I looked up at the man who had imprisoned me—he might have been wearing a face that was chiseled and almost perfect, but there was cruelness in his eyes. I was torn between humiliating myself and the glass of water in his hand. I was so thirsty that it was more important than getting out of the cage—at least at the moment. I looked down at my t-shirt. It was my favorite one. There was a time when I wouldn’t have traded it for anything in the world, but I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t know what he would do if I refused—how long he would leave me in the darkness before he returned. I couldn’t risk it.

“Here.” I banged my arms against the bars of the cage as I tore off my t-shirt and pushed it through the bars. “Take it.”

“How hard was that?” He snatched it out of my hand. “This will be one of many trades that we make—you give me something I want, and I give you something you need.”

“Water…” I swallowed the lump in my throat and reached for it.

“As promised—every drop.” He walked closer—I could see the condensation and my throat screamed for the coolness.

He held the water inches from my hand for several seconds and then extended his arm until the glass was directly over my head. I looked up immediately and saw the glass tilt. Cool water splashed on my face—then he started pouring it faster. I was too thirsty to do anything but open my mouth and try to catch as much as I could. I swallowed, forcing the cool liquid down my throat, but most of it ended up splashing on my face. Some it ran up my nose, some of it splattered into my eyes, and the rest that I wasn’t able to swallow ended up saturating the clothes I was still wearing.

“Please—I need more.” I ran my tongue along my lips, desperate to get as much water as possible before it was gone.

“That’s all you get for now.” He walked over to a small table and put the glass down.

“Let me out of this cage.” I grabbed the bars on the door and shook them as I felt my anger coming back once some of my thirst was quenched.

“You don’t have enough to bargain for that, I’m afraid.” He looked over at me and shook his head.

“I have some money—I’ll give you everything I have on me and I have more in the bank.” My words were hurried, and I knew they sounded desperate, but that’s exactly how I felt. “My parents—they have money.”

“I don’t want your money.” He shook his head back and forth. “I’ll name the price and you’ll pay it—but it won’t be with your ill-gotten gains.”

Ill-gotten gains? Does he know how I support myself—is that why I’m here?

“Then—just tell me why I’m here. Tell me why you kidnapped me and locked me in this cage!” I rattled the cage door again.

“What will you give me for that information?” He pulled a chair over and took a seat. “What is the answer worth?”

“What—what do you want?” I stared at him, feeling a chill set in as the water continued seeping into my clothes.

“How about a confession.” He tilted his head to the side. “Confess one of your sins, and I’ll tell you if that’s why you’re here.”

That’s a pretty vague request. Where would I even start?

“I—I don’t know what you want me to say.” I looked down at the floor for a moment. “Have I done something to you?”

“That’s another question—and it has a different price—one that you’re not able to pay quite yet.” His eyes seemed to cloud over, and I felt like that was a hint—I had definitely done something to him, even if I didn’t know what it was.

“I’ve done—bad things.” My hands fell away from the cage door.

“That’s not a confession.” He exhaled sharply. “I’m bored. I think you need more time to think. Maybe you’ll be more forthcoming after a little more time in the darkness.”

“No—wait!” I reached out as he started to stand. “I need—I need food.”

“Then that sounds like an excellent thing for us to bargain for when I return.” He walked towards the door and turned off the light.

“No! Please!” I stared into the darkness and felt my stomach twist into a knot when he slammed the door shut behind him.

Just tell me what I did—please tell me why I’m in this cage…

“I need to get away for a little while.” I sighed and looked over at my best friend, Cassie. “We should plan a vacation.”

“Why? Are you getting bored of all your online boyfriends?” She leaned back against the couch and laughed.

“I don’t know…” I shook my head back and forth. “I feel bad about it. I know what I’m doing is wrong—but I’ve tried to find a job…”

“With your computer skills, I’m surprised you need a degree to find a job.” Cassie leaned forward to grab the can of soda on the table in front of her. “Our IT guy at work sucks and I’m sure he makes more than I do.”

“He’s probably got a wall full of certificates—I didn’t even graduate high school.” I lifted my hand and pressed a finger to my temple. “Staring at that screen all night is giving me migraines too.”

“Then take a break. You don’t have to work every single night.” She looked over at my laptop. “I’m sure all your online boyfriends will be there when you get back.”

“Yeah…” I nodded. “Maybe your right. I’m not broke right now. A break might be what I need.”

“Oh shit.” Cassie looked at her watch. “I’m going to be late for the damn party—are you sure you don’t want to come? I need a plus one…”

“Nah.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’m not really in the mood for a party.”

