Hard porcelain slammed against my spine, sending numbness radiating through my back.
He turned on the shower. Ice-cold water crashed over my head, and my whole body convulsed with tremors.
"Clean yourself up."
I curled into a ball under the freezing stream, watching my blood turn the water pink.
"Will being clean prove I didn't steal the necklace?"
Howard let out a cold laugh. He reached into his pocket, pulled out something that caught the light, and tossed it casually into the bathwater.
The pink diamond necklace. The one Vivienne had claimed was "missing."
"The necklace was with me the whole time."
I stared at him, unable to process what I was seeing.
"You... you did this on purpose? You watched me get humiliated. Watched them nearly strip me naked..."
"If I hadn't, how else would I get to see you beg like a dog?"
Howard crouched beside the tub and reached over to turn off the shower.
"Stella, remember this feeling. You owe me this."
He stood.
"You're sleeping in this bathtub tonight. Tomorrow morning at seven, I want to see you in a mascot costume, greeting guests at the hotel entrance."
"What costume?"
A sick feeling coiled in my gut.
Howard turned and walked out of the bathroom.