Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story are those from the Fifty Shades Trilogy. They remain the rightful property of E L James. Recognisable brands, places, music or films remain the property of their owners. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Hello Lovelies...
Sorry for the cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter.
I'm also sorry for the cliffhanger at the end of this chapter.
I really hope you like this update. More is coming soon, I promise.
Thank you!
Much Love,
Chelsea xx
"Don't you want to know more about the game we're going to play, Anastasia?"
She cocked her head to the side and let her eyes trail up and down my body. A sinister glint appeared in her gaze, like she was getting off on seeing me restrained.
She smirked, pursing her lips. It made me try to yank my wrists apart again, desperate to slip the shackles forcing my hands together.
"The only thing I want is to rip your fucking throat out," I spat.
That got me another strike. My cheek burned as the pain spread from my eye to my jaw. I forced my lips into a hard line, refusing to make a sound. She didn't deserve to hear my cries of pain.
Elena moved away for a moment, stepping over to the bar and picking up a stool. She dragged it across the floor, wood scraping on wood, squealing hard through the air. She positioned the stool in front of me and sat down, her knees just inches from mine.
A small huff escaped her, her eyes lifting up to Leila. She shot her a disgusted look.
"Go stand in the corner," she ordered, a bite in her tongue. "Now."
Without hesitation, Leila scuttled into the far corner and pressed herself into it. She didn't lift her eyes off the floor, it seeming like an unspoken rule. My gut clenched as I tried to process what I was seeing. It was obvious in the way that she cowered, Leila was terrified of Elena.
"Anastasia," the bitch sang my name, attempting to draw my focus back to her. She smiled. "The game is simple. I want to test you. See how smart you really are. See what you're made of."
What the fuck did she mean by that?
"I've had months of hearing how clever you are, how you deserved more than to work in my club." Her lips curled. "You think you're above this. You think you are better than any of us. Better than me! Miss Morally Perfect, looking down her nose at those of us who enjoy this lifestyle. Those of us who need it… You're not worthy to clean my shoes, little girl. God knows what Christian sees in you."
"He'll kill you for this," I seethed. "He will hunt you down and tear you limb from limb."
"Don't make me laugh," she cackled, throwing her head back for good measure.
I wanted to snap her neck clean off her shoulders.
"You have no idea how much he hates you," I shook my head. It was my turn to laugh, though it sounded more demented than hers. "You really are clueless. He's been avoiding you for months, way before I even came into his life. He can't stand to be around you."
"Christian has a temper," she observed with a shrug. "He can be fiery, irrational, but one thing remains the same. He always comes back to me. Always. I have seen too many whores come and go from his life, you are just a bump in a very long road."
"Just wait and see," I warned her.
She cut her knuckles across my cheek, more blood flying from my lips. I spat onto the floor by her feet, a clot of blood only just missing her shoe.
"Every time you try to top me, that's what you will get," she growled. Her nostrils flared. "Now, the game is simple: I am going to ask you questions and for every wrong answer, you'll earn yourself a punishment. If you think my slap is bad, just wait until I get Leila to bring me some props from upstairs."
My chest tightened but my resolve was leaden. I wasn't going down without a fight, restrained or not.
"Question one: how did I get you here today?"
"You conned me."
"You need to elaborate," she tutted, wagging her finger. "Come on, how did I get you here? Tell me exactly."
"You threatened Cal?"
The slap came without warning. Fuck!
"Wrong," she hummed. "Care to venture another guess?"
I didn't respond.
She tilted her head.
"How did I know about your plans to treat dear Caleb to lunch?" she asked.
I pursed my lips, my hesitation provoking another hit. She will slice my cheek open if she hits any harder.
"I don't know," I huffed. "Have you been stalking him too?"
"I did what any good employer does," she smiled. "I simply kept an eye on his computer activity. I can see the websites he looks on, read the emails he sends, his private messages… Poor Caleb. Handsome but stupid, using his work computer for personal exchanges."
She had read our messages.
"I tried to get him to talk to you on the phone but he seemed distracted for some reason," she sighed, pursing her crimson lips again. "But I imagine having a gun pressed against your skull would put anyone on edge."
My eyes widened, my gut tearing apart.
She has a gun!?
