“You told her why she’s in the cage already?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise as I looked over at Reynard. “I thought you were going to hold that piece of information back for a while.”

“I was, but I let my rage get the best of me. I wanted to see how she reacted.” He growled under his breath and filled the two glasses in front of us with whiskey.

“And?” I tilted my head to the side. “How did she react?”

“She knew his name.” Reynard shrugged and lifted his glass. “I don’t think she knows he’s dead.”

“Interesting.” I picked up my glass of whiskey. “Maybe she wasn’t going to keep blackmailing him then? Surely she would have tried to contact him again—and saw the news article at some point.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Reynard shook his head back and forth. “She’s done more than enough to earn her spot in that cage.”

“I know she’s all that you’re focused on right now, but—I had a visitor at the office today. Josef Weber.” I exhaled sharply.

“What the fuck does he want?” Reynard narrowed his eyes. “I told him we weren’t interested in hearing his proposal.”

“Word is getting out that you’re not exactly involved in the company anymore. We don’t have a Jackson sitting at the head of the table in Chicago—I’m the only one left in New York. The sharks are circling us—Josef Weber may be the first, but he won’t be the last.” I lifted my glass and took a sip. “I really need you to come back, even if you just sit in your office and fuck off day—just be there.”

“Dad ran the company just fine on his own. That’s your thing, not mine.” Reynard shook his head back and forth.

“Yes, but Dad had a certain ruthlessness to him—as we both know since we were on the receiving end of it most of the time.” I sighed and shook my head. “Besides, the company is twice as big as it was when he was running it on his own.”

“Fine.” Reynard nodded. “I’ll put in an appearance—cancel my leave of absence. That should show the sharks that there’s no blood in the water.”

“Yes, I believe it would—because they’ll be afraid you’ll stab them in the face if they get too close.” I chuckled under my breath.

“One problem with that though…” Reynard glanced over his shoulder at the screen that showed his captive in her cage. “I don’t really want to leave her here—alone. Will you stay with her for a little while and let me head to the office?”

“Sure.” I sighed. “I guess I can watch her—do whatever she does in that damn cage all day.”

“You can do anything to her that you want.” Reynard chuckled and stood.

Part of what I said to Reynard was a lie. I didn’t believe anyone would actually be able to make a move on Jackson Investments. I rejected every proposal that came across my desk, but they were starting to come faster than normal. The sharks could circle but I wasn’t going to give them anything to nibble on and most of our clients were loyal—but some were smelling the blood. Things weren’t the same after Reynard took his leave of absence and dove headfirst into his obsession. He might not have done a whole lot when he was at work, but he was a Jackson, and that meant something.

There was more to my request than just the business need—I also wanted Reynard out of the house—away from the screen that had become his obsession. I feared that he was sinking into his own darkness and that he never found a way to deal with his grief over losing Wyatt. He channeled it into a rage, but that wasn’t going to last forever. Eventually, he would break his toy and get tired of her.

Then what? He needed to have something else to focus on and there was plenty of work at the company to go around—I certainly needed help, and I didn’t want to have to rely on anyone else. Even if he didn’t help out much, there were things I didn’t trust people outside of our family to handle—things that I used to trust Wyatt with—and it had been a hard year with Reynard’s obsession taking over his life.

“Alright, I’ll be back in a little while.” Reynard walked back into the living room wearing his best suit. “It’s about time for her to eat again if you want to feed her—but she shouldn’t get anything for free.”

“Right…” I nodded and watched as he left.

I really didn’t want to interact with Lizzy. She saw my face when I talked to her the night we took her, but I wasn’t sure if she would even remember me. It really wouldn’t matter. I was an accomplice, regardless, if she saw me in a lineup, she would probably be able to pick me out. I walked over to the screen and sipped my drink as I watched her in the cage. Despite my desire to do nothing more than make sure she was still alive when Reynard returned, the thought of her starving didn’t exactly sit well with me. In my heart-of-hearts, I knew she deserved to be punished—and I knew we were in too deep to ever try to involve the authorities at that point, but I didn’t want to see her suffer the same way Reynard did.

Fuck. I guess I can feed her at least.

I went to the kitchen and made a couple of sandwiches. I wasn’t much of a cook—I had a butler to handle that for me. Reynard preferred isolation and didn’t like having any sort of staff around. I found a tray sitting on the counter and loaded it up with sandwiches, chips, a few pieces of fruit, and some drinks. I assumed the cola in the fridge was for her since Reynard didn’t drink anything that wasn’t alcoholic. I carried the tray to the room where she was being held and took a deep breath as I removed the key from the wall and pushed it into the lock. As soon as the door opened, I was shocked by how dark it was. I was surprised the camera could even pick up her movement, much less give a clear image of her.

Where’s the fucking light—oh, there it is.

