I didn’t see Carter for the whole day, and being left alone made me feel kind of empty.

When I woke up the next morning, my cage was unlocked, the door open. I crawled out on my knees and for once, decided I wouldn’t have my breakfast in the room. I was too anxious, almost desperate to see him. But I was bound to be disappointed, because when I walked downstairs that morning, there was no one in sight except for the pretty, scarred maid.

I smiled at her shyly and she gave me a long look before silently showing me to the dining room. If she was surprised by my sudden appearance, she didn’t show it one bit, and I didn’t mention it either. Instead, I just followed her into the dining room where she sat me down at a big table and brought out some food for me.

There was so much I could have my fill and then some. Eggs, avocado on rye bread, oatmeal with a big dollop of cream and maple syrup on top, and so much fresh fruit I didn’t know where to start. My eyes glowed as I tucked into the feast. I ate my fill, and it felt good. For once, I wasn’t watching what I was eating, wasn’t obsessing about whether Carter would like my bones or my curves. It felt amazing to let go of those worries.

I watched the maid closely as she brought out my food, and I tried to make eye contact, but she evaded my gaze every time. I wasn’t sure whether she was under the strict instruction not to speak to me, or if she just didn’t want anything to do with a girl like me. She didn’t say a word, though, and neither did I. I felt childishly offended that she hadn’t paid any attention to me. I would’ve asked Carter about her, but I was too scared. She seemed like a permanent fixture in the house, and I had no idea what I was. Yet.

After I’d eaten, I went back to my room. It felt lonely without him, and I felt a pang of guilt when I remembered my true purpose in the house. I was here to get revenge, plain and simple, and it should’ve been the only thing on my mind.

I busied myself with some books, and after a while, my mind felt so numb I couldn’t read another word. It wasn’t quite time for lunch yet, and I set my book aside with an exasperated sigh.

He really couldn’t have expected me to do nothing all day. This was so boring, I was losing my mind. Carter hadn’t told me whether I was free to go outside, and I didn’t want to test his patience. I needed him smitten with me.

I wandered out of my quarters and down the hallway. The house was deserted – not a servant or maid in sight, not even the pretty scarred girl.

I kept walking down the hallway, pressing on doors gently and peeking behind them. The rooms here were mostly guestrooms, or loungerooms. I came across a huge library that I didn’t dare step into, but I decided I’d ask his permission to explore its shelves. I kept walking, seeing more bedrooms, more nondescript rooms.

And then finally, I found a room I couldn’t stay out of.

As soon as the door opened, I could tell it was his study, decked out in expensive, smooth mahogany and rich, buttery fabrics . It was very masculine and traditional with a hint of modern, and not even the appearance of that maid could keep me out of the room. I needed to go inside. I needed to see.

I’d spent most of my teenage years digging up dirt on Carter Knight . I knew mostly everything about his company and how it was run. His father still owned it, but it was really Carter who did all the work – his father just pulled the invisible strings behind the curtains, and made all the big, important decisions, leaving Carter to the hard work.

Still, Carter was the one I blamed for everything that had happened.

He was the one who messed up, and he was the one who would have to pay.

I sat down on his chair and felt the smooth cream leather, and I wondered if I was going to get caught. I almost didn’t care. I wanted to find out more. I wanted to know more about him, the man who I was supposed to hate more than everything else, and who had somehow managed to get under my skin.

I fooled myself into thinking I wanted the information so I could hurt him more, but some part of me knew I was genuinely curious as to what made Carter Knight tick.

Opening the first drawer of his desk, I pulled out some files with shaky fingers, and I pored over the information.

And it was a fucking mess.

The Knight empire, which had been a family owned business for the past two centuries, was practically on its knees.

I’d taught myself to read business reports when I was researching my own family’s past, and I knew exactly what I was looking at in those files.

A crumbling empire.

Carter was trying to fix mistakes desperately, but his actions were being overridden by his father’s, often foolish, business decisions. Reckless, not well-thought-out choices that made the empire lose as much wealth as it had been worth only a decade ago, before Carter took the reins. And now it seemed as if it was all his fault, and only someone with access to the files in my hands would be able to decipher that the fault lay solely on Carter’s father.

I didn’t know much about him, but I knew he was a ruthless man. And from what I was reading, it seemed he had lost his Midas touch, and suddenly, everything he touched turned to dust instead of gold.

I put the files away carefully once I was done with them, and closed the drawer. Instead of feeling more anger towards Carter, I felt something akin to pity, feeling sorry for the man who had ruined my life. It wasn’t part of the plan and I didn’t fucking like it.

I wanted to hate him.

I needed to hate him.

When I was leaving the room, I didn’t notice the maid, Carolina, coming towards me. I shrieked when we bumped into each other, and she dropped the stack of towels she was carrying.

“Watch where you’re going!” I said exasperatedly, and she gave me a long look, once again not saying a thing. She looked over my shoulder though, right into Carter’s study, and it made me blush deeply.

She didn’t say a word as she picked up those towels, and I didn’t say anything either. I practically ran back to my room.

Back in my room, I found myself sleepy as I thumbed the pages of another paperback. I was starting to doze off, and I didn’t even have time to worry about the dreams I’d been having lately before the nightmares pulled me under again.

