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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.