I felt around on the wall until I found the switch, and it didn’t do much to illuminate the room. It was just a dim light bulb hanging over her cage. She didn’t even look up at me at first. I walked closer, put the tray down on the table, and cleared my throat. Her head slowly lifted, and I saw her vision coming into focus—then a confused expression swept over her face. I obviously wasn’t the one she was expecting when she lifted her head. She moved to the back of the cage like she was scared—like an animal that had just been startled.

“I’m not going to hurt you.” I pointed at the tray. “I brought you some food.”

“What’s the price?” She looked up at me and I could tell that she had been crying—a lot—her eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed.

“Price…” I nodded. “Right.”

He mentioned that nothing is free, and I know he was making her trade her clothes for everything—but she’s naked now.

“I’ll pay it.” She crawled to the front of the cage. “You can hurt me if you want—I know that’s what I deserve.”

Wow, she’s begging for punishment already. Maybe I shouldn’t have come in here. Reynard has already broken her, and I don’t have the cruelty to test those limits.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” I shook my head back and forth. “Why don’t you eat, and I’ll go get something that you can use to clean yourself up a little bit.”

“But—the price.” I could see apprehension on her face—Reynard had already taught her that nothing came without a price.

I didn’t respond, I just walked over and pushed the key into her cage and unlocked it. She moved away when I let the door swing open, but she slowly started to crawl towards it. I took a step back, hoping to show her that I meant no harm, and she crawled until she was completely out of the enclosed structure. I heard her bones crack and she started to stand, and she groaned when her muscles were stretched. She still looked at me like a caged animal—slowly moving towards the chair with the food. I walked to the door, and while I didn’t necessarily think she would run—or be able to escape—I still locked it before walking down the hall to the bathroom. I found a bucket, a sponge, some soap—at least enough for her to take a quick bath and rinse off.

Reynard would lose his shit if he knew I was being nice to her, but—what did he really expect? I’m not a monster like him.

When I returned to the room where she was being held, I found her devouring the food on her plate like a savage. The sandwich was gone, the fruit had been decimated, and the soda can was already on its side. She reached over and started eating the food on my plate as well—it appeared that she was very hungry. Whatever sophistication and proper etiquette Elizabeth Abernathy developed in the real world had been lost after only spending a short time in the cage. I couldn’t imagine how awful it was in the darkness—it had to bring feelings of despair. All part of my brother’s sick game—punishment for her crime—one she didn’t even know she really committed—not the one that landed her in the cage at least.

“Here, you can at least bathe with this.” I put the bucket down and laid the sponges on the table.

“I—would rather drink that than use it to bathe in.” She stared at the water.

“Hold on, I’ll get you some water.” I shook my head and walked back towards the door.

Starved—thirsty—completely filthy. Maybe that was how my brother preferred his submissive women, but it didn’t really cater to my tastes. There was room for dominance, and there was something inside of me that often cried out for it, but I stopped short of inflicting pain—whether it was physical or emotional. Lizzy might have been responsible for what happened to Wyatt, but she was still a human being—although I wasn’t sure how much humanity she would have left once Reynard was finished playing with his toy. Part of me just wanted to wrap her in a blanket and leave—take her to the police station—face the repercussions of my actions. But I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t tarnish my family name or break my vow. The part of me that wanted justice though—the part that was strong enough to help Reynard with his plan—was starting to fade. My desire for vengeance just wasn’t strong enough to personally deliver it.

“I brought a pitcher. Drink all you want.” I carried the pitcher into the room and poured a glass.

“You’re—Mauro, right?” She looked up at me.

“I am.” I nodded and sat down.

She knows my name. I’m surprised Reynard even told her who we were—unless she remembers us from talking to Wyatt.

“Why are you being nice to me?” She picked up the sponge and shifted to the floor, so she could bathe.

“Why shouldn’t I be?” I tilted my head—and when the water started moving across her gorgeous breasts, I couldn’t stop my cock from twinging at the sight.

“Because I’m a horrible person.” She looked up at me. “I’ve done terrible things—to your brother, Wyatt.”

“Yes, you have.” I nodded. “And no matter how kind I treat you right now, it won’t save you from Reynard—he’s still going to hurt you.”

“I know.” She looked up at me and nodded. “I deserve it.”

“Do you?” I narrowed my eyes. “Or has he just tortured you so long in the darkness that you believe it?”

“I should pay for what I’ve done.” She spread her legs and started washing her pussy—I could see remnants of lust before the sponge washed it away.

“You will.” I sighed. “Trust me, you will.”

I cleaned up the area around her cage, washed the floor she was forced to sit on, and then I was surprised to see her crawl back over and close the door herself. She really did believe that she belonged in the cage—and she didn’t even know what she had really done. She just thought it was about the blackmail. The darkness—it could do strange things to people. Perhaps it made Lizzy face realizations she was already carrying around inside of her. A remorseless person wouldn’t be able to easily conquer that determination—they would fight for their freedom. She had accepted her fate—which meant there was no going back. Even if I rescued her, it would still linger inside—that need to be punished.

She’s Reynard’s toy now—one that he’s going to keep breaking until there is nothing, but fragments left for him to stomp on.

At least she knows why she’s here.