I stared at the photograph until the edges blurred. My mother's face was younger, her eyes filled with a terror I now recognized all too well. She was standing exactly where I was now—in the Fox Manor. And the baby in her arms... it had to be me.
"Subject Six. Protect the Blood."
The ink was old, but the warning felt brand new. I quickly hid the photo under the mattress just as Elena walked back into the room.
"The water is ready, Mrs. Fox. And Mr. Fox is arriving in ten minutes. He doesn't like to be kept waiting."
I bathed in silence, the hot water stinging the marks Kai had left on my skin. I put on the silver silk dress. It felt like a second skin—dangerous and revealing. The chains at the sides clinked with every step I took, reminding me that I was draped in his wealth and his choices.
I was led down the grand staircase to the dining hall. The table was set for three. My heart hammered against my ribs. Three?
Kai was already there, standing by the window with a glass of scotch. He turned as I entered, his eyes darkening as they traveled over the silver silk clinging to my curves. He looked satisfied, like a king admiring a new jewel.
"You look... compliant, Amara," he murmured, his voice sending that traitorous shiver through me.
"I am a prisoner, Kai. Don't mistake my silence for compliance," I snapped.
"Is that so?" He stepped toward me, his hand reaching out to trace the line of the silver chain at my hip. "Then perhaps I should introduce our guest. He's been very anxious to see how you're settling in."
The doors opened, and my breath stopped.
It was Marcus.
He looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot, and his suit was wrinkled, but the moment he saw me in that dress—bare-backed and marked by Kai—his face twisted in a mixture of agony and greed.
"Amara..." he whispered.
"Marcus?" I took a step forward, but Kai's arm snapped around my waist, pulling me back against his hard chest. He didn't just hold me; he gripped me, his fingers digging into the silver silk.
"Careful, Marcus," Kai growled, his voice vibrating against my back. "You sold the right to speak her name when you took my money. Now, you're only here to witness the closing of the deal."
Kai leaned down and kissed my shoulder, right on top of the bruise he had made. He did it while looking Marcus straight in the eye. It was the most twisted thing I had ever experienced—being used as a weapon to destroy the man I once loved, by the man who had stolen my soul.
"Tell him, Amara," Kai whispered against my skin. "Tell Marcus how you screamed my name last night while he was counting his chips."