The Day Silence Spoke novel Chapter 191

Latisha hesitated, then raised her hands to sign: *I won’t see Mrs. Dashiell anymore. Please, don’t hurt her.*

Clifford’s lips thinned, his gaze intense, but he said nothing.

She continued: *She’s very old. She doesn’t have much time left. She’s suffered enough. Please, for the sake of how she once cared for you, have pity on her.*

She didn't know if he was even watching her signs. His eyes were fixed on her face, not her hands. That was the cruelest part of her silence. If he chose not to look at her hands, she had no way to communicate, no way to be heard.

When he was in a good mood, he might watch her patiently. When he wasn't, he could simply ignore her, cutting her off completely.

She signed a torrent of words, but he just kept staring at her.

Latisha’s heart sank. She lowered her hands, defeated.

“Do you know why I don’t want you near those people?” Clifford asked suddenly.

She looked up, startled. She wanted to know. She was desperate to know why she had been stripped of the most basic human freedoms.

She waited for his answer, but he just lifted a hand, his fingers tracing the curve of her cheek. “But I hope you never find out.”

His words echoed in her mind. Santino had said something similar.

Latisha lay still, staring at her own arms. They were covered in a constellation of fading bruises. A dull ache throbbed in her abdomen. Her body hadn’t fully recovered from before, and last night’s ordeal had drained what little strength she had left. She wondered how many more times she could endure him.

But it didn’t matter anymore. A pet’s life, after all, was only a brief ten or twenty years.

...

The doctor was scheduled to visit that afternoon.

Latisha slept until she heard the doorbell ring. Dragging her exhausted body out of bed, she went to answer it.