Chapter 2 – The Cage with No Key
The first thing I noticed was the silence.
no traffic, no voices just this heavy quiet pressing on my ears the only sound was my own breathing fast and shaky like I had been running.
my head hurt a dull pounding as I opened my eyes slow
white ceiling chandeliers
I sat up too fast as my chest was tight, this was not my room.
The sheets were silk smooth and cold on my skin and it made me shiver. The room was bigger than any hotel I had ever seen. Cream walls, heavy curtains shut tight, no light , no way to see outside.
my fingers gripped the sheets hard, my stomach twisting like something was very very wrong.
i ran to the door and pulled the handle but it didnt move it was locked
my chest felt tight like i couldnt breathe i hit the door again and again my fists pounding on the wood
"Let me out! Do you hear me! let me out!" my voice cracked raw.
There was movement outside. The door didn't open, but I heard a low male voice, deep. "She's awake."
My stomach dropped so fast it hurt, my hands froze on the door and my whole body was shaking. I backed up without thinking and my back hit the cold wall.
I stepped back fast looking for something to use as a weapon but there was nothing, just a bed dresser and a chair by the window. My phone was gone.
The lock made a clicking sound.
I froze, my breath caught in my throat.
The door opened and for one horrible second I thought it was Lorenzo. I opened my mouth ready to scream.
But it wasn't him.
It was my father.
my chest clenched so hard it hurt, I couldn't tell if I was more scared or shocked I just stared at him unable to move
"Dad?" My voice cracked. "Oh my God, Dad …help me. They kidnapped me, these men, they"
He raised a hand and I froze like someone had cut the words out of my mouth. His face wasn't relieved, it was calm, too calm.
"Aurora," he said slowly like he was speaking to a stranger, "you're safe now."
"Safe? Safe?" I stared at him, shocked. "You call this safe? They locked me in here! What the hell is going on?"
He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "You'll stay here for now. It's… complicated."
"Complicated? You're my dad, for God's sake. Why didn't you call the police? Why didn't you"
His eyes went hard and he said, "We don't call the police on matters like this."
Something cold turned in my stomach. "Matters like this? What are you talking about?"
He sighed, rubbed his forehead like I was a problem he had to deal with, not his daughter in danger. "Aurora… I made a deal."
My body went rigid. "A deal? With who?"
The door behind him opened again and this time it was Lorenzo.
He stepped in casually, hands in his pockets as if he hadn't kidnapped me at gunpoint hours ago. His face was unreadable, eyes cutting to me then to my father.
"She knows," Lorenzo said flatly.
My father didn't deny it. He didn't even look ashamed.
"Dad?" My voice shook. "What deal? What did you do?"
He finally looked me in the eye, and I wished he hadn't because there was no guilt there. None.
"I owed money," he said bluntly. "A lot of it. To men you don't want to meet but Lorenzo offered to take the debt… in exchange for you."
I stared at him, my heart slamming into my ribs. "You… you traded me?"
"It's not like that"
"It's exactly like that!" My voice broke. "You sold me like I'm… property. I'm your daughter!"
he stepped closer and spoke softer like it would calm me aurora, "listen, you're safer here than out there, those men would have killed me maybe even you….. Lorenzo is your protection".
I laughed, it came out sharp and broken.
"Protection? He killed someone in front of me! That's your idea of safety?"
Lorenzo finally spoke, his voice calm but sharp enough to cut through the room. "That man was going to kill your father, you shouldn't have been there to see it but what's done is done."
I turned to him with fast anger burning through my fear. "You think that makes it okay? You think that gives you the right to"
"You'd rather be dead?" he said, looking right at me. "Because that's what happens if I let you go now."
my hands curled into fists at my sides.
"You're a monster."my voice cracked but I didn't care I wanted it to hurt him
He did not move or even looked angry, just calm like this was nothing."You'll learn soon enough I'm the least of your worries."
My father turned away, already done with me. "You'll marry him, Aurora, that's the agreement and you'll do it without causing trouble."
I stared at him, mouth falling open. "Marry him? You can't be serious."
"It's done." His voice was final, like he was talking about a business contract, not my life.
"Dad, please " I stepped forward, tears stinging my eyes. "Please don't do this to me. Please."
He didn't look back.
Lorenzo stepped aside, letting my father walk out, then shut the door quietly. The lock clicked again.
Silence.
I turned slowly to face him, breathing hard. "Do you even hear yourself? You think I'm just going to stay here and be your wife?"
"You don't have a choice." His voice stayed the same . "But you'll be alive, That's more than you'd get outside that door. There are worse people than me, Aurora, People who'd cut you into pieces to send your father a message. I'm giving you something they wouldn't."
I stared at him as my chest was rising and falling fast. "And what's that?"
he came closer, his eyes on me not even blinking. "A chance to live."
he turned and left before i could say anything the lock clicked behind him.
I stood there, my fists shaking as my whole body buzzed with anger.
They thought I would just accept this?
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand as I tried to slow my breathing but no, I wasn't going to accept anything.
I looked around the room again searching for anything I could use then my eyes went to the dresser by the bed.
I pulled open the top drawer. It was empty. I opened the next one, socks and shirts, then the third drawer.
There.
A letter opener.
I picked it up feeling how heavy it was in my hand, It wasn't much but it was sharp enough.
i put it under the pillow and pressed the cold metal on the mattress
I sat on the bed, staring at the locked door as my jaw was tight.
They thought I was something to trade. They thought I would stay here like a good girl.
They were wrong.
Because tonight… I was going to find my own way out.