“My husband,” I said, the word foul and poisonous on my tongue, “experimented on and then cobbled together dead body parts to create a monster. Once that was accomplished, he went on to murder his brother and frame my best friend for the murder so that she would be hanged. Then he tried to use her body to practice his dark science on, in preparation for eventually changing me from living to dead, and back again to a new form of being that would never corrupt or die or be parted from him. I told him I was not interested in being his wife under those particular circumstances.”

The woman’s eyes were wide, and she scooted several inches away from me, pushing herself along the floor.

“So.” I smiled, the expression that had been my instinct all these years feeling false and at the same time more true than ever as it cut meanly across my face. “We are here for basically the same reason.”

—

Over the next month, despair settled around me like snow falling on the ground, covering my dreams of vengeance. Then despair covered my dreams of life itself, until all that remained was a blank white plain of nothingness.

I would be in here forever.

But I always caught myself when I began despairing at that thought. Because being in here forever would be preferable to Victor’s alternative.

He was out there, somewhere, murdering victims to perfect his technique. I could not even count on that obscene monster to find and kill him, as it had had ample opportunity before and never followed through. Victor had been haunted not by the monster’s threats, but by his own failures.

So Victor was free, truly and fully, and I was in here. I would remain until Victor was ready for me. And then, because he was a man and I his wife, they would hand me over to him, and he would finally have full power over both my body and soul.

And no one would help me.

And no one would care.

—

I continued to pretend to be good, because I knew of no other way. The woman from the floor had spread rumors that I was truly insane, and no one spoke to me. I did not mind; I had no use for friends among the other prisoners.

I watched carefully. The cell doors were always locked. A nurse escorted me to my only meal with other people. We went down a hall that connected to the large common room. The doors leading out were guarded. Nurses worked alone, but they never left individually—always in a pair. So any idea of overpowering a nurse and stealing her uniform was out of the question.