Page 84 of The Caged Girl

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BRADLEY

Demi was quiet as the plane took off. The oversized hat she always loved was covering her face, along with the sunglasses. She looked beautiful in the white lace dress, and it felt symbolic to where our story began. For the first time in my life, I’m not scared to forever leave the Ivory name behind, and it was all because of her. Demi has always fought to escape and survive. She’s always wanted to live a life of her own choices. And because of her, we’d both get to. I let her have her time, but once we were long gone from Ivory Island and the plane was soaring through the clouds, I squeezed her hand.

“I’m glad we didn’t take the boat; a plane always has room for Jack and Rose,” I said playfully before tugging her hat off.

My lips parted as she turned to me and, even with her sunglasses on, I knew it wasn’t her.

“Layla…” My voice cracked as she slid her sunglasses off. Tears flooded down her face as she cried for Demi.

“I’m sorry, Bradley, but she convinced me to take her spot. She said if I didn’t, she’d kill herself. She did it for us and the baby,” she rushed out as if I wouldn’t give her time to explain.

I sank my head back and closed my eyes in a state of shock as tears rolled down my own face. Reaching over, I held her hand in mine.

“Demi…” I shook my head. She could have saved herself but instead, she sacrificed her life to save the three of ours.

Layla and I sat in our seats, crying silently. “He can track you…the baby…”

I felt panicked but she shook her head and lifted a small metal microchip. “Demi outsmarted everyone and gave me hers; she has mine. Alister said it was a rule that once a caged girl was chosen, she could never leave. The caged girl was the Ivory’s property and losing her was a sign of failure. After rejection from his own brother and dad his entire life, he would have never let me go. I’m so sorry, Bradley, but I took her offer because…” She looked down at her stomach and I nodded.

“I know, I know…” I breathed out.

“It just hurts too much.”

Alister was going to kill her and now, there was nothing any of us could do to save her.

CHAPTERFORTY-SEVEN

Demi - Eight months later…

As the elevator went down, I felt a surge of energy and a rush coursing through my veins as I took a step out and my Christian Louboutin’s echoed against the black floor.

I was wearing my favorite, all-white lace dress with the hat I wore when I thought my new beginning was starting and put Layla in the same outfit. My lips were painted in my favorite shade of red, and I brushed my hand against the black brick wall.

Swiping my card against the keypad, I waited as it slid open and saw him. Declan Rothschild was sitting hunched over in a corner, sobbing.

I flicked my small flashlight on and smiled at him.

“An angel,” he cried out, seeing me standing out against the darkness he’d been accustomed to for months.

“Oh, you silly, little man…I’m not an angel. An angel is who greets those who make it to heaven. I’m the caged girl. The one who will stay here with you for the rest of eternity and make sure you never die until it’s meant to be. I want you to live through hell with me.” I smiled at him. “It smells so terrible, Declan. So very terrible.” I took a step back and rolled my shoulders as the chains he was bound by echoed.

Each cage was occupied now. Alister hadn’t been down here yet. He trusted me with the new renovations I was instilling in La Gabbia after he found out I swapped spots with Layla. At first, he beat me until I passed out. Then he raped me and threatened to kill me. And finally, he kept me in the dark cage for four months, where I didn’t see a sliver of light, I heard no voices, and I sat in my own piss, eating only darkened food that blended into the world around me. A girl would bring me beets, blackberries, and occasionally, strips of steak. I thought I’d die. I thought I’d kill myself by bashing my skull against the wall. But my dream was to be released and then make new developments. Give myself purpose to live.

Ultimately, Alister saw my little swap as a sign of dedication to him. He thought my love for him had me envious of his desire to switch me out for my sister. Now, I had a new set of clients coming in soon. Ladies who had all experienced a pain unlike any other. Therapy wasn’t helping them; medications weren’t soothing them. They felt rage and anger that never went away, and now, they could live out their wildest fantasies and desires.

If there has been anything that I have learned is that I do love being the favorite girl and being that to the most powerful man in the world has its perks. He may be the king, but I am the queen, and just like in a game of chess where everything is as simple as being white or black, Alister Ivory knows a queen protects the king. I will protect my king now that he’s allowing me to play my own game. Just for a few more rounds, until I have him where I need him. He thinks we are on the same team, but we aren’t, and there’s nothing more deadly than an opposing queen against a weakened king. I was light and he was dark. And something else that I’ve come to learn is that light always finds a way to seep into the darkness. A storm can only last so long before the sun fights its way in.

I headed to the entrance of our resort and stood by the girls all dressed in white holding beautiful peony bouquets for each of our new guests. A beautiful white limo arrived and there they were.

One by one, they exited with tired eyes and weakened souls. They weren’t all rich women, and they weren’t all powerful. They’ve been stripped of everything by a man they trusted. Rather than seeking revenge and being caught in their own countries, here they can come and release their inner anger and rage. They can rest and heal. Some of us need to taste revenge to heal, and now that my inventory is well-stocked, I know I can help these women. I can help former girls that the Ivorys sold and trafficked or caged. I can help the women who were abused and who wished they could hold the power to attack without repercussion. I know I have the caged men ready to have a taste of their own medicine. My inventory is packed to the brim with Alister’s former clients. I decided to lure them here with false pretenses of the Euphoria program, and instead cage them. Alister found it more amusing and lucrative than his former business. I convinced him by telling him that the more powerful and wealthy men we cage, the less there are competing with him. We take them from all over the world in order to keep it safe. We don’t want hundreds of shady CEOs, corrupt businessmen, or questionable celebrities going missing from the same place. Many are assumed to have died by overdose or running from white collar crimes. Many times a missing, rich white man isn’t as worrisome as I thought it’d be. Those in their lives were probably relieved an egomaniac was gone. I’ve strategized this with the help of all the women who once worked here as prisoners. It’s my own form of rehabilitation for my girls.They aren’t his precious little birds anymore; they are my soldiers.

“Welcome to La Gabbia, I’m Demi Ivory. My husband Alister started this exclusive resort years ago in hope he could rebuild marriages and expand families. But then when he married me, he realized he had it all wrong. The truth is, women are the focal point of our society, and if we hurt them, then everything will crash and burn. So now, we focus on your desires, fantasies, and healing. We focus on being set free from the gilded cage.”

The girls began handing out welcome drinks and peony bouquets. The guests were staring at me with fascination. Even Marcie had decided that she wanted in on my new business plan and helped obtain my inventory.

“I will make sure you leave La Gabbia feeling relieved and happy. I will make sure you have the means to start fresh. You will be given an entirely new identity when you leave here to protect yourselves against your abusers. We’ve anonymously notified the police in your areas about the men who have led you here in the first place—they will assume these men killed themselves or ran away in fear of the law. Now, our beautiful team that we lovingly call our doves will hand out binders of exactly what your options are. You can choose your customized treatment plan, which can involve immersive rage release therapy or talking things through verbal therapy. You’ll be given beautiful new clothes, along with all the perks: hair, nails, skin, etc. Our goal is for you to be a brand-new woman…one who recognizes her power.”

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