Ellis hadn’t touched me in days.

Oh, he’d slapped me around and humiliated me any chance he got. But when it came down to touching me, fucking me, kissing me… He held himself back with restraint I didn’t know he had in him. To say I was surprised would be putting it mildly – I was shocked by the sudden change in his attitude.

Despite his threats, he’d been nice to Amber as well. As far as I knew, she hadn’t found out the truth yet, and nobody had given her a hard time. We saw each other every day when one of the guards walked me over from our wing of the house to hers. Amber was still ecstatic about being there, and she described our surroundings with a vigor that surprised me. The guard was ever present during our talks, to prevent me from asking anything I wasn’t supposed to know. I’d tried to get our location out of Amber once, but the second she started to talk about it, the guard ushered me out.

It filled me with anger. These people were intent on keeping me in the dark, hiding the truth from me. Still, my plan of escaping wasn’t wavering. I knew I was going to get away from there, I had it all planned out already. And then, almost a week since I’d felt the inexplicable connection to Ellis, I decided to put things into motion.

I’d asked Ellis the previous night to join me for dinner. I was lonely, I’d told him, and I wanted some company. I’d managed to convince him, and I shook with anticipation as I got ready that night. I knew exactly what I had to do.

I would dress up, exactly the way I knew he liked, and I would wait for him in my prettiest dress and my highest heels. I would put on jewelry, makeup and perfume, and I would do my hair in the soft, pretty waves that he liked so much. The heavy liner and mascara on my eyes would make him think of the way he could make them run, and when he was distracted, I’d put the crushed sleeping pill into his food. When it took effect, I would attempt to escape.

I knew the way to Amber’s room. I knew there was a balcony in her room with a tree under it. We could escape together.

Amber had no idea yet, but I would explain everything later. I had to focus on timing everything right, on seducing Ellis until he let down his guard. I knew I could do it. I was going to get away this time around.

I hadn’t seen Pia in a few days, and I wondered why she was keeping her distance. But I didn’t question it for too long. The farther away she stayed from me, the better it worked for my plan of escaping the mansion once and for all.

The dress I wore was white, draping prettily over my body and emphasizing my curves. When I put it on and paired it with nude heels, I noticed for the first time how much my muscles had gone. I had been doing stretches and some practice every morning, but it was nothing to the training I had to endure with Madame. I was losing my edge, and I blamed Ellis for that too. I couldn’t wait to have my revenge.

I waited for him on the bed, a book in my hands, but my eyes glued to the floor. The second I heard movement outside, I switched my gaze to the page, pretending to turn it just as he walked inside.

“What are you reading, little one?” he asked, coming to sit next to me.

I looked up and he took my book away from me just like he had so many times before.

“Nothing important,” I muttered, smiling as he shut the book, disregarding the page I’d stopped at.

Another one of his annoying habits. But I paid it no mind that night, focusing on him alone. I’d noticed he’d made a special effort, wearing a tailored suit that screamed designer, and aftershave that filled my nostrils with mint and leather. I hated his scent.

“We’ll have something special for dinner,” he told me, smoothing my hair down. “I requested it just for you.”

He held out a hand and I stood up, letting him look at me, spinning around to give him a good view. He didn’t remark on my appearance, but then again, he wasn’t one of those guys to give compliments. I didn’t really give a shit, but he needed to like what he saw so my plan would work flawlessly.

I turned back towards him, slipping my dress down until my nipple peeked out, pinching it between my fingertips and smiling at him as I tucked it back into the fabric.

“Will we play later?” I asked him softly, and he grinned at me, that wolfish smile I’d come to know so well.

“Of course we will,” he promised. “A night you won’t forget.”

The mute maid entered, and Ellis and I sat down, waiting for the food to be served. The smell was peculiar, something I didn’t recognize, and the maid set two plates of steak down on the table.

“It smells delicious,” I said politely. “What is it?”

“Foal,” Ellis said simply. “A specialty. Killed this morning, so it’s fresh. Shot it between the eyes myself. I know how much you love horses.”

I raised my eyes to his. I couldn’t believe him. Couldn’t believe this. Surely he didn’t expect me to eat what he’d made them cook. Surely he couldn’t be this cruel, this fucked up, to toy with me just because he could.

I stared at him openly, looking for a sign of remorse in his dark gaze. But there was nothing behind those steely eyes. He was a cruel man, and he’d done this on purpose. He’d meant to hurt me.

“Dig in, little one,” he told me. “Don’t make me punish you for not finishing your meal like a bad little girl.”

