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Cheeky little brat. “Probably,” I admit with a laugh. “After I spanked your bottom red with your hairbrush, of course.”
She pulls away from me with a snort of laughter. “Of course.”
There’s something she isn’t saying. It hangs heavy in the air between us as she resumes her slow trek around the room, running her fingers over every inch of the furniture that fills this space.
I open my mouth to ask her about it, but almost immediately shut it again. Perhaps I’m a coward, but I don’t think I could handle her telling me she doesn’t want to stay. That she doesn’t want to live as my baby and she still wants to return to New York.
If the nursery isn’t enough to convince her that her place is here, with me, then I’ll find something else. A kitten. A pretty little cow for her to drink from whenever she feels the urge.
Whatever she wants, whatever it takes, this house will be the only home she ever knows for the rest of our lives.
Juliet
At my request, Uncle Max brings Victoria over a few days later for a playdate. Not, as I told my Daddy, because I had so much fun with her at the farm, but because I have questions that desperately need answers and she’s the only person on this island who might understand some of what I’m feeling.
It takes nearly an hour of playing nice under our Daddies’ watchful eyes before they apparently feel comfortable enough leaving us to our own devices.
“We’ll be right downstairs if you need us, princess. Just push the big button by the speaker and I’ll be able to hear you wherever I am in the house.” Daddy’s expression hardens a bit, sending nervous butterflies fluttering in my stomach. “You are not, under any circumstances, to leave this room. Am I understood, Juliet?”
“Yes, Daddy.”
Uncle Max pins my playmate with an equally hard look. “That goes for you, too, Victoria Rose. If you step one foot out of this room, your bottom will pay the price.”
Victoria’s head bobs up and down enthusiastically. “Yes, Daddy. We won’t go anywhere. Promise.”
“Good girl. We’ll be back up in a bit to check on you.” Uncle Max’s expression softens as he leans down to press a kiss to Victoria’s hair. “Have fun, little thief.”
A few more minutes of fussing, and then they’re finally gone. I wait for the sound of their footsteps on the stairs before I lean back against my dollhouse with a sigh. “Finally. I thought they’d never leave.”
Giggling quietly, Victoria shoots a nervous glance at the door as if she’s afraid they’ll somehow overhear us. “I can’t believe they actually did leave. I don’t think I’ve gone more than a few minutes without a grownup around since I got to the island.”
It’s a perfect opening if I ever heard one. “Speaking of… how exactlydidyou get to the island? Does it have anything to do with why Uncle Max calls you ‘little thief’?”
Red blooms on Victoria’s cheeks as she gives a slow nod. “I used to work for his company.”
“Really? What did you do there?”
“I was a systems analyst. Which is as boring as it sounds, but it paid well. Not well enough to dig me out from a mountain of medical debt after my mom died, which is why I ended up stealing a bunch of money from the company.”
My mouth falls open as I stare at her. Sweet little Victoria, the very picture of the perfect Little girl, stole money fromMaxwell Stone. “How much did you steal?”
“A million dollars.”
“You have balls of fucking steel, girl. I wouldn’t even steal a dollar from that man. And I’ve stolen plenty in my time. That’s actually how I ended up on this freaking island.” I roll my eyes. “I got myself caught, and I went running to my big brother for help. You can see how well that turned out.”
Victoria giggles as she runs a brush through her doll’s hair. “Same, actually. Turns out, Daddy set me up, gave me all the information I would need to embezzle from him. And when I finally did, he gave me a choice. Prison or a month on this island with him.”
“And you chosethis? Sometimes I think prison would be better.” But even as I say the words, they ring hollow. Prison wouldn’t have delicious milk from pretty cows or my favorite foods or my pretty room built just for me.
“I didn’t know exactly what I was getting myself into when I signed the contract. He was pretty vague, other than telling me I’d be ‘atoning for my sins’ while I was here.”
“So when is your thirty days up?”
“About a week ago. I decided I’d rather stay here, with him. Not that he would have actually let me go even if I wanted to.”
Okay, now we’re getting somewhere. Scooching closer, I lean in, desperate to ask what I really want to know. “And you’re okay with that? Being trapped here, forever, forced to live as a child for the rest of your life?”
Victoria finally lifts her head, and her expression is so sad I almost reach out to hug her. “Do you know what’s waiting for me back in New York?”