The broken mirror was gone. Margaret and Grace cleaned up the shattered glass and the perfume smell. They put a new mirror up. It was just an ordinary mirror, but I could not look at it the same way. Every time I saw my face, I saw the rage I had to hide. I saw the brokenness that Hayden thought he owned.
I started wearing the necklace again. It felt heavy and fake on my neck. I made sure the clasp, where the broken tracker was, rested against my skin. Hayden never mentioned it again. He was satisfied that his leash was on.
But I needed a place to put my real thoughts. I could not talk to Grace all the time. I could not trust the walls or the camera. I needed to remind myself who I was.
I went to the study during the brief time I was allowed to walk around. I found an old, thin ledger book on a shelf. It was used for writing down expenses but it was mostly empty. I took it back to my room and hid it under the floorboards in the closet.
Every night, after Hayden's late check in, I would pull out the book. I started writing my story, not a story for Alex, no5t a story for the police. Just a story for myself.
I wrote about my father. I wrote about the day he got sick. I wrote about the way he used to laugh when he helped me with my homework.
I wrote, I am not Aliyah Vance. I am Aliyah Sterling. I am my father's daughter. He did not raise me to be a possession for a greedy man. He raised me to fight. I must remember his face so I do not become another broken thing in this house.
The writing was like talking to him. It was the only thing that made the silence of the room bearable. It gave me strength.
One night, I wrote about Alex. I wrote about what he meant to me when I was younger.
I wrote, I am afraid of him now. I am afraid of loving him again because love feels like weakness. The moment I loved Hayden, I was trapped. The moment I loved Alex, I put him in danger. Love lets people hurt you. I cannot be weak anymore. I need to be cold and hard to survive this. But I miss feeling safe.
I sealed the book in a plastic bag I found in the bottom of a drawer. I hid it back under the loose floorboard every morning. I did not want the dust to ruin my words.
The writing helped me remember who I was not. I was not Hayden's wife. I was not a toy to be given gifts.
Hayden came for his check in the next day. He stood by the door.
"You look calmer, Aliyah," he said. "The garden must be helping you."
"It's quiet outside," I said. "The fresh air is good."
"I told you that you would be safer here," he said. He looked at the necklace. "And I see you are wearing my gift. That pleases me."
"It's beautiful," I lied.
He looked around the room. He did his usual slow scan. The camera was probably watching too. I felt safe because my notebook was hidden.
"Remember who your allies are, Aliyah," he said before leaving. "You think Alex Chen cares about you. But I am the one who keeps the lights on. I am the one who keeps your family safe from disgrace."
When he left, I felt strong. His words did not scare me anymore. I was ready to use his own game against him.
That night, I went to retrieve my book. I pulled the floorboard up. The plastic bag was there. The book was inside.
I took it out and opened it to the page I wrote the night before. The entry about Alex and love being a weakness.
I stopped breathing.
The page was gone, not torn out. It was missing completely. Like someone had carefully lifted it out of the binding and taken it away.
I flipped through the pages fast. All the other pages were there. The ones about my father. The ones about my rage. But the one about Alex and my fear of love was gone.
My blood turned to ice. Someone had been in my room. Someone had found my hiding place. And they had read my private words.
I looked at the closet. I looked at the ceiling where the camera was. I looked at the door.
Who was it? David? Marcus? Hayden himself?
They didn't take the whole book. They only took the page about Alex.
They knew I was still thinking about him. They knew I was struggling with my feelings. They took the page because it showed my weakness.
Hayden would know now that I was not completely broken. He would know that I was still fighting.
I quickly checked the necklace. The clasp was still shut. The small wire I used to fix it was still in place. My tracker was still broken.
But someone knew about the book.
I quickly hid the rest of the book back under the floorboard. I tried to think. If Hayden took the page, he was testing me again. He was waiting to see my reaction.
If Marcus took the page, he would tell Hayden everything.
I had to act normal. I had to pretend the room was still a safe prison. But the missing page was a warning. My secret place was not secret anymore. The walls were not just watching. They were listening. And they were stealing my words. The silence was broken. I knew I had to move faster now. I had no time left.
********
The missing page of my notebook made me scared. I did not sleep at all. I knew whoever took it was watching me close.
