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She reported father to the police.

The officers came and talked to father. They didn’t even look at me. Miss Angela left our house in cuffs, arrested for false accusations and wasting the police’s time.

After that, no one in the house was allowed to speak to me, outside of necessary tasks or my scheduled lessons.

I felt so lonely it was a relief when father started taking me with him to parties, showing off his heir to the other millionaires, rising entrepreneurs, and famous people. The relief lasted only until I learned my every mistake was going to be severely punished.

My fingers fumbling the piano keys got me a day without food. An old money matron commenting on how sad I looked resulted in father cutting power to my room, which prevented me from seeking solace in reading books under the light of a lamp. The one time I cried...

I didn’t want to remember the time I cried. I never did it again.

Slowly but steadily, father chipped away my humanity and replaced it with behaviors he wanted to see. One day, I looked in the mirror and realized I didn’t see myself there, just a product of my father’s imagination. The cut of my now short hair was ordered by him, the clothes a set he chose and put on me that morning, even the book I was holding was one he had told me to read.

I realized there was going to be nothing left of me if I didn’t escape when I was sixteen.

I ran. When a squad of men came for me they were exceedingly gentle as they pressed a chloroform-covered rag to my nose.

“No bruises! Don’t grip him so tightly or we won’t get the premium for perfect condition,” I heard one of them hiss.

Perfect condition. As if I was a collector’s item.

Afterward, I woke up in The Box for the first time.

“Dolls don’t run,” father said from behind the sheer plastic of my display cage as I shook with fear when I realized I was pinned to the wall. In the two days since my running away he had remodeled my room, changing one side into a Barbie-like display box. “You will learn how to be a good doll, but for now I’m going to put you away.”

He left the room. And he left me in silence and darkness.

I think something broke in me at that moment because afterwards I was too scared to run and I did the only thing I could to survive.

I became a perfect doll.

Until Tristan and Matthias allowed me to feel human again.

Chapter Twelve

Victoria

The next day I was tasked with a mind-numbingly boring job of dusting. At least I could move from room to room, which provided some stimulation, but what wouldn’t I give to be outside instead of in those stuffy rooms.

To make matters worse, Matthias suddenly straightened and looked towards the closed door of the room I was currently cleaning. If he really was a guard dog his ears would be standing at attention.

“That bastard Carl is outside.”

“Really?” I tried to listen for the hated voice. “I can’t hear anything.”

“My hearing is quite good,” Matthias shot me a grin. “He is quite a way down the corridor yet, but I believe he is searching for you. Do you think he will try to lay his hands on you again?”

“I don’t think so. Not with you here. Theo did a number on him and, well, you are… much more intimidating,” I said apologetically.

“I don’t mind being scary if it helps me protect the people I care about.”

Was I really one of those people?

“I think he may try something different though,” I cautioned. “He won’t get physical but I have a feeling he will try to use his position over me instead. It had happened before, when he assigned me tasks to either humiliate me or tire me out. And let’s not forget about the setup when he requested me to bring tea to your meeting…”

“He is the lowest of scums,” Matthias said in disgust. “Maybe we can barricade ourselves in here, how about that? That weakling won’t get in if I hold the door closed.”

“That would just be delaying the inevitable. But I have an idea…” My eyes sparkled with mischief as I explained my plan to Matthias.