"You see," Mabella whispered, stepping closer, her breath almost brushing Lydia’s ear, "Aiden is mine. And I don’t take kindly to people like you, people who think they can just swoop in and take what doesn’t belong to them."
Lydia’s knees threatened to give out beneath her as Mabella’s words sank in, each syllable laced with venom. The letter, the broken mirror… it had all been Mabella’s doing. The entire thing was a carefully orchestrated warning, a message Lydia hadn’t understood until it was too late. She had walked right into the trap.
Her voice trembled as she tried to find her footing, backing away slightly. "What… what are you going to do?" Lydia stammered, her throat tight with fear. She could barely get the words out as her body tensed, ready to flee. But there was nowhere to go. She was trapped in this dark, abandoned place, and every corner seemed to close in on her.
Mabella’s smile never faltered. It was cold, cruel, as if she were relishing the fear radiating from Lydia. She raised the small glass bottle in her hand, holding it up to the faint light that filtered through the broken windows. The liquid inside caught the light for just a moment, a dangerous shimmer reflecting in the dim room.
“Did you see what I’m holding in my hand?” Mabella asked, her tone almost casual, as if they were discussing something trivial.
Lydia’s wide eyes darted to the bottle, her mouth dry as fear gripped her. "W-what is that?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper, the dread creeping up her spine like ice.
Mabella’s gaze flickered with a dangerous amusement. She tilted the bottle, watching the liquid slosh slightly inside. "Oh, this?" she said with mock indifference, shaking the bottle lightly. "It’s not such a big deal... nothing you need to worry about."
Lydia stood frozen, her heart pounding painfully in her chest. Sweat beaded on her forehead, her hands trembling uncontrollably at her sides. She swallowed hard, her body stiff with fear as she waited for Mabella to continue, the suspense suffocating her.
Mabella’s eyes gleamed as she leaned in closer, her lips parting in a slow, almost predatory smile. "It’s just acid."
The word hung in the air, sharp and lethal. Lydia’s heart seized in terror. Her breath came in shallow gasps, her vision blurring for a moment as the gravity of Mabella’s words settled over her. Sweat trickled down her temples as she stared at the bottle, her mind spinning with horror. Acid. The single word echoed in her head, growing louder with every beat of her panicked heart.
Her eyes darted around the room, the once empty space now feeling smaller, more confined. The shadows in the corners seemed to stretch and twist, creeping closer as if the building itself were closing in on her. Her pulse raced, her body trembling as the cold dread washed over her in waves.
Thoughts of escape flickered through her mind, desperate and wild, but the fear was overwhelming, clouding her ability to think clearly. The room felt like a prison, and her legs were too weak to move. She was trapped with Mabella, whose casual cruelty was like a knife twisting deeper with every word.
A smirk tugged at the corner of Mabella’s lips, subtle yet unmistakable, as if she were enjoying Lydia’s growing panic. Her eyes sparkled with cold amusement, like a predator watching its prey squirm. There was a hint of mockery in the way her gaze lingered on Lydia, as though she found this entire situation nothing more than a game.
Lydia’s voice trembled as she took a shaky step backward, her body trembling uncontrollably. "Stop… please…" she begged, her words a desperate plea. "You… you can’t do this to me… I’m begging you…"
Mabella tilted her head, her smirk deepening as if Lydia’s desperation only fueled her enjoyment. "Oh my," she purred, her voice dripping with amusement. "No can do."
A soft chuckle slipped from Mabella’s lips, light and teasing, as though Lydia’s pleas were nothing more than an amusing distraction. Her laughter lingered in the air, wrapping around Lydia like a noose, tightening with every breath she took. There was something unsettling in the way Mabella laughed—carefree, as if none of this mattered to her, as if everything around her was just a little less serious in her eyes.
She tilted her head back slightly, her shoulders shaking with the quiet tremor of laughter, her eyes sparkling with barely contained mirth. It was as if she were holding back a secret joke, something only she understood. The sound was light and airy, but it carried with it an undercurrent of danger, a subtle reminder of just how far Mabella was willing to go.
Lydia’s breath hitched as she realized the gravity of her situation. Her legs finally moved, driven by a surge of pure adrenaline. She spun on her heel and bolted toward the door, her heart pounding so loudly she could barely hear her own frantic footsteps. Desperation coursed through her veins as she reached for the door handle, her fingers trembling as they grasped the cold metal.
But the door wouldn’t budge.
Lydia’s eyes widened in shock, her pulse quickening even more. She pulled at the handle frantically, twisting and yanking, but it was locked. Panic surged through her like a tidal wave, and she pounded on the door, her knuckles whitening with the force. "No…" she whispered in disbelief, her voice trembling with fear. "How is this locked? It’s an abandoned building… it shouldn’t be locked."
Her mind raced, trying to make sense of how the door could be locked in a place that no one was supposed to care about. How had Mabella managed to trap her so completely? Lydia’s heart thundered in her chest, the blood rushing in her ears as the weight of her situation settled in.
Slowly, Lydia turned back around, her eyes wide with terror. She met Mabella’s gaze, her own eyes silently pleading for mercy, for anything that would stop this nightmare from spiraling further out of control.
Mabella stood there, still as a statue, her smirk never fading. Her cold, calculating gaze locked onto Lydia’s, unflinching and amused. She watched Lydia’s fear with a kind of detached interest, like a predator observing its prey’s final moments of helplessness before striking.
"Now, now," Mabella said softly, her voice sweet but with a razor-sharp edge beneath it. "Don’t look so scared. We’re just getting started."
Lydia felt the walls of the room closing in around her, the weight of her fear crushing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. She was trapped, cornered, with nowhere to run. And Mabella… Mabella was enjoying every second of it.