Chapter 3 - The Golden Cage
The air in the room grew heavy enough to crush bone.
Ronan Cain did not wait for an answer.
He barked a command, and within seconds, Sadie was marching down the sprawling West Wing with a massive bodyguard at her heels.
Ronan’s private study was a cavern of dark walnut wood and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the turbulent gray waters of the bay.
He sat behind a massive desk and opened a slim manila folder that already bore Sadie’s name.
He read her pristine background check aloud, noting her lack of debt, her clean rental history, and her perfect record.
Then he looked up, his eyes boring into her soul.
He told her that in his world, a record that perfectly clean was always a forgery.
Sadie forced her breathing to remain steady, keeping her eyes respectfully lowered to the bridge of his nose.
Ronan pointed to the line on her resume that claimed she was fluent in sign language.
He demanded to know exactly who had taught her.
Sadie delivered the lie she had rehearsed a thousand times in the dark.
She told him an elderly deaf neighbor had taught her in exchange for help with groceries.
Ronan stared at her in deafening silence.
He didn't call her a liar, but the dark amusement in his eyes confirmed he didn't believe a single word.
He slammed the folder shut.
He announced that she no longer worked for the staffing agency.
She now worked directly for him, her salary would be tripled, and her only job was to keep his mother alive.
But there were strict conditions.
She was forbidden from leaving the estate during the day, she would be watched at all times, and she would speak to no one about what she saw.
He added one final, terrifying caveat.
He promised to have his private driver take her home every evening right on time.
He mentioned, with chilling casually, that he knew she had a little girl waiting for dinner.
Sadie’s blood turned to ice.
He already knew about Poppy.
He knew exactly where to strike if Sadie ever stepped out of line.
She had no choice but to nod and accept the golden cage he had just built around her.
As she turned to leave the office, Ronan spoke one last time.
He told her to meet her new permanent shadow.
May you like
The massive bodyguard stepped into the light, and Sadie’s knees nearly buckled.
It was the same scarred enforcer who had hunted her through the rain on the night Liam Cain died.