I picked up the television remote once Cassie left and started mindlessly scrolling through the channels. I really didn’t want to get online—I didn’t want to have to sit in front of the screen and pretend like I was enjoying everything that I did. It was hard to stop thinking about it though. I had a few targets that were close—close enough for me to close the deal and make them pay for what they wanted—even if they weren’t going to get it. That’s what they were really going to pay for—their mistakes. It got harder to ignore my laptop as the hours passed by—each little chime signaling a new message—someone that could potentially pay my bills for a month with one simple mistake.

Fuck it. If I can just finish up with that guy from Ohio tonight, I’ll take a break after that—he’s loaded.

I wasn’t proud of what I did, nor did I take pleasure in it, but it was the way I supported myself. There were always men online looking for sex, and while I was still a virgin, I knew how to pretend to be a whore. I made their fantasies come true without even taking off my clothes. But that wasn’t the part that made me feel bad. It was what came afterward that left me with a sick feeling my stomach—the blackmail. I chose the men I engaged with carefully—men with families, wives, children—people that wouldn’t like to know about the dark thoughts in their head. As long as they paid my price, I kept their secret—and I knew a lot of secrets.

Secrets that could ruin.

Secrets that could destroy.

Secrets that made sure my bank account never went into the red, a roof stayed over my head, and as long as I could stomach the guilt—the money kept coming in.

Bill4Buckeyes: Hey there!

MissBrat: Hi!

Bill4Buckeyes: I missed you…

MissBrat: I missed you too. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to get online earlier. I had company.

Bill4Buckeyes: I hope it wasn’t another guy.

MissBrat: No way! My parents would kill me!

Bill4Buckeyes: Turn on your camera. I want to see you.

MissBrat: Okay :) But only if you do.

Bill4Buckeyes was actually William Edwards and he was a big fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes. His wife was beautiful. His children were adorable. His dog was cute. That wasn’t what caught my eye when I saw his Facebook page though—it was the mansion behind him in most of the pictures. The company he worked for—his position as an Assistant Vice President. He was forty-five years old, fairly unattractive, and he liked it when girls called him Daddy. He liked it a lot. He also liked it when his girls were naughty—because then he had a reason to spank them. As for me? My name was MissBrat and I was barely eighteen years old—to him at least. I had a face that could still pass for eighteen even though I celebrated my nineteenth birthday six months prior. As far as he knew, I lived a sheltered life, was starting to discover things that I never knew I liked before, and my parents could come bursting through my door at any minute. I was being very, very naughty.

Bill4Buckeyes: Your parents are asleep, right?

MissBrat: Yeah.

Bill4Buckeyes: Good. I believe you promised that you were going to show me a little more than your panties tonight.

MissBrat: What do you want to see?

Bill4Buckeyes: Everything…

MissBrat: I’d rather hear what you would do to me if you came through the door right now—if you were my Daddy.

Bill4Buckeyes: You know exactly what I’d to you. I’d pull those panties down and give you a spanking.

MissBrat: What would you do when you saw how wet it made me?

Bill4Buckeyes: I’d put you on your knees—and make you apologize for that naughty behavior with those soft, pouty lips.

It was time. I had hours of chat logs—chat logs that could destroy his happy home, ruin his marriage, and make sure all of the people at his company knew what kind of pervert he was. I even had a few videos of him with his dick out, pleasuring himself to the things we talked about. He was about to start doing that again—his hand had already moved beneath his desk. At least he would be stroking his cock when he found out how much trouble he was really in. I flipped over to his Facebook page and send him a friend request as Samantha Banks, which is what he believed MissBrat’s real name was. He kept typing, but then I saw a look of concern on his face. His head tilted—then he turned on the microphone instead of typing.

“Did you just send me a fucking friend request?” His voice was hushed, and he quickly looked over his shoulder.

“Yes.” I smiled and hit record—just in case he said something else that was useful when his emotions got the best of him.

“You can’t do that! Come on—my wife…” He swallowed hard.

“Oh? Should I send her a friend request too? How about all these other people—friends, family, co-workers. Maybe they’d like to be my friend.” I nodded quickly.

“What the fuck.” His face went ghost white.

“I’m sorry, Bill. This is the part where you pay me not to send them all of our chat logs, all of the videos of you pleasuring yourself—and the one we’re making right now.” I sighed, feeling remorse, but keeping myself together until the deal was closed.

His screen went black. That wasn’t an unusual response. It was fairly common for guys I manipulated to immediately believe they could shut down their computer and make the problem go away. It wouldn’t. I had ways to make sure he understood that I was serious, but I hoped it wouldn’t come to that. For a man like him, with plenty of money at his disposal, my price was cheap. I’d let him know that as soon as he came crawling back and begged me not to expose his darkest secrets. I could wait. The deal was already closed. It was just the price we had to negotiate on—it would be a drop in the bucket for him. A small price to pay for his little fantasy with MissBrat.