Captured Again Read Online Free PDF Page B

night in the hospital and hid it from me. But he never read it. I explained to him how that girls’ captor tortured her into submission with live spiders thrown into her box... and René had mirrored the threat in his own way, knowing I had probably read the book the weekend before, by throwing a huge live spider on my desk as he walked by my office.”
    Gabby’s entire body shuddered. “You know how afraid of spiders I am, Olivia. René did too. I’d always freaked out when anyone found a spider at the office. Everybody there knew I was terrified of spiders.
    “It was only a few days later he got the opportunity to corner me again, this time in the back of the stock room while the guys were out to lunch. No one could hear me back there. He sent me an instant message from the shipping guy’s computer, asking me to come back there for a moment to answer a question. When I walked back to the warehouse, it was René. He asked me how I liked the spider. I tried to get away from him, but he was too strong...” Gabby’s voice trailed off as she stared into space, and a silent tear raced down her face, dripping off in escape.
    “The sick bastard threatened me constantly—threatened to burn my face or burn all my hair off... blind me... He told me if I didn’t continue to come to work and keep our secret, he would do all sorts of horrible things. At that point I was numb, and I think he knew he was pushing me so far I didn’t care about myself anymore, so then he started threatening to do things to Jake. I was more scared for Jake than I was myself. He was like a Jekyll/Hyde. He said he’d mail Jake a graphic letter about having an affair with his wife, twist it to make it sound like I was willing and wanted it. I believed he’d do it... and I’m ashamed to say I was worried that Jake would believe him. Or worse, he said he’d arrange an accident for Jake or make him disappear. Olivia, this man was truly a sociopath, maybe even a psychopath. He was a monster, and I truly believed he would do everything he said.”
    Gabby finished her tea and uncovered her legs. She knew Olivia could see she was working up a sudden sweat, reliving the night of Jake’s death, but she silently thanked Olivia for keeping quiet, giving her the space to talk it out.
    “So I explained all this to Jake... why I kept going to work. I was too scared not to. But I tried other ways to keep him away from me or to make him lose interest. I really did. I started wearing dress slacks every day—never skirts. He still managed. I quit bathing, thinking I would disgust him. He didn’t care. He said if I was in the box I wouldn’t smell too clean anyway. I tried to get out of it, to make it stop before Jake found out and I lost him forever. I tried to find a way out that would make him choose to stop, to not want me ... but he was a disgusting, vile man.
    “I even scheduled that surgery on my feet that I really didn’t have to have—at least not right away. I thought if I asked for time off, instead of quitting or telling, that I could get six weeks away from René, and I could figure something out during that time. My medical leave was approved, but he didn’t leave me alone. Three weeks after the surgery, he came to the house. He was standing right there on the front porch with a bunch of flowers. Jake was at work. He beat on the door and threatened to stay there until Jake came home and tell Jake we were having an affair if I didn’t let him in. I didn’t know what to do. I let him in. I thought he wouldn’t do anything to me in that condition. But I was wrong. He wouldn’t stay away. He forced himself on me here... on this floor, Olivia. It’s not like I could’ve run away from him. He was there just to remind me he knew where I lived. And that if I didn’t come back to work after my medical leave, he’d just come get me—or Jake—so I went back.”
    Gabby took in another deep breath and held it a moment and then let it out.