“Betsy.”

The voice is barely a whisper, and when I start to open my eyes, I fully expect to see nothing but inky black staring me in the face.  I find that I’m wrong though.  No, instead I see...I see Preston, and sunlight.  I squint, trying to get accustomed to it after so many hours in the dark.  I hear birds singing too, and feel a soft breeze sweeping over me.

We’ve arrived, and I know we’re still outside, but we won’t be for long.

“Grmph.”  I try to say it, but I’m still gagged and when I glance around, I find that he hasn’t even taken me out of the car yet.

“We’re here.” He gives me a crazy smile.  “It’s such a beautiful day too.  I pulled over and slept at the side of the road so you’d be able to see the outside during the daytime.  I knew...I knew it would be a while before you’d be able to come outside again.”

“Grrf.”

“It was a sedative.”  He tells me, obviously being able to tell that I’m still delirious.  “I’m sorry...but I couldn’t tell you about it.  You won’t be drowsy much longer, and I