Uncovering You 10: The Finale by Scarlett Edwards

not have to go on much longer. You’ll be returned to the white room, with a shower…a light…a bed.”
    “Go fuck yourself,” I spit, and turn away.
    He clicks his tongue, and then stands. “You’ll be here,” he says, “every single moment, being watched, until you take the pills, Lilly. There’s no use trying to fight. You’ll give in eventually. And Esteban and I? We have the luxury of unlimited time, while your clock, I fear, is running short.” He turns away. “Think on it, Lilly. It won’t be that bad.”
     

     
    I cradle the pills in my palm, fingering them back and forth in a circle.
    Hugh wanted me to take them. Why? I can only think of one reason:
    They will do the same thing to my mind as they did to Paul’s
    And if I do—if I succumb—there will be no going back. Not from that. Not ever.
    Have I given up all hope of an escape? It’s been a month and a half since I was kidnapped. A month and a half where I have been given no chance.
    A month and a half in which Jeremy did not come.
    The reward should have sparked a search. Doubtless, it did. And nothing has come of it so far.
    Frightening? No, this is terrifying.

     

Chapter Nineteen
     

     
    Hugh visits me again the following day.
    I need confirmation of my suspicions. “If I take these,” I ask him, “what will become of me?”
    He chuckles. “Finally, you are asking the right questions. The three pills, on their own, will do nothing. But..they will prime your mind to succumb to bouts of schizophrenia, give the proper trigger.”
    “And that trigger is?”
    “Another chemical, with a two day half-life. You see, what I did to Paul was unfortunately crude. It ruined him forever. I do not want that with you. After all, what use would you be as a bargaining chip if you were broken?” He laughs. “None. But. If you were not broken, simply temporarily… impaired? In a state that could be achieved by a single drop of the proper chemical catalyst in your drink? Well, that makes you valuable again. To me.”
    “Why not just slip them in my food, then?” I challenge. “Why offer me the choice?”
    “Because, sweet Lilly, you have to be in full understanding of what is happening to you. You have to see how it is only because of your choices that you have ended up in this…” Hugh glances around the room. “…this cold, dark, despicable place. The three little pills will open your mind to us. And they will also be your escape.”
    I laugh. “Escape? Escape what? You said it yourself: You intend to use me as bait. You don’t mean to let me out.”
    “Perhaps not,” Hugh admits, “but wouldn’t you rather spend your final days in unbridled luxury, as opposed to this… this miserable existence?” He stands and turns away. “Think on it, Lilly. Do you know where we are?”
    “You know I don’t.”
    “We are miles beneath Esteban’s beautiful home on a remote island in the Mediterranean. Wouldn’t you like to see the sea? We will let you. We will let you roam the wonderful landscape of the picturesque nature above us, should you simply swallow those three, red pills.”
    “You’re lying,” I hiss. “We can’t be out of the country. I know we’re still in California. You couldn’t have just flown me away, with no one being the wiser, without us clearing customs?”
    “Customs?” Hugh laughs uproariously. “You think that some TSA officials could have stopped us? Remember what happened in the airport in Boston, Lilly. Remember why Jeremy felt compelled to bring me.”
    He lowers his voice. “It’s because I still hold connections from my past life. Do not dismiss things you know nothing about. It’ll turn your stubbornness into a weakness instead of a strength.”
    He turns away. “Ten days, Lilly,” he informs me. “I am giving you ten days to make your choice. Already, Esteban is growing impatient. I advise you to take the pills. Because you know that in the end, whether you will it or not, they will end up in