, my pregnant body an unwieldy weight, and crashed to the floor, a sharp pain shooting through my back. My hands instinctively flew to cover my belly, protecting my last hope.

He helped Haylee up, cradling her as if she were a delicate flower. "Are you alright, my love?" he murmured, stroking her hair. He didn't spare a glance for me, sprawled on the floor, gasping for air. "Abigail, your behavior is unacceptable! How dare you lay a hand on Haylee, especially when she's carrying my child?" His voice was laced with disgust. "You're a wild animal! You're out of control!"

He turned, a dark glint in his eyes. "Fine. You want to be a beast? You'll be treated like one. No electricity, no food, no water until you apologize to Haylee and dig that grave. And for good measure, you'll stay in the dark. Maybe that claustrophobia of yours will teach you some manners." With a flick of his wrist, he plunged the room into suffocating darkness once more.

"No, Charles! Please!" I cried, my voice choked with renewed terror. "You can't! You know I can't handle the dark!"

"Precisely," his voice, cold and distant, came from the oppressive blackness. "This is your punishment, Abigail. When you're ready to beg, when you're ready to accept Haylee as my wife and the mother of my child, then maybe, just maybe, I'll let you out."

I heard the click of the door, then his footsteps receding. Haylee' s mocking laughter, faint and chilling, was the last sound before complete silence. He had taken my phone. I was truly alone. Trapped. In the dark. The walls pressed in, suffocating me. I clawed at my throat, gasping for air that wouldn't come. My body shook uncontrollably. I cried out, a weak, desperate sound, but no one answered. The world spun, then dissolved into blackness. The last thing I tasted was the salty tang of my own tears.

Time blurred into a meaningless void in the oppressive darkness. I drifted in and out of consciousness, each awakening a fresh wave of terror. My throat was raw from screaming, my body a mass of aches and trembling. The claustrophobia, a beast I thought I had tamed, roared back to life, consuming me.

A sudden, jarring click. Light. blinding, searing light. My eyelids, swollen and heavy, fluttered open, then squeezed shut against the sudden assault. A wave of nausea, sharper and more insistent than before, twisted my stomach.

"Ugh, look at her. So pathetic." A voice, dripping with disdain. "Honestly, Abigail, can't you even manage to be presentable? You look like a drowned rat."

I forced my eyes open, blinking rapidly, trying to focus. Standing over me, a look of utter disgust on her face, was my mother. Celeste. My own mother. The woman who had sworn to protect me.

"Mother?" My voice was a dry, croaking sound.

"Don't 'Mother' me," she snapped, stepping back as if my very presence repulsed her. "Get yourself together. Charles wants you in the living room. And for God's sake, clean yourself up. You smell awful." She wrinkled her nose, as if I were something vile.

No hug, no concern for my well-being, no questions about why I was locked in a closet. Just disdain. It was a familiar pattern. With a monumental effort, I pushed myself to my feet. Every muscle screamed in protest. I stumbled out of the closet, my legs rubbery.

Two burly bodyguards, their faces impassive, flanked me as I made my way to the living room. The air was thick with tension, a suffocating weight. My eyes immediately landed on the ornate coffee table in the center of the room. Laying there, on a plush velvet cushion, was Princess. Haylee' s poodle. Lifeless. Her tiny body stiff, her eyes glazed over.

Next to the table, on her knees, was Maria, our longtime housekeeper, her face stained with tears. She clutched at her apron, wringing her hands, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Charles stood over her, his expression grim. Haylee clung to his arm, dabbing at her eyes with a lace handkerchief, looking like a grieving widow. My mother stood beside them, her arms crossed, a look of righteous fury on her face.

"So, Maria," my mother's voice cut through the silence, sharp as a knife. "Tell us again. Who told you to do it? Who put you up to this heinous act?"

Maria flinched, glancing nervously at me, then quickly lowering her gaze. "It was... it was Miss Abigail," she stammered, her voice barely audible. "She told me... she told me to give Princess... a special treat. She said it would help her sleep." Her words were punctuated by fresh sobs.

My blood ran cold. She was framing me. And Maria, terrified, was playing along.

"A special treat?" Haylee wailed, burying her face in Charles's chest. "My poor Princess! How could you, Abigail? How could you be so cruel? To poison an innocent animal!"

Charles' s eyes, when they met mine, were filled with a chilling blend of anger and accusation. "Abigail, what do you have to say for yourself?"

I felt a hysterical laugh bubble up, but I suppressed it. "I was locked in that closet, Charles! How could I have possibly 'instructed' Maria to poison a dog? It's absurd!" I pointed at Maria. "They're lying! Haylee killed her own dog!"

Maria sobbed louder, shaking her head. "No, Miss Abigail! I swear! You told me! You even gave me the powder!"

The scene felt surreal, a twisted play orchestrated by Haylee. Charles and my mother looked at me with open disgust. My mother, ever the loyal ally to Haylee, stepped forward. "Abigail, you've always been a difficult child, but this... this is beyond the pale. To act so cruelly, and then to drag an innocent servant into your mess! You are a disgrace!"

"She's right," Charles said, his voice hard. "You will kneel, Abigail. You will apologize to Haylee, and you will apologize to Princess. And then, you will dig her grave."

My heart pounded. Kneel? For a lie? For a dog Haylee herself had murdered? "I won't," I said, my voice trembling but firm. "I did not do this. I will not kneel."

My mother gasped. "Stubborn to the end! Just like your father! You were never grateful for anything, were you? Always causing trouble!"

I looked at her, truly looked at her, and saw only contempt. The last shred of hope that she might, just might, choose me, vanished. "I was in the closet, Mother," I repeated, my voice devoid of emotion. "For hours. Ask the bodyguards. Check the cameras. The truth is right there."

But neither Charles nor my mother seemed interested in the truth. They had their narrative, and I was the villain.