AN: here's chapter 27. Enjoy, people.

Trigger warning ⚠️: entire chapter has mentions of assault, abuse, drugs, self-harm, death/murder and injury detail. Please do not read if that triggers you as it goes into some detail. If you want to know what happens without reading the chapter, either comment here or private message me and I'll give you a brief summary.

Lexi's POV:

I lay on the stone cold floor, my mind and body completely blank and numb.

Today was the worst beating and torture I'd ever received in my life.

Clearly, Isla has some unresolved issues.

But I could handle it. I didn't give a damn about myself and would rather it be me than someone else.

But this time, someone else got caught in the crossfire.

I turned my head to the side and let out a sob. Sweet, innocent Geoff was lying, hopefully unconscious, in a pool of his own blood. Isla had spared him little mercy for helping me. She beat him badly and forced me to watch as she slowly carved into his skin. No matter how much I begged, she didn't stop. She would inject fluids into him and laugh cruelly as his mouth foamed and he fought for every breath. It was the most painful thing I'd ever experienced.

"Lexi." Geoff whispered and let out a sigh of relief.

"Geoff, oh thank goodness-" I coughed, my hands splattering with blood.

My friend shakily got to his feet, wiping away the trickle of red liquid oozing out of the corner of his mouth. He tottered shakily to the door, then paused and looked back. "We'll have to plan your escape soon- Isla has become more... eccentric these last few days. I think she has something big planned for you."

I swallowed and shifted, the chains wrapped around me scraped against the floor. "What should we do then?" I'd lost all hope in my brothers finding me. Either they were having difficulty in doing so, or they had completely given up on me.

Geoff hesitated. "Do... do you remember the plan?"

My heart sank and I nodded dumbly. We'd come up with 'The Plan' as a last resort- something that I'd hoped we'd never have to use. If Geoff- sickeningly optimistic, sweet Geoff- was suggesting it, then the situation must be worse than I thought.

"It has to be tonight." He continued softly. "I'll- I'll bring the things tonight a-and we can start."

"Okay." I forced out. My eyelids grew heavy, and I tried to blink the sleep away, but the waves of exhaustion kept coming. I vaguely heard Geoff saying something about 'sleep'- which I thought was an excellent idea at the time.

Slowly, I succumbed to the darkness, in a mercifully nightmare-free sleep.

Ryan's POV:

Today was the day we were going to get our sister back.

Flynn was driving. His expression had about as much expression as a rock, knuckles white from the death grip on the wheel. Thomas and Jack were quietly conversing in the back, their fingernails chewed down to almost nothing. But everyone had a hard and dangerous glint in their eyes'. Isla and Liam messed with the wrong family.

Soon, we pulled up outside a tall, dilapidated building. My heart stuttered and my finger itched towards the trigger.

"Everyone remember the plan?" Tony asked, his voice slightly hoarse, but still maintaining a sharp authority. We all nodded and he signalled us to get into position.

West walked silently to the door, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily. It was eerily quiet. He pushed the door, then hissed in annoyance when it wouldn't open. "I think it's locked. We'll have to pick-"

Diana pushed past him and aimed a powerful kick at the gate. It splintered open, revealing a pool of inky blackness.

"That works too." West conceded. Diana said nothing, pushing past the fragments of wood and delving into the darkness without hesitation. We followed her, keeping an eye out for any guards or Isla and Liam themselves.

Something clattered and we immediately turned our guns in that direction. A figure stepped out of the shadows. He was quite tall, but looked as if he'd hit an unexpected growth spurt and wasn't sure what to do with it. I rested my finger on the trigger.

"Wait!" He cried, stepping out of the shadows. His entire face was mottled with multicoloured bruises- fresh ones, by the looks of it. "Don't shoot!" He took a deep breath. "Are you Lexi's brothers?"

I tensed at her name. "How do you know her? Is she being kept here?"

He paled and started shaking. "S-she was kidnapped by Isla and Liam- I- I've been helping her. My name is Geoff and you have to come with me right now. Lexi is in danger."

End of chapter 27.

*jazz hands* Tadaa! I'm back from the dead guys! So sorry for the very late update- and the cliffhanger. Mwhahaha!

Teaser of the next chapter:

"NO!" I screamed, moving a fraction of a second too late.

A gunshot tore through the air, followed by a sickening thud as the bullet found its mark.

I hope you guys liked it!

Stay safe and thanks for reading :)