Tia's POV 

Crack.

The whip slammed down with so much force, Kim cried out, once again uselessly jerking her arm from the danger, only for it to be forced out again, stretched out until it was almost being yanked out of its socket. And the whip would crack down again.

Crack.

Silva the dog had her head in her paws, whimpering quietly sometimes. For some reason, I had no chains on my arms or legs, and my cell door was unlocked, but one glance at the criminal lord and I knew there wasn't even a point in trying.

Stretching out a hand, I scratch her behind the ears, and she picks herself up, curling up next to me. It was breezy down here, even though the door was shut and there were no windows; there was a certain chill in the air that kept making me shiver, goosebumps scattering on my arms, my hairs standing on end. Gazing down at my arm as I expose it to the torch light, my eyes linger on the scar Sjin gave me-I had never fully forgived him for that.

The cracking of the whip was getting louder as Ridge made his way up and down the cells. He hadn't got to my cell yet. 

Probably saving the best till last.

And so, he reached my cell, tilting his head as he observed me. I could almost hear the clicking and whirring of his brain as he thought, intently gazing at me through the bars of the cage.

My heart slowly began to pound as he opened my already open cell door, the metal grating against the stone wall as it hit it with a bang that echoed down the cell corridor. The other girls were trembling, crying, blood on their arms and faces. 

"And so it comes down to this..." he murmurs, taking one, agonizingly loud and close footstep towards me.

"If you're going to torture me, do it quickly" I snap, wrapping my arms around my legs, my brown hair obscuring my view for a moment until I hesitantly reach up to tuck it behind my neck.

"Torture you?" he snorts, letting out a dark chuckle and I look up in bewilderment.

"Well...you've got a whip in your hand, you've been torturing everyone else, so why not me?" I ask fiercely, my teeth gritting together as he advances until he squats in front of me, using his hand to caress my chin, tilting my head up to meet his gaze. Blue, sapphire eyes meet mine and he smiles almost sadly.

"Haven't you been listening, my dear? I never said I was going to torture you..." he smirked, leaning forward so his skin brushed against mine and I bristled, shivers going down my spine as he whispers in a dead, flat tone.

"I said I was going to break you."

As he pulls away, I work on containing my emotions as I meet his gaze again.

"And what, may I ask, do you intend to do to...'break me?'" I enquire nervously, ignoring the other girl's as they stare at me in...

One glance at their direction confirmed my fears.

Hatred.

Even Hannah. Even Zoey. They blamed me, I could feel it in their glare, I could feel it in the air.

Ridgedog could feel it too. That was probably why he was taking pity on me. If he didn't kill me, they would.

"You'll see...soon enough. You girls go gossip whilst I sort some things out..." he smiles, brushing my cheek. Stepping up, he leaves my cell, still leaving it unlocked. For a moment, I was confused. Did he really trust me enough to leave the door open?

But then he pulled a chair out of the shadows as he sat down near the door, taking some papers out his coat (seriously, his coat was like a woman's hand bag. An endless pit of useless things he will probably never use).

"Oh, and Tia?" he grins as he looks up.

"What?" I ask, my voice hoarse and I cough. My eyes were beginning to droop-it was way past midnight and I hadn't had a coffee to keep me awake.

"I liked your present."

One click of his tongue and Silva got up and left her space, the warm hot fuzzy water bottle leaving my side as she pushes the cell door open and plonks herself down under his chair, looking incredibly content.

"Stupid dog" I mutter, not knowing which one I was aiming the insult at.

The silence was almost deafening. I'd never been claustrophobic before, but now, I felt so consumed by this dark, shadowy place that could ultimately be my grave. Sliding onto the floor, I try and find a comfortable place on the stone slabs to rest my head, before cursing and taking my hoodie off, ignoring the cold as it hits my bare skin, and I plump it up, pushing it under my head almost violently, and I gaze at Ridge as he sits in his chair, working away at some documents.

Occasionally, his eyes would flit up to meet mine. He would smile at me, his pen flicking across the page even when he was not looking, but I would not return it. Only once did I half smile, and that was when Silva came trotting over when he clicked his tongue again, and the dog followed his orders, laying on my body, covering me with her warm fur, and I drift off to sleep.

__________________________________________________

Stirring, I wondered why it was still dark, until I remembered where I was.

I squinted in the darkness, seeing Ridge, asleep in his chair. He must have really trusted me to fall asleep whilst my door was unlocked.

