“Please, please! Daddy, please!” Her voice cracks as she steps back toward the open door. “I can explain! I can—”

“HOW DARE YOU?! YOU INSOLENT, UNGRATEFUL CHILD!”

This is for your own good, my sweet.

“DO YOU THINK YOU UNDERSTAND HOW EVERYTHING WORKS?!”

He takes another step toward her.

She takes another step back toward the door.

It sickens him to see so many tears drench her face, but he forces himself to continue.

So that we can be together for all of eternity.

“DO YOU THINK YOU CAN PLAY WITH ANYTHING YOU FEEL LIKE?! OPENING DOORS AND WALKING FREELY, TAMPERING WITH WHATEVER YOU’D LIKE WITHOUT MY PERMISSION?!”

Another step forward, another step backward.

This is for you, Vanilla.

“WITHOUT MY BEING THERE TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE SAFE?! DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO YOU IF I WEREN’T THERE TO WATCH OVER YOUR EVERY MOVE?!”

If only you could see it, you’d understand.

A step forward, a step backward.

For your own good.

“WELL, LET ME TELL YOU, MY SWEET, SWEET, LITTLE VANILLA! WITHOUT ME, YOU WOULD BE HELPLESS! YOU WOULD BE NOTHING BUT A SAD, PATHETIC, LITTLE STUFFED ANIMAL LIKE YOUR PLAYTHING OVER THERE!”

He spots the stuffed blue dog just before him and crushes it, feeling no resistance against the pressure of his sole.

“JUST LI—”

A sting erupts from the side of his arm. A muted discomfort that stops him in his tracks. He halts and looks down, staring at the syringe burrowed deep into his bicep.

She picked it up from the floor and drove it into him.

He growls, although . . .

Nothing.

He does not feel the pain. And he is actually quite impressed.

She will be just fine.

He uses every ounce of rage, feeling his skin electrify as though he were covered with razor-sharp hackles. He bears toward her, his movement filled with threat. Tears waterfall down her cheeks as her body shakes. Her hands are in front of her mouth, hiding her lips that are surely bent in horror from what she’s done. He’ll use that horror against her.

His body shudders from the rage. In his last act, his coup de grâce of this sickening skit, he jumps at her.

“WITHOUT ME, YOU WOULD BE DEAD!”

She yelps, her eyes filled with anguish. With one sobbing gasp, she turns and runs out the door.

For a moment, no part of him moves except for his eyes trailing her footsteps; he remains hunched as if his prey is still beneath him. Then he exhales. Composing himself, he stands tall and watches her body disappear into the mouth of the hallway. Her little feet patter.

Victor pulls the syringe from his arm without a wince and holds it at chest level while the needle weeps his blood.

I will see you again soon, my sweet, he thinks. Good luck.

CHAPTER XV

Her feet pound down the hallway. She isn’t sure where she’s going exactly, just that she must distance herself from her room and her daddy as fast as possible. As far away from him as she can. The separation pains her more and more as it grows, but the pit in her gut settles with every step she puts between them.