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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

“I feel like we haven’t seen you in forever!” Taylor and Kandi were standing behind me, brushing my hair out. I no longer wore the blonde wig. I wasn’t used to my black hair anymore, and part of me missed the blonde. It fit more with the woman I had become versus the girl I was.

“I heard you were in the cages,” Kandi whispered as Taylor shot her a look of disdain.

I looked at them through the mirror. “I’m not sure if you both know, but I am Alister Ivory’s wife, and I expect that you limit your useless conversations and uphold respect for me.” I gritted my teeth as Kandi stared at me in shock.

Taylor cleared her throat. “Of course, Mrs. Ivory.” Everything would be different now.

Kandi smiled at me quickly. “Mrs. Ivory, is there any specific hair or makeup style you’d like today?”

I didn’t smile; I didn’t gossip. I simply nodded. “Leave my hair down in loose waves, and I’d like dark eye makeup but the classic Ivory nude lipstick. And Kandi, your lips have too much of a hint of pink in them. I shouldn’t see that again. You need to follow protocol.”

Kandi nodded and grabbed a tissue before quickly wiping her lips. “I apologize, ma’am.”

Closing my eyes, I let them work on my hair and makeup. For the first time in my life, I felt… power.

And my God, didn’t it feel nice?

* * *

I didn’t recognize myself as I stood in front of the oversized mirror, brushing my hands against the black beaded gown.

“Mrs. Ivory, it’s time.” A young woman named Anu, who I remembered meeting earlier, came over and handed me a gold ticket. She was the one who hid me under the cart to see Euphoria for the first time.

I took it from her and slid it into my bag. “Thank you.”

She led me down the hall and down to the bottom floor of the resort. “Mr. Ivory is waiting for you.”

“Excellent.” I stared forward and waited for the doors to open so I could exit.

Leaving the elevator, I walked toward the ballroom that had “Cinema” blazed in gold above it.

Two men dressed in all white opened the doors with their heads bowed. Waltzing in, my lips parted. It was mostly dark beyond a screen and stage. Every single row was filled with men wearing black suits and clutching popcorn in their hands.

I walked down the red carpet until I saw him. Alister stood immediately, his eyes trailing my entire body before his gaze locked onto mine.

“Perfection,” he mouthed before quickly putting his hand out for me.

Taking it, I looked around. All the men had stood.

Were they standing for me?

I took a seat and so did they. “Demi, you are breathtakingly beautiful,” Alister whispered in my ear with our hands still laced together. “I think you’ll love tonight’s film production. It’s a mix between an action, romance, and horror film.”

My throat felt dry as a man came in a red-and-white-pinstriped outfit and brought popcorn to Alister and me.

Taking it from his hands, I sat back, and the lights went completely dark.

A black-and-white film started to play, but I instantly recognized the location. It was La Gabbia.

My heart began to race as Declan Rothschild filled the screen. Was this what I thought it was?

This was the man who would take Bradley and Layla’s baby away. This was the man who would raise their child.

He was having sex with the dead woman that replaced me after he had choked me to nearly dying.

Her body flung around as he aggressively defiled her. His moans of pleasure sent chills up my spine.

I glanced over at Alister, who was smiling. This is what our wedding night had been. What was this obsession with…

The scene changed from Declan to one I stopped breathing for.

It was my sister. Layla was sitting in the life-size cage, swinging while another woman was being raped by a man I didn’t recognize.

She was grinning as his hands wrapped around the woman’s throat and he assaulted her. As soon as he finished, he let the corpse fall to the ground before he moved to kiss my sister.

“Just in case you thought Layla was unhappy here, my love…” Alister said before pressing my hand against his lips.

I couldn’t stop watching. The crunching of popcorn echoed around me as I felt my skin crawl.

Another woman came in. Jamie. But it wasn’t really her. Jamie’s face had been peeled off and put on another woman, the stitching on the other girl’s face grotesque.

Bile rose in my throat as tears stung my eyes.

My sister and the man continued kissing and groping the other girl wearing Jamie’s face. She was clearly panicked and pleading for them to stop. I gasped as I watched the flesh loosen around her jawline.

I could see the fear in her eyes and looked around. The men in the audience were smiling with delight. A few seats over from me, I saw one of the men rub his crotch.

“Please help her,” I said to Alister under my breath, and he squeezed my hand tightly. Layla tugged out a knife and the man held Jamie down. Layla began cutting into her flesh, but not with long gashes or sudden jabs. She placed intricate cuts on the girls’ flesh as she screamed and sobbed. The scene changed again.

I let go of Alister’s hand and covered my mouth. Everyone around me was completely unbothered.

The woman was naked and hung upside down from the cage, bleeding out alongside other women who were all wearing another girl’s face. The stitches were spaced out so the flesh curled and fell forward.

“Alister,” I gasped and looked at him.

“Let me…” His eyes shifted and he looked at me as if he would kill me in that moment. Pools of blood flooded the floor of the cage.

My head felt fuzzy as the film continued, cutting to new scenes.

It was an all-white morgue. But then it went black.

The Caged Girl was written in bright red letters at the end.