Page 30 of The Caged Girl

“Uncle Alister, she was tripping in the darkness.” He released his hold and took a nervous step away from me. “A dove isn’t accustomed to the…”

Alister’s jaw clenched as he made his way around the table and shoved Bradley out of his way. My lips parted as I watched him look at me with sorrow. He knew something I didn’t, of course.

Alister smiled down at me and waved to the empty seat next to his.

“Come sit, Demi…” I was freezing. Everything about this area of the resort was icy, cold, and dark.

Alister pulled the chair out for me, and I slid in, tugging my dress down. All the men around the table were staring at the binders in front of them.

“Demi and Bradley…” He flinched as he said our names together and sat in the oversized velvet chair. “I hate saying your name with anyone else’s.” Alister winked at me before tapping his fingers against the binder. “We are looking at page three.”

I stared at the binder in front of me. This felt familiar, but I knew it was all a new twisted game I’d have to fight to live through.

Except, one thing I couldn’t fight was the feeling deep inside that made me think I may not survive this one.

Flipping the binder to page three, I gasped. It looked like a yearbook. Images of women wearing the same black, off-the shoulder blouse. Each girl was staring blankly, wearing identical necklaces—a small bird pendant.

“My darling, Demi, this is our current class of nightingales. You see, we’ve been at a bit of a standstill to obtain more inventory, so I’m very unhappy right now. But we will prevail. We always do. Don’t we, gentlemen?” I looked up and each man nodded quietly.

“But if you’ll flip to the next page, we are examining our other portion of this resort, which is the Life Center.” Alister licked his finger and flipped the page for me.

It was divided by eye color, skin color, and hair color.

“The eight of you have been my most trustworthy team, and it’s been extremely important for us to keep you all healthy and fit. We’ve never had a dissatisfied customer from the Life Center.”

“What is this?” I looked at Alister before glancing at the men at the table. They were all staring at me, and I fell back into my chair when I saw their eyes. All green. Half of them had shiny black hair, while the others had stark blonde.

“Demi, our clients are wealthy men who have worked incredibly hard to leave a legacy behind. And they expect their legacy to be perfect. Sometimes breeding between a husband and wife isn’t the best option. Say your wife has medical issues, or she’s unable to carry a child, or perhaps you’re not fond of the way you both appear… At the Life Center, we allow couples to come in and design their?—”

“Uncle Alister, I’m so sorry for the interruption.” Bradley’s cheeks were red as he stood. “But there was a huge mishap at the vow renewal today.”

“No, wait…Alister. What…” I was trembling. I needed to know what he was telling me. What were these couples designing? Why didn’t Bradley want me to know?

“What mishap?” Alister slammed the binder shut.

“Todd, our latest graduate of the program, broke down and almost revealed everything to his wife. We had to go the nervous breakdown route and medicate him. His wife believes us and is more concerned about making it to the Life Center. But the other wives were shaken up. The doves have been told to go full force on making sure everyone is taken care of and forgets this mess with the masquerade gala with endless drinks laced with our special pill.” Bradley didn’t want me to hear what Alister was saying, so instead he was distracting both Alister and me.

“What a fucking mess! How did we not recognize a weak, pathetic link?”

“I’m sorry, Uncle Alister. We’ve admitted him to the psych ward.”

I erupted into laughter as all the men stared at me. Alister froze and looked at me. “Demi!” He lifted his hand and slapped me hard, his thick gold rings slamming into my cheek. My ears rang as I cried out.

“Demi!” Bradley sprinted over, but before he could reach me, Alister shoved him violently.

“Alister!” I shouted.

“Take him away!” Alister snapped at the man sitting closet to him, who immediately grabbed and dragged Bradley out.

“Shut your fucking mouth, Demi.” Alister’s eyes were filled with something I’d never seen before, not even in the eyes of his monstrous brother.

Staring up at him while clutching my cheek, I knew what I had to do and how irresponsible I had been. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ivory.” I pulled myself up by holding on to the chair and for a moment, Alister watched me struggle as my shoe had fallen off.

Sighing, he reached his hand out and drew me upright. Was Bradley going to be alright? I knew better than to ask.

Alister’s face shifted. Something about my presence always made him soften even after a violent outburst.

“We are done here.” Alister spoke to the men surrounding the conference table. I didn’t want to be done here, but my throbbing cheek was a reminder that I didn’t have a choice. I wanted them to go through the binder and listen to everything else they were planning. I wanted to know the ins and outs of this sick resort.

---