The blindfold was still tight around her eyes.

Elena had lost all sense of time. She didn’t know how long she had been in that room, surrounded by them. The world outside no longer existed. It was just the sound of their voices, their breaths, the weight of their hands. Her wrists throbbed against the rope, the knot digging deeper into her skin every time she moved.

Someone had turned off the lamp. The air felt heavier in the darkness, thicker. The sound of the floor creaking told her that ...