I tried to yank my hands apart, ignoring the burning in my wrists as whatever was holding them together dug deeper into my skin.
"We don't have to worry about being interrupted," she said. "Did you know I have a cell phone disrupter in my office? At the flick of a switch, I can prevent anyone from using their phones within these walls."
"You're not going to get away with this."
"What are you going to do, exactly?" She tilted her head and crossed her legs, her hands gripping her knee. "How are you going to escape, huh? Please, enlighten me."
I ground my teeth together.
"You see, Anastasia, I have been planning this for a while," she whispered, dropping her voice to a sinister level. She leaned forward, closing the gap between us. "From the moment I realised Christian was in over his head, I've been thinking about how I can get rid of you. I made a huge mistake when I took you on."
"Why did you?" I growled at her. "Was it your pathetic attempt to win him back? Because you pissed him off when you set him up with her?" I nodded my head towards Leila.
My quip didn't go down well. She hit my other cheek this time, the sting biting straight through to my jaw.
"He should never have touched you," she grimaced. "He knows better than to fuck a virgin."
I didn't want to know how she knew I was a virgin before Christian. He wouldn't have told her that, I know he wouldn't.
"Anastasia Steele," she raked her eyes over me again. She was getting inside my head. "It was written across your forehead the second you walked in here. You see, whenever I get an application form I always look up the applicant online. I check out their social media, see who I'm dealing with… When I saw you, I knew you matched Christian's type. Another brown haired mouse to sedate his anger and Mommy issues."
It took every ounce to not react.
She knows about his birth mother? He said he never told anyone about her…
"I figured you could pacify him for a little while," she continued. "But then I saw you and realised the mistake I'd made. You were a virgin. It was painfully obvious... I couldn't hire you but then Christian arrived. He wasn't supposed to arrive until much later. As soon as he saw you, he was interested. He begged me to hire you, especially after that hysterical fit you had outside. He felt sorry for you. If only he'd arrived five minutes later, none of this would have happened."
"We're meant for each other," I grunted.
"He's trying to cut me out of his life because you are messing with his head," she yelled, losing her cool for a moment. She pulled her shoulders back and narrowed her gaze. "I will not allow a slut like you to meddle in our relationship."
"Do not call me a slut," I breathed. "I am nothing like you. Christian wants you out of his life because he's realised just how cancerous you are. He despises you."
"He needs me," she purred. "I was there in the beginning and I will be there long after you're dead."
"Do you seriously think you'll get away with this?" I snorted a laugh, the sound angering her. Her mask was starting to slip, her eyes creasing in the corners and her lip twitching. "You think you can walk out of here and no one will point a finger at you? You really are stupid, aren't you?"
"Don't you see? I've done more than enough to shift the heat away from me," she smirked. "Haven't you worked it out yet? How I've covered my tracks?"
"You've fucked up," I shook my head. "You brought her into this?" I glanced at Leila again. "Christian knows it's a lie. He knows she's not pregnant."
"He's trying to convince himself she's not pregnant," Elena shook her head. "He's terrified at the possibility of becoming a father. He freaked out when a former submissive suspected she was pregnant. He hates children."
My lips curled.
"That's not what he said to me earlier," I teased her, my throat tensing. "He wants a future with me. He wants me. He wants kids –"
"No he doesn't!" She bolted up and punched me clean across the jaw, almost sending my chair to floor. She yanked the chair steady and peered over me. "You got inside his head and now I need to get rid of you. I need to save him before he spirals out of control. Men like Christian need routine, stability. You can't offer him that."
"Neither can you," I screamed. "He. Doesn't. Want. You. When are you going to realise that? He knows you are behind this. You haven't covered your tracks. You sent that stupid letter, you fucked up!"
"The letter was a mistake," she revealed, her hands gripping my shoulders. "I had given that letter to one of my customers and asked him to deliver it. I couldn't get to him in time, tell him to stop. He'd already delivered it. But that isn't a problem."
"The police are onto you –"
"No, they're not," she laughed. She shook her head. "That letter means nothing. I don't need it anymore. I don't need Leila anymore."
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"I was originally going to use Leila," she said. "It was my plan. Bring her back to Seattle, get Christian to believe she's pregnant, tell him I will sort it out for him. I needed him to talk to me again. I was just biding my time, waiting for the right time to strike… But then he started pulling away from me even more and I knew I had to hurry up and dispose of you."
