The Rejected True Heiress (Liora and Callum) novel Chapter 418

Liora’s POV

My head ached something fierce.

I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut tight before blinking them open. My vision blurred, the dark ceiling swimming and swaying above me. An overwhelming feeling of nausea came over me, and before I could stop it, I’d turned my head and retched.

When it was finished, I only felt marginally better. As my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, I slowly became aware of where I was.

Something rough was tightly bound around my wrists. The same material was binding my ankles, too, I realized with a start, when I tried to move.

I felt cold stone underneath me. Heard the dripping of something wet and musty next to my ear.

I blinked again to clear my vision. Dark, rough stones lined the four walls around me. The ceiling was low and damp, and the floor beneath me was cold and made of what felt like packed dirt.

A… basement?

“Where am I?” I muttered to no one in particular.

I thought I was alone. But I wasn’t. I realized that now, when I heard shuffling beside me.

“Shoot. You weren’t supposed to wake up.”

I recognized that voice. But how? I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Slowly, it all came back to me. It was fuzzy, but I vaguely remembered standing in the dark hallway, listening to the conversation between Callum’s parents. Something about a tiny ruby dissolving in my tea. I was supposed to drink it.

Then, the butler had come up behind me and shoved me into the room before I could make a run for it.

Poison.

I wasn’t sure what kind, or why he was doing this. But I knew that powder was meant to kill me.

The butler reached for me. I tried to scooch away, but it was no use. My arms were bound behind me, my ankles tied, and I was propped up against a hard stone wall with nowhere to go. The butler grabbed my face with one hand, pinching both cheeks and forcing my mouth open while the other opened the packet.

“W-Wait!” I stammered out. “W-Why are you doing this?! Just tell me—”

“It’s a bit complicated to bother explaining it to a dead girl.”

“Humor me.” I managed to jerk my head away. Just enough to make him release my face. Although the movement made my head slam back against the wall, and my vision swam again for a moment, making it look like there were two of him in front of me before they came back together as one. “Please,” I said. “I think I deserve to know before you kill me.”

The butler studied me for a moment. Glanced at his watch. Then sighed.