"I understand perfectly."
"Do you? Because the inner circle has been watching. And some members are concerned that you've gone soft. That you're too focused on making your acquisition comfortable instead of breaking her to your will. That you're treating her like a person instead of property."
The words land like slaps across my face, each one precise and calculated.
"I haven't gone soft," I say through gritted teeth. "I'm simply being strategic. A broken woman is useless. A willing one is infinitely more valuable. She'll do more, endure more, give more if she believes she's choosing it."
"Strategic. Interesting word choice." Victor pauses, and I can hear the smile in his voice. "The spring gathering is in three weeks, Sutherland. March fifteenth. The inner circle members bring their acquisitions. Show them off. Demonstrate their... training. I assume you'll be bringing yours?"
My stomach turns. "That's the expectation."
"Yes. And we'll be watching very carefully how she responds to you. How well you've established control. How thoroughly you've claimed ownership. She should be devoted, compliant, eager to please you in front of others. Should demonstrate without question who she belongs to."
I'm quiet, my mind racing.
Three weeks.
Three weeks to make Eden into what the Consortium expects.
Three weeks to break her while pretending to liberate her.
Three weeks to turn her into something I promised I wouldn't make her.
"Make sure she's ready, Sutherland," Victor continues. "Make sure there's no doubt who she belongs to. Because if you can't demonstrate adequate control, if she shows any hesitation or resistance, if you've failed to properly train her—" He lets the threat hang in the air. "Well. The inner circle doesn't accept failures. And we have very long memories."
"She'll be ready," I hear myself say.
"Good. I'm looking forward to seeing your... methods in action. Goodnight, Sutherland."
He hangs up.
I sit there, phone in hand, Victor's words echoing in my head like a curse.
Show her off. Demonstrate training. Establish control. Claim ownership.
Everything I've told Eden I wasn't doing.
Everything I've promised her I was different from.
But I'm not different, am I?
I bought her at an auction.
I keep her locked in my house.
I'm using her trauma and vulnerability to make her want me, to make her dependent, to make her choose the cage while believing it's freedom.
The only difference is I'm pretending it's for her benefit.
Pretending I'm helping her heal when really I'm just grooming her to be acceptable to the Consortium.
To perform her devotion to me in front of men who see women as property to be used and displayed.
To prove I'm one of them.
Fuck.
I set down the phone and pour another scotch.
