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PROLOGUE

“Mop the blood up, now!” Alister shouted at me. I stood there, staring down at the shiny white marble floors. The blood continued to spread as the woman with her head fractured open laid there with her eyes widened, but no life left in them.

Sighing, I feel annoyed. She’s made my work all that much harder. I’ve heard people say that life isn’t black or white, but in my humble opinion, it is, in fact, one or the other, tinged with red. Droplets of blood splattered against both good and evil. Alister said girls should have structured time in the darkness to stay pure and calm. He said girls should be obedient, referencing dated religious material. He believed that women could threaten humanity with hysterical behavior triggered by menstruation and needed to be tamed by men.

Alister Ivory is the owner of the stunning, exclusive resort, La Gabbia. He also happens to be my new boss, and my former boss’s estranged brother. Dr. Ian Ivory was a renowned and demented surgeon who enjoyed keeping girls in cages at his lavish estate with an all-white aesthetic back in America. I didn’t think I’d survive the hell I was in. I was the housekeeper and was forced to marry their son in another one of the Ivory family ploys. They called me, ‘the favorite girl’.

I did not want to be the favorite ever again in my lifetime.

After barely escaping, I found myself on a small, private island. Alister happened to know the people who “saved” me when I was stranded in the middle of the ocean. I knew better. Nothing was a coincidence. The Ivory family had my entire life mapped out for me, even when they were dead. But here I was, knowing I could either be the cat or the mouse, and I had to be the cat this time. I had to hunt them slowly. This would take endless time to map out a plan of perfection and execution.

Dropping to my knees, I swirled my finger into the pool of blood.

“What on earth are you doing, stupid girl!” Alister’s high-pitched voice rang in my ears as he kicked me in the ribcage with his hideous thick, black shoe.

Sucking in a breath of air, I clenched my eyes shut as I stood. I didn’t feel pain. Not anymore. Between being sold into trafficking at a young age by my own parents, and then working for a family who sold brides for a living, I was fortunately now a rock. But even rocks have cracks, and the unknown can seep in.

Grabbing the mop, I began sloshing the blood around while staring at the woman. She’d probably drank too many Miami Vices after eating at the all-you-can-eat buffet. The on-site doctor loved taking his time. Granted, he had his work cut out for him, with the guests ending up sick with food or alcohol poisoning. But I wasn’t a fool. I knew he was tied up in something else—something worse and gruesome. I knew he was just another one of Alister Ivory’s pawns and helped with the alternate business he had hidden away at this resort. I just haven’t found it yet, but I will. Even if that means I must be the favorite girl.

“Did you read the fucking manual yet?” Alister shoved it at me aggressively as I held the mop between my hands.

“You must choose something and be good at it. I think for now we will keep you as a dove.” He shook his head as I opened the booklet and looked at my options.

Dove Training 101

Nightingale Training 101

Breeder Training 101

Disposal of Products

Distribution of Products

Cadaver Maintenance

La Gabbia Skincare

“What are the products?” I raised my eyebrow as I ignored the dead woman on the floor.

Alister snickered as he licked his lips. “You are a dove. You need not to worry about anything beyond serving our female clientele.”