Jack's head was spinning and there was a dull ache covering her whole body. She could smell blood, her blood, and could hear voices in the background, but the words couldn't get through to her. She could vaguely make out Richardson and Dio, standing in the bedroom with her. Then memories stole her vision and threw her into the past.
She remembered her first few weeks in Slam and how she had been forced to sleep sitting up due to the constant threat of other inmates. Fighting off lecherous criminals who wanted nothing but to turn her into their own personal sex slave. She had smelled her own blood a lot in those first weeks. She remembered the faces of the men she had killed before landing in Slam. And the men she was forced to kill for her own protection in Slam.
She had met Dio three months out of Slam. After the one incident in the alleyway, he had been charming, polite, even gentlemanly to her. It was all an act - she realized that now. She had been so stupid to believe him, believe that he really was that nice man she had met. Things had started changing when they moved in together, but Jack had brushed it off. And when she had realized who Dio really was, it had been too late. He had claimed her, and wouldn't let her go without a fight. She was his, now and forever he had said.
Truly, she had wondered where she could go if she ever did leave him. Who would want her? She was an ex-con with little going for her. What would she do with her life without Dio? His words, like poisoned darts, had pierced her flesh and were working their way through her body. He had stripped her of her confidence, her self-image, and had molded her into what he had wanted in a woman - a submissive 'worker bee' who only answered to him. A drone that followed his every command and who didn't dare to ask any questions. He had introduced her to a new kind of fear - the kind that only came from self-doubt and an unappreciation for one's own accomplishments. He had stolen so much from her, and she had just gone along for the ride because...well, because she hadn't known what else to do.
How could I have been so blind to think my only choices were to love or die? she thought to herself.
A scream snapped her out of her thoughts, and she realized that she was alone in the bedroom. She stood, wincing at the pain that blossomed within her. Slowly, she walked to the bathroom. She had to rid herself of him. He was no longer her problem and he never would be again. Jack didn't shut the bathroom door until she was sure that he was dead, relishing in the idea. He wouldn't bother her anymore. It was finally over.