Dispose…
This bitch really is crazy.
"Leila was going to serve a bigger purpose than just pretending to be pregnant," she sneered. She turned to face Leila. "Leila, what did I ask you to do to Anastasia?"
"Find her," Leila mumbled. She toyed with the lighter in her hands, rolling it between her fingers, like she was itching to bring the flames to life. "Find her and grab her."
"Then what?"
"Take her back to your house," she added. "Hit her and drag her upstairs. Lock her in the cage."
My heart burst into my throat, a hard lump closing off my air supply.
"And when were you supposed to do that, Leila?" Elena pressed on, twisting her wicked face back to me with another smirk on her mouth.
"The night that man appeared," Leila mumbled.
I gulped.
"He's a lovely young man, your friend José," Elena laughed. "Very cute. Not my type but still attractive."
I tried to look around, checking as far as I could see.
"Where is he?" I asked, panic creeping into my voice. "Where is he? What have you done to him!?"
"He's here, don't worry about that," she nodded. "That night, when you tripped outside and hurt your head? You weren't supposed to be here, were you? You weren't on the rota. So how did you come to be here?"
I paused, not wanting to answer her.
But my gut told me to keep talking. Keep her occupied, the longer the better. Distract her, bide some time until help can arrive…
I made a silent prayer to Christian. Please, come find me. Please, baby –
"Don't keep me waiting," she taunted.
"Cal called me," I croaked. "He needed help. Because she called in sick –" I glanced at Leila. She looked manic, starting to sway on the spot. I couldn't understand how she was the same woman I met when she came to work here. She looked so normal then… "He couldn't get anyone else to come in. So I agreed to work."
"I thought that was the case," she hummed, tapping her finger against her lips. "You were supposed to be at home. I knew Christian was at his apartment, that he'd be there all evening. He has his personal training session on Wednesdays… The plan was to have Leila find you at home. She went to your apartment building that night. How long were you waiting there, Leila?"
"Hours," she muttered.
"And what did you see while you were there?"
"That man arrived," she said. "He banged on the door. He was angry and shouting her name -" She pointed her hand in my direction, her eyes still glued to the floor. "He got inside and when he came back, he was shouting to himself. He was angry because she wasn't there."
"When Leila called to tell me that, I had a horrible feeling in my gut," Elena grimaced. "I checked the security cameras and I almost threw up when I saw you here, behind my bar. I wanted to destroy you for ruining my plan."
"That's why you came down here?" I shook my head. "Cal promised me you wouldn't be here."
"I had to keep an eye on you," she shot back. "Leila would need to come here instead, grab you when you left. I needed to be here to make sure this time she was able to finish the job."
She reached around my head and yanked on my hair, tilting my head back until I felt a strain in my neck.
"You left early," Elena shrieked, her voice thick with anger. "You sly, little girl. You should have worked until 6am but you left at midnight, didn't you? I didn't have time to get Leila ready, make sure she was waiting for you!"
She pulled my head back further, the chair lifting at the front. I wobbled, preparing myself to fall. But her vice like grip on my hair kept me hovering in mid-air.
"But I didn't need to worry, not really," she grinned, revealing her too-white teeth. "José was like a gift from the Gods. I was annoyed at first but then I realised how useful he'd become. It was perfect. Line him up as the crazy ex-boyfriend, the drunk who couldn't keep his hands to himself… It was so simple. Once I was told every detail about your history with him, I knew this would work."
"Who the fuck told you?"
"There's no need for that tone, little girl," she tutted. "I know everything about you and José. How your fathers were friends, how you grew up together, separated in childhood but finally reunited in college. I know about him kissing you at a party, how it put a strain on your friendship… I know about him seeing you and Christian together at an art show."
"How do you know this?" I tried to shake her hand from my hair, feeling my scalp being pulled away from my skull. "Who told you that!?"
"José was very angry when he saw you and Christian together," she hummed. After a few seconds she finally let me go, letting my chair slam forward and back onto all fours. She started pacing in front of me, circling like a shark. "You'd moved on. He loves you, you know? It's all he's talked about. Ana this, Ana that…"
"Where is he?"