The next morning, it was not David who brought my breakfast. It was Marcus.
Marcus Sterling. My uncle. The man who hurt my father the most for money. He stood in my room. He was wearing an expensive suit. He looked calm and cruel.
"Good morning, Aliyah," Marcus said. His voice was smooth and too friendly. "I hope your stay here is comfortable."
"It's not comfortable, Marcus," I said. "It's a prison. You know that."
He just smiled. He walked over to my desk and put the tray down. He did not let the guards bring the tray today. He did it himself.
"I am here for a security inspection," Marcus said. "Mr. Vance wants to make sure everything is in order. We have had some suspicious activity in the house lately."
He was talking about my notes. He was talking about the missing page.
"I have not caused any suspicious activity," I said.
Marcus walked around my room slowly. He looked in the closet. He looked under the bed. He did not look under the floorboard, but I knew he already knew about the book.
"Mr. Vance is a kind man," Marcus said. He stopped by the window. "He gave you a necklace as an apology. He gave you freedom to walk the halls. He is very forgiving."
He turned to face me. His eyes were cold like a snake's.
"But Hayden does not forgive betrayal twice, Aliyah," Marcus said. His voice was sharp. "He will forgive a mistake. He will not forgive a plan."
I felt the blood drain from my face. He knew. He knew I was planning something.
"I don't know what you mean, Marcus," I said.
"Oh, I think you do," Marcus said. He walked closer to me. He stood very near. "Hayden is controlled by his father. You are controlled by your contract. We all have our masters but when you try to hurt the master, the punishment is very severe."
He bent down a little. His voice dropped lower.
"Are you hiding something, Aliyah," he asked. "Something in the walls? Something under the floor?"
I tried to keep my face still. "I am hiding nothing. I am just reading."
He straightened up. He looked at the necklace around my neck. He reached out and touched the sapphire. His finger rested right on the broken clasp.
"Such a lovely gift," Marcus said. He ran his thumb over the metal. "You must be very thankful for Hayden's generosity. It shows you belong to him completely."
I wanted to hit his hand away. I wanted to scream.
"I am thankful," I whispered.
He smiled again. A slow, cold smile. It did not reach his eyes. His eyes were watching for my fear.
"Good," he said. "Be a good wife. It is the best way to survive. The worst thing you can do is remind Hayden of the past mistakes. The mistakes of your father. The mistakes of his father."
He walked to the door. He opened it and looked out into the hall.
"I have completed my inspection," Marcus said loudly for David to hear. He turned back to me. "Enjoy your day, Aliyah. And remember my warning."
He walked out. David came in right after him to take the tray.
I sat there, shaking. Marcus knew I was planning something. He took the page about Alex. He came here to scare me. He wanted me to stop.
The fear was bad. But the rage was worse. I was not going to stop.
Later that night, Grace came to my room to clean. She was changing the sheets. David was down the hall talking on his walkie talkie.
"Grace," I whispered. "What did Marcus do with the paper."
Grace kept making the bed. Her hands moved fast.
"He is holding it," Grace whispered back. "He intercepted one of your recipe notes a few days ago. The one about Hunting and Now."
My breathing stopped. He had proof.
"He knows it is a code," Grace said. "He is trying to figure out the full message. He hasn't told Hayden yet. He wants to know everything first."
"Why," I asked. "Why wouldn't he tell Hayden immediately."
"Because he is Marcus," Grace said. Her voice was low and bitter. "He wants to use it for his own power. He wants to prove to Hayden that he is the only one who can protect the house. He wants to look like a hero."
"He is waiting for me to make a big move," I said.
"Yes," Grace said. She finished the bed and walked over to my desk. "He is waiting for you to run. If you run, he will catch you. He will catch Alex. He will look like the only man Hayden can trust."
"How long do I have," I asked. "How much time before he figures out the full code."
Grace looked at me. Her face was full of pity.
"Marcus is not stupid, Aliyah," she said. "He is a greedy snake. But he is a smart snake. He will know the full message in a day or two. He is just waiting for the right moment to tell Hayden everything."
She walked to the door. She looked back at me one last time.
"The countdown for your exposure has begun, Aliyah," Grace whispered. "If you are going to run, you have to run now. Before Marcus gets to Hayden."
She slipped out the door.