I looked at the steak on my plate again. I felt sick to my stomach. The meat was so rare it looked raw, a small pool of blood gathering under it. I pushed the plate away, knowing I wouldn’t be able to get it past my lips. When I raised my eyes to Ellis, he looked triumphant and I hated him a little bit more.

He tsk-ed at me and I hung my head in what was supposed to be shame. Really, I was only looking down so he wouldn’t notice how enraged I was. I would fucking have him killed for this. How dare he humiliate me, take advantage of the story I’d told him just to punish me.

“Of course, you will have to be punished,” he said simply, pushing his own plate away, a wicked glint in his eyes. “I will get the tools now, and you better be waiting for me, on your knees and ready, little one.”

He stood up and I nodded quickly, waiting for him to leave me alone. This time I didn’t dare to look at the cameras, hoping whoever was watching the stream didn’t care about what I was about to do.

I got the pills out of my lingerie drawer and put the powder into his glass. Just in time too, because he was back moments later, his eyes sparkling darkly as he spread out the selection of toys he’d gotten over my bed.

“We’re going to have fun tonight,” he told me, and I paled at the thought of what he would do to me.

I needed to set my plan into motion, and I needed to do it fucking fast.

“Can w-we have some w-wine first?” I asked timidly, stuttering on purpose.

I needed to convince him, I needed to play the role of a lifetime. As long as he believed me and didn’t suspect anything, I knew I’d be able to get away. I was so close to getting the fuck out of there.

“Nervous?” he asked with a soft chuckle. “Of course, little one, let’s have some.”

We reached the table and he got his glass while I took the other one. My hands shook so badly I accidentally knocked it over, and the red liquid seeped through the tablecloth. My blood froze in my veins. That wasn’t part of the plan at all.

“Clumsy girl,” Ellis said darkly, taking a sip of the tainted wine. “Now you don’t get to drink.”

“Please,” I muttered, hoping he would enjoy my obvious distress and deny me a drink, not suspecting a thing about what lay at the bottom of his glass.

He laughed at me and downed the glass in one go.

I watched as he set it down and rubbed his eyes before motioning for me to get down on the floor. I slipped down to my knees, my dress riding high, the slit on my thigh revealing more than I would have liked. The lacy lingerie I wore underneath felt flimsy and too easy to rip off. And I knew that if the pill didn’t take effect soon, I would have to deal with his hands all over me.

Ellis came towards me, a spring in his step, but when he took the last one to reach me, he stumbled. He dropped like a rock, gripping the bed and trying to steady himself.

“You bitch,” he ground out. “What have you done to me?”

I stared at him calmly, picking myself up from the floor and dusting down my beautiful dress.

“Nothing as bad as what you’ve done to me,” I told him. “I can’t believe I thought you were a good man. After that night in the playroom… I thought you were better than this. But you’re nothing to me, Ellis. I hope you remember who took you down forever.”

Those would be my parting words, and he groaned, the sound barely audible as he slid to the floor. I kicked my heels off my feet and resisted the urge to kick him in the nuts as a final little fuck you. Instead, I hurriedly checked to see if he was breathing. He was, his mouth still in a snarl but his body already fast asleep. The pills worked like a charm. I knew he would be found in a couple of hours, but if I had luck on my side, it would take an extra few for him to wake up and explain what had happened. Precious time I could use to escape with Amber and then expose the fucking place for what it really was.

Then something took over, the memory of that night when he’d fucked me. His cock inside me, the magnetic connection between us. Where did it go since that night? Why had I never felt it before, or after? I didn’t understand, and I felt my body going into a state of frozen shock at the worst possible moment.

I leaned down next to him, suddenly feeling torn up about what I’d done, and his eyes flew open.

He grabbed me.

I screamed.

He moved past me, snarling and grabbing my limbs, my ankles, my wrists. I started crying loudly as I tried to move away, but he was too fast, grabbing me by the throat and pulling me to my feet.

“You fucking bitch,” he growled in my ear.

I could hear how groggy and disoriented he was. He could barely open his mouth. The pills had done their job, but not quite to the extent I’d been hoping for.

“You’ll pay for this,” he snarled, and I cried out at the top of my voice when he pulled my head back. “You’ll pay with your sorry little life.” His hands came to my throat and squeezed hard, his eyes bulging as he took my breath away.

It was then that I saw him, the man in the doorway, the gun going off in his hand, something about him so painfully familiar I gasped in surprise as Ellis’ hands let go.

And I felt blood spatter me as I screamed and screamed.