Whispers echoed in the cells, and I strained to hear them.

"...and she was the one who thought of the idea, so you know, it's her fault."

Hannah's voice.

"It was a stupid idea to start running around his home shouting my name. I was planning to break out soon anyway!"

Zoey.

My eyes flickered over to Ridge, who's eye twitched slightly, a small smile on his face, and somehow I could tell he was awake.

"Ugh. She's so, like, stupid. She says she's like an assassin or something, it's like no. She couldn't even kill a cat if she wanted to" Ashley spits.

There is the sound of chains shuffling and all is quiet until Kim speaks up.

"They didn't even try and save me when I went to the toilet. Tia doesn't even care." she sighs.

"Tia doesn't care because Tia is the one who will die from this and Tia doesn't care because all of you will get your happy ending and Tia won't." I spit out harshly, my voice thick with sleep but the threat got across.

There is a silence, and I take the time to talk to them. I was sleepy, but I had learnt to be alert as an assassin.

"I could of let Hannah rot in a cell. I could of let Zoey stay here. I could of forgotten about all of you and joined Ridge and killed all of you and your pathetic boyfriends, but I didn't. Because I wanted to save you. Rythian trusted me. Lewis trusted me. I failed them, yes, but I don't need you to blame it all on me. They weren't forced to come with me, were they? They had a choice, as did I. And my choice has been made. Lesson learnt, moral noted-never care about anyone or else you end up in a cell with a bunch of whiny girls blabbing about how it is all my fucking fault" I declare, turning over in a huff.

"Oh stop overreacting" Minty sighs.

"I'm over reacting?" I snort, sitting up. My hair was a bird's nest, but I don't care.

Standing up, I clasp my hands on the iron bars, glaring at them all.

"Look at you. All of you. You're so pathetic. Look where you are right now. In a cell. Being tortured. Chained down, door locked. Then look at me. In a cell. Not being tortured, not chained down, door not locked. I can walk in and out of this cell. You all think you're so high and mighty because you were 'innocent' in all of this. I'm worse off than all of you. So stop fucking complaining. You're here now, just suck it up and shut up." I snap.

"Keep that noise up and you will be locked up and tortured" Ridge murmurs, but I can tell he's joking.

"You know what? I should just join Ridge and help him torture you all you backstabbing bitches" I growl.

"I wouldn't mind that" Ridge snickers, and I ignore him.

"Good. You're no better than he is. When you rescued me, I thought you actually sacrificed yourself to get me out. But then? You started snogging his face off just to get me out. That's when I realized. You don't care about me. You don't care about any of us. You just want to see how far you can wrap Ridge around your little finger, and show the rest of us that we aren't as strong as you. And you know what? We might not have some immortal psycopath on our side, but we've got a hell of a lot more morals than you do. And in the end, we will have our happy ending, and you'll miss out. Because you chose to hang around with some demigod serial killer who will end up getting sick of you and killing you when he gets tired of you."

I stare at Hannah, stunned at her words. She was right. I knew she was.

But I wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

"You'll regret that" I say softly, slipping out of my cell. Ridge watches me with curious eyes, and Silva follows me, and I stop in front of her cage.

Slipping my hands onto the metal, I look her dead in the eye and do not blink.

"You will never get your happy ending. I will make your life hell. You and Lewis will never be together. Not whilst I'm alive. And you know what? It's going to be worth it. Worth it to watch your face drop when he is dying in front of you. Worth it to watch you get on the floor, onto your knees and beg me to save him. And when you do? You'll regret ever saying those words."

Hannah glares at me, but I can see the anxiety in her eyes. Silva growls on cue, snapping at her cage as I stride back to my cell. Ridge extends a hand, stopping me.

"Follow me. We can't have you staying in the same area as these vermin, can we?" he murmurs, pulling me into his chest. And for once, I didn't mind, snuggling into his coat, and he chuckles, tugging me out of the room.

Once we are on the stairs, Ridge lets out a dark laugh.

"What?" I demand, still pissed off at Hannah's words.

"I told you I was going to break you." he smirks, and I stop dead in my tracks.

Why didn't I see that?

He was breaking me. Breaking off my friends. One by one. Breaking my trust with everyone until only he remained.

"I hate you" I whisper.

"No you don't" he grins, whirling round and winking broadly at me before I sigh, glancing once at the wall, before following him reluctantly.

No, I thought. No, I didn't.