The Thief's Stolen Heart

Chapter Eighteen

Reece was left locked in the basement for a week, alone to treat his wounds.

His torso was riddled with bruises, along with his jaw and face. There was a large cut above his left eyebrow and his split lip was throbbing. Brighten was also kind enough to come down with a knife, which resulted in a nasty cut on his chest and left arm.

Reece had managed to fight him back, or he would probably be dead.

Jim was the one to bring down food and water for him, and he even left a small first aid kit. He was always very quiet, but he didn't need to speak as he followed orders. Even so, Reece always knew that Jim was good deep down, and they had always shared moral views. It didn't change the fact that he listened to Mr. Graves. But it gave Reece a small amount of comfort that Jim wouldn't let him die easily.

Reece's body ached with every movement, so he stayed on the couch resting while he could. Once he found the strength, he was going to find a way out of here.

Jim brought a small TV down and set it up for Reece to have as entertainment since there was nothing else. Then he silently left after tossing the remote to Reece.

At first Reece ignored it, but he eventually turned it on since he was losing his mind. The silence only brought his thoughts to Lynn.

That night he was forcefully taken upstairs and pushed into his room. He didn't question it, he was just glad to sleep in a bed instead of the overly uncomfortable couch. He had a dreamless sleep but he was wide awake hours before sunrise.

Mr. Graves came into the room not long after the sun came up and Reece kept his gaze out the window, refusing to look at the horrible man. He didn't want to look at him.

"I do hope you've learned your lesson, Reece. You obey me no matter what."

He didn't move.

"If you're not willing to cooperate, you can spend another week in the basement."

"It's far preferable." Reece muttered bitterly.

"Fine." Mr. Graves snapped. "Brighten, take him down. He can stay there for the rest of his days for all I care."

Reece didn't fight as Brighten took him back down to the basement. And for the rest of the day he sat on the couch and ignored everything around him.

Until Jim came down that night. He turned the TV on and switched it to a news channel. He pointed at the screen and then disappeared up the stairs.

Confused, Reece turned his attention to the television. It was showing the weather at the moment. Did Jim really think he wanted to know about the weather?

He leaned forward to turn it off but stopped short when a breaking story came on.

"Tonight it has been confirmed that the daughter of Gordon Caine has been taken. Last night Adalynn Caine reportedly vanished from her back yard. Her long time nanny, Lianna Sanders, called the police when she discovered her missing. It was suspected that Adalynn ran off, but after a day of investigation, the police have confirmed that she was taken."

Reece didn't hear the rest. His ears were ringing, his body frozen in worry and fear for her.

Lynn.

He looked at the stairs. Jim knew about this, that was obvious. Was he telling Reece to escape and go find her?

Reece was on his feet, and he ran up the stairs. The door to the basement was locked, but he didn't care. He threw his body against the door, breaking through it easily. He stopped when he saw Brighten and his grandfather sitting in the main room.