Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 256

Before Willa could unravel the tangled thoughts, Stella's patience completely ran out.

With a sudden, nasty smirk, Stella slowly stood up, took a step back, and tipped her chin toward the two men behind her. "Take the pictures."

Willa's heart seized in her chest, panic flooding her senses.

Pictures of what?

Before she could even react, the tall man pulled out his phone and opened the camera app.

The heavy-set man rubbed his hands together, flashing a sleazy, disturbing grin. He crouched down and reached a hand toward Willa's face.

Willa violently recoiled, her back slamming against the wall. A sharp cramp instantly shot through her stomach.

She gritted her teeth and snapped, "Don't touch me!"

The man flinched at her fierce reaction, withdrawing his hand slightly, and looked back at Stella.

Stella scowled, her face full of annoyance. "What are you scared of? It's just a few pictures. I didn't tell you to actually do anything."

Hearing that, the heavy-set man reached out again, pinning down half of Willa's body while his other hand started violently and haphazardly tearing at her clothes.

Willa fought with everything she had, the zip ties slicing deeper into her wrists until she hissed in agony.

Using every ounce of strength left in her body, she kicked out, her foot slamming directly into the man's kneecap.

The man gasped in pain and stumbled backward, his face darkening with fury.

"Fuck, this bitch is wild," he snarled, rubbing his knee as he spat out a string of curses.

Willa seized the tiny window of opportunity, frantically curling her body inward to shield herself.

She had no other options left. This was the only way she could protect her stomach.

The tall man held up his phone, hesitating with a deep frown. "Ms. Whitman, her stomach... is she pregnant?"

Stella's face went rigid. "What the hell does it matter to you? I told you to take the pictures, so take them!"

Willa let out a massive sigh of relief. She slightly shifted her body, leaning back against the wall as she gasped for air, but the throbbing pain in her stomach only grew more intense.

"Stella, let me go. My stomach hurts."

Cold sweat broke out across her forehead. Her complexion drained from pale to a sickly gray, every drop of color vanishing from her lips.

"Stella, I'm serious... my stomach hurts..." she repeated, her voice shaking uncontrollably.

Stella furrowed her brow. She crouched down and stared at her with dead, apathetic eyes, completely devoid of sympathy. "Your stomach hurts? Cut the act. You think faking it is going to make me let you go?"

Willa bit down on her lip, her words coming out in broken gasps. "Stella... I'm not faking... the baby... something's wrong with the baby..."

Stella stood up, pulled her phone from her pocket, and snapped a rapid series of photos of Willa.

"Looking like this is good enough."

Willa looked up at her, utterly terrified of what she was planning to do.