***

The little girl missed her daddy.

He was never around anymore, and she was getting used to spending most of her time with her mom. But it didn’t mean she didn’t miss her daddy dearly, and every time he finally came home, exhausted and with his face etched with worry, she’d run up to him and hug him tightly. She couldn’t reach past his waist, but she loved that he always hugged her back. Sometimes he even picked her up and she shrieked with pleasure when he threw her in the air.

But not that day.

That day, her daddy came home with a weary expression on his face.

She looked through the kitchen window and saw him standing there on the front lawn. He looked worried, and his briefcase dropped to the ground as he stared at the house through hazy eyes, as if he wasn’t really seeing anything.

When eventually he came inside, she ran up to him to hug him just like she always did, but before she could, her daddy raised a hand to stop her.

She wobbled on her feet, nearly falling over in her attempt to stay still. She stared at Daddy as he called out for her mom.

Her mom came into the room, wiping off a big glass salad bowl. One look was all it took between them, and her daddy sobbed, just once. Her mom dropped the salad bowl and the glass shattered all over the kitchen. The sound was deafening, and the little girl covered her ears in fear when the shards flew everywhere.

She was standing too close to the spot where the bowl broke, and as she moved to look at her mom, she stepped on a piece of glass. It dug into her skin, and before she could even cry out, she looked down at her now bleeding foot. The sight of blood fascinated her, and she stared as it pooled under her toes.

***

“Evangeline.”

The voice was insistent, calling out to me over and over again.

“Evangeline. Wake up.”

I tossed and turned on the couch, muttering something to make the voice stop, but it wouldn’t give up.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, squeezing me hard, and my eyes flew open when I finally realized I had been sleeping.

Carter stood above me, his eyes fiery with anger and his mouth set into a displeased line.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I must’ve fallen asleep here…”

I looked around, feeling disoriented. The paperback I’d been reading was still next to me, now a little crumpled. I flushed, embarrassed about it. I hated ruining books.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated, smoothing down the pages and getting up from the sofa.

“Evangeline.”

I looked up at him, and looked away again very quickly. His eyes were almost black they were so dark, and my heart pounded when I saw his expression. He was angry. This wasn’t going to be pretty.

“I know what you did today,” he told me pointedly.

I looked over his shoulder, and saw the maid standing in the door. She caught my gaze for a second, and the broken look in her beautiful eyes surprised me.

She had told him she’d caught me in his study.

But why did she look like she regretted doing that?

“Evangeline!” he barked at me, and I looked back at him, my legs feeling shaky. “You went through my things. Do you think it’s proper for a toy to behave that way?”

“No,” I whispered, looking down.

“I can’t fucking hear you,” he hissed, and I looked up, my eyes filling with tears.

“I…” My bottom lip was shaking. “I wanted to know more about you…”

“Bull fucking shit,” he snarled. “You wanted to fucking snoop.”

His fingers wrapped around my throat. Not hard, but threatening, and I tried to breathe through his grip.

“I don’t know what game you’re playing, little girl,” he said darkly. “But I’m going to fucking find out.”

I swallowed hard behind his fingers, and he tightened his grip, only a little.

“I can help,” I gasped. “The Van Der Meer case, I can help you with it…”

He laughed in my face, saying, “What the fuck do you know about business, little girl?”

I kept talking. “You’re merging with their company,” I said in a rush. “You’re looking to cut down on the cost of their employees, and you think you need to fire some people, but you don’t.”

He let me speak, but his eyes said it all. He was pissed.

“Their bills,” I went on. “For Van Der Meer. They’re spending an absurd amount on business lunches, business trips. They’re taking four people to meetings in different cities, where you only need one. Cut down on the travel expenses. Cheaper hotels, less people. You can keep the expensive restaurants for wooing the clients… But cut down on travel costs and the people who go on those trips.”

“You don’t know shit,” he snarled at me. “You’re just a fucking girl. And Evangeline, you’re forgetting you’re my fucking property. If I tell you not to go in my study, and you still do it, I’m going to punish you severely.”

His fingers tightened around my throat and I cried out softly.

“And nobody wants a broken toy,” he told me gently, and when he let go of me and left the room, I felt like I was going to pass the hell out.

I touched my throat, the skin burning where his fingers had been, and stumbled back to the sofa. He slammed the door shut so hard it nearly fell off its hinges, but it didn’t shut properly, still ajar when he stormed down the hallway.

I sobbed softly when I felt another presence in the room, looking up through tear-filled eyes to see her standing there.

Carolina.

She rushed forward, kneeling down next to me.

I couldn’t look at her, but she smoothed down my hair and took my hand in hers.

“It’ll be okay,” she told me. She had a Spanish accent. “It’s going to be alright, I promise, miss.”

I sobbed and she held me.

“I’m scared,” I finally admitted. “He’s going to be meaner this time…”

“It won’t be too bad,” she told me. “I’m sorry I told him… If I didn’t, I’d be punished too. He has cameras…”

I looked at her beautiful face, at that gruesome scar.

“He’s punished you?” I asked.

She merely looked at the floor, and it made me cry harder.

Her scar looked vicious, and my heart panicked when I thought I might have one to match hers soon.