"He panicked when you hurt yourself," she continued, ignoring me. "He said he just wanted to talk to you but you'd been ignoring his calls. He wanted to apologise. Deep down, woman to woman, I think he was hoping to show you he'd be a far better choice for you than Christian. It's obvious that you and Christian are incompatible. You are worlds apart."
I bit down on my lip, my breaths deepening.
"He ran away," she sighed. "Poor boy. He was terrified he'd get into trouble, that you would press charges. So he ran away with his tail between his legs, like the little puppy he is. It took a while to find him but I did. I tracked him down just outside of Portland in a disgusting, flea-infested motel. It took a little longer to convince him to join me, however."
"What did you say to him?"
"I said I could help him," she rolled her shoulders. "All I needed was for him to get in my car. Once he was in, he was trapped. He was mine, just like Leila. Under my control and at my mercy… I think you would like the way I've redecorated my attic. I know Christian would approve. It's very tasteful."
My mind pulsed hard as I processed her comment.
Christian said it was a bar… She had converted the third floor of her house into a lounge…
"You turned it into a playroom," I breathed out in a rush, bile climbing up my throat. "What the fuck have you done to them?"
"I kept them hidden," she smiled. "Now that I had José, I didn't need Leila but I couldn't let her go. She's too much of a risk. Look at her, she's fucking insane. No, I had to keep her and José together. The cage is only supposed to fit one person but I managed to squeeze them in together."
"Oh my god…" I bowed my head, squeezing my eyes shut. "José…"
"He put up a fight for a while," Elena hummed. "But I found something that helped calm him down. He responded well to morphine but heroin is much better."
"You drugged him," I shook my head. "All this time, you've been hiding him?"
"Ding, ding, ding, she got one right!" She threw her head back and laughed manically. She clapped her hands together. "I picked him up at the motel on the Friday morning after he disappeared. He's been in my care ever since… He's got a gorgeous body, very muscular."
"You bitch!" I screamed. "You fucking bitch!"
"It took some planning but I worked out all the details," she continued. She sat down again, folding her arms. "His car was full of crap. Big photographs of you, all on canvases… and his backpack? Well, that was bursting with photos. Pictures of you and your friends, your family. I don't know what he was planning to do with them, maybe he wanted to make a scrap book? You knows. But it was perfect. It made his hideout look good, don't you think?"
"You set it all up," I mumbled to myself. I could feel my eyes starting to sting. "It was all you. I knew it was you."
"I had some help, of course," she nodded. "But yes, it was me. Well, we needed a back story, didn't we? Make it look like he was responsible for everything. He would need somewhere to stay. Where better than an abandoned store near here? Where he found you that night?"
"What about Joseph Quinn?"
"Oh him?" She waved her hand. "He's an addict and a dealer. That's a dangerous combination. He was offered a reasonable amount of money for his help. He knew he'd get caught but he will be compensated for his trouble."
"You shouldn't have given him that paint." I scowled back at her. "I knew it was the same paint."
"You were supposed to," she nodded. "I was playing with you. I like mind games, Anastasia. It's my speciality."
"The police will find out," I said. "They'll realise it's the same paint."
"How?" She arched her brow. "I changed the labels on the cans."
"They'll check the formula!"
"And the sample they take will come back as Valspar," she smiled. "I'll make sure it does. Everything will continue to point to José. His prints will be found all over the cans. Joseph Quinn said it was José who paid him, despite the fact he's never met him in his life."
"How? How did you do it?"
"I told you, he was paid to lie," she said. "He was shown a photograph of José and told that, when questioned, he had to say it was José who paid him. It was very simple."
"He'll go to prison –"
"He will be compensated. He'll get a reduced sentence. He'll be out of jail by Christmas."
"How did you pick Quinn? Is he a friend of Leila's?" I asked, struggling to look at the crazed woman as she rocked from side to side. "She's on drugs, isn't she?"
"No," Elena shook her head. She let out a small sigh. "Looking at her you would assume she is, but she's clean. Clean but seriously fucked up in the head."
"So you just picked him out at random?"
"Not at random," she said. "You see, Anastasia, you seem to have ignored one very important part of this. The fact that I needed help on the inside. I needed someone who could help me ensure that José is framed for this, prevent it from ever backfiring on me."
I raised my chin and slowly shook my head.
"Doing what I do, running clubs like this," she waved her hand through the air. "I meet a lot of people. Doctors, teachers, judges, police officers…"
Detective Tomovic.
He was found out, investigated for interfering… I confided in him…
I closed my eyes and sunk my teeth down into my lip.
"I have friends in high places," she continued. "Very close friends. I asked for a favour and there was no hesitation. I always get what I want in the end."
"He told you everything I said about José, didn't he?" I sighed. "The detective? He told you everything?"
"He sure did," she nodded, proud of herself. "You should be careful who you trust, Anastasia. You can never be too sure who you're talking to. Who that person knows."
Her claws had been cast wide and deep.
"I know a lot of people in the police, it'll be easy to have the evidence tampered with," she added. "I can make sure the paint comes back as Valspar. But there will be no doubt whatsoever when this is over. When they find you and José together… that's if there is anything left of you by the time they put the fire out."
"You can't do this," I groaned. The gasoline fumes were starting to hit the back of my throat, making it burn. My eyes watered. "You can't."
"I can and I will," she grinned. "Or rather, Leila will. She likes playing with fire. Just ask Christian."
I forced down my nausea.
The irony was bitter and far from sweet. She had turned Leila into the antagonist from my favourite novel… the madwoman in the attic…
Maîtrise will crumble like Thornfield. Engulfed in flames.
"When they find you, they'll put the pieces together," Elena said. "They'll assume that José lured you here, that he had been stalking Caleb and got him to bring you here. It's a shame, really. That Caleb, José and whoever that is will have to pay for your mistake –" She pointed to Sawyer's lifeless form. "But at least you'll have company. You won't be alone when you die."
"He doesn't want you," I jeered. "Doing this will not bring Christian back to you. He'll know you did this."
"In time, he'll come around," she said, so sure of herself. "He always does."
"He hates you more than anyone in this world."
"I think he'll hate José more," she grinned. "He'll have to accept what the police tell him. They will tell him it was José's doing and he will believe them."
"You really think he's stupid, don't you? Do you even know him?"
"I know him better than you," she hummed. "Better than he knows himself."
"He'll come find me," I muttered. "He'll get here. I know he will."
"Even if he does come here, it'll be too late." She twisted on her stool, angling herself in the direction of her office. "I think it's time we got this over and done with. I'm bored with you now. It's a wonder Christian has lasted this long with you. You don't have what it takes to be a submissive."
"I'm not his submissive, I'm his girlfriend," I shot back.
She snorted a laugh. "Oh, please, don't kid yourself. Christian fucks and uses women. He has his fill and then moves on."
I yanked my hands once more, trying to free them. If I could just slip them a little –
"I think it's time you're reunited with your friend," she mused. "I'll warn you, though. José hasn't faired well since he's been with me. He's a weak boy."
"I'll kill you," I seethed. "When I get out of here, I will murder you with my bare hands."
"Now you're just making me laugh," she chuckled. "You are not getting out of here, Anastasia. Not alive, anyhow. Maybe in a body bag."
"If I don't kill you, Christian will –"
"Issac!" She called out. "Can you bring José out now?"
The office door slowly opened, the darkened room appearing empty at first. But after some heaving and grunts, José came into view.
He was strapped to her office chair, restraints covering him from shoulders to feet. His head lolled back, his mouth hanging open. I felt like screaming, my lungs scorching at the state of him.
He didn't look like José anymore.
He was too thin, his hair scruffy and his beard too long. His feet were bare and scuffed, dragging against the floor as he was pushed out of the office. His face was covered in bruises, some darker than others, each looking painful and making my stomach churn.
She had ruined him. She had imprisoned and abused him. All to get back at me.
I dropped my eyes for a moment, unable to look at José any longer. But Elena had other ideas.
"He's your friend, give him some respect by at least looking at him!" She growled into my ear as she pulled my head up, her fingers gripping the back of my neck. "Look at him!"
I snapped my eyes open again but I saw past José and stared at the man leering behind him, his hands firm on José's shoulders.
"Thank you, Issac."
My heart stopped.
"You!" I screamed until my throat burst. "You fucking bastard… You were supposed to be on our side!"
He smiled down at me.
"I simply followed the order my dominant gave me," Detective Wright drawled, staring back at me with unremorseful eyes.
