Page 85 of The Caged Girl

Suddenly, a warm arm wrapped around me. Looking down, I saw his tattooed arm. It had my face on it. Looking up at him, I smiled. I knew I’d have to kill him for what he’s done to me and the others, but right now, I may have some kind of affection toward him in some sick way. He was allowing me to create a new world something I couldn’t do without him. We both were broken shards of glass that somehow thrived together with our sick desire to hurt. I still needed him around so I could slowly funnel his money into my accounts. I needed his connections and to learn more from him.

Sometimes we justify the scars because the person with the knife was someone we finally let ourselves love and trust. And for now, I knew, I would have to let the person holding the knife keep carving into my flesh so I could save others from bleeding out.

He kissed me, and I turned back to my new guests. I had one empty cage waiting for him that I’d fill soon enough. I had even hired a new physician. Dr. Serena Indigo was beginning to perform penectomies and castrations on my captives. We’d give the choice to the ladies first, of course, if they’d like to do them. I already began filming some of her surgeries while the men were awake as part of our movie night selection. My husband once enjoyed collecting eyelashes in jars, and I had ordered the same crystal jars so I too, could store my new souvenirs.

Everyone was watching me as I spoke more about our program. Brushing my hands against my beautiful lace dress and slightly adjusting my hat, I smiled. Guiding them down to the darkness, I handed them each a whip, a knife, and a bag full of tools. Each cage was unlocked by the nightingales, who still preferred to stay down in the darkness. The cries of the men made me smile. The fear I could hear as they pleaded once my new guests entered filled my heart.

Deciding who I wanted to be meant deciding who I would never be again. I will forever live in an Ivory world; I’ll never be set free from these walls. The beauty of it all is sometimes the safest birds are the ones that are kept in the gilded cage.

Perhaps, this wasn’t a selfless heroic act, but rather one driven based on the notion that I am simply exhausted from being hunted, and now I just want to be safe. The truth is, there isn’t always a happily ever after. Sometimes there’s just a ‘I will survive. I can survive. I survived,’ and that has to be enough. Even when you know you deserved better. So much better. I want to make a difference. These men attacked, raped, abused, and tormented innocent women. They didn’t deserve to get away unscathed; they deserved to feel the pain they inflicted.

Clearing my throat, I waved the ladies inside the darkness. “Now, my precious little birds, off you go… It’s time I teach you how to fly and be free.”

EPILOGUE

Dear Demi,

I hope that this letter finds you well. There is not a day that goes by in which I do not think about you, or the sacrifices you made to set us free from the gilded cage my family always kept me bound inside.

It pains me to use the word ‘us,’ knowing that simple word doesn’t include you. Layla is ready for our son to be born. She’s uncomfortable and doesn’t speak much, and I know the guilt plagues her as well. It is our deepest desire for you to escape and join us, your family. We will wait for you forever.

There are too many words I have left to say, but there is something I have to tell you in order to make peace with much of the evil I have participated in my life. As a soon-to-be father, I am hoping I will be able to heal, and my son’s karma won’t be impacted because of his father’s sins. I also want you to know that Alister had Conrad killed. He saw the video of Conrad hurting you. He’s gone, Demi. He is gone.

Ian and Alister Ivory had a younger sister; her name was Maggie. Maggie died of suicide—gruesome, at that. She hung herself from the chandelier above the Ivory family dinner table before one of their dinner parties. She killed herself because of what they had done to her. Maggie had fallen in love with one of Ian’s butlers and became pregnant. As soon as Ian found out, he kept Maggie in a sensory deprivation cage. She spent her pregnancy locked up in an all-white space with no noise and nothing to eat beyond rice, yogurt, and egg whites. Once the child, a daughter, was born, her father forced the child and mother apart. Maggie never found her. It is to my understanding that Alister took the baby with him to La Gabbia, assuming this child would be the only Ivory girl birthed by a true Ivory woman.

Maggie left a journal detailing the horrors Ian had put her through and pleaded that anyone who found the journal should find the child and save her. Her dying wish was that the little girl be sent far away from the Ivory family, to be adopted by a normal family and live a normal life.

Demi, I know this is much to ask for, but if there is an Ivory daughter caged in the resort, I know you will find her. I dug through some of the blueprints and folders Alister gave me when I worked for him and saw there were sensory deprivation cages all across the underbelly of the resort, where he kept the children he had kidnapped. There has to be a cage we missed.

I looked away from Bradley’s letter and watched the ocean waves crash into the beautiful white sand. I pursed my lips and took a deep breath, watching as the sun set.

Alister had assured me there were no children left here. He had promised that if I stayed with him, we could amend some of the rules and business practices he was once adamant about. He craved a family of his own and a wife that would love him. I knew that he was in love with me after I survived everything that he thought would kill me.

Folding the letter, I slid it into my pocket and tugged my white suit jacket closed. Brushing my hands against my dress pants, I spun around on my heels and made my way to the medical wing of La Gabbia. I didn’t have time to waste if there were secrets; I knew I had to uncover them and be one step ahead of my husband at all times.

My heels echoed against the beautiful marble floors, and I waved my badge against each door, picking up my pace until I cut through the mostly empty medical wing. The eerie silence and lack of people had me glancing over my shoulder.

Swallowing, I turned toward the hidden space where Alister once kept the children he intended to sell to our wealthy guests. The doors opened with my badge, but the cages were empty. Walking into the room, I flinched as I could hear their cries and smell the scent of feces and urine, even though they were no longer here.

Looking around, I padded my palms against the wall until I began waving my badge across it aimlessly. And just like his brother, Ian, I knew how much Alister loved secret rooms and spaces. The wall slid open and revealed a glass room.

I stumbled back as my lips parted with my heartbeat picking up. “Oh my God,” I breathed out. She walked closer to the glass and pressed her palms against it. Tilting her head, her bright green eyes stared back at me curiously.

Her long, curly blonde hair fell over her shoulders and looked strangely fuller compared to her tiny frame covered in a small white gown.

I placed my palms on the glass, matching her hands to mine. The glass slid open. My fingerprints alone could open anything in La Gabbia.

The little girl walked backward as she kept her eyes fixed on mine.

She stopped as I drew closer to her, and I dropped to my knees to be at eye-level with her. “Hello there, I’m Demi. I’m here to help you, little bird. What’s your name?”

She smiled at me blankly, lifted her hands, and cupped my face into her palms. “I’m the favorite child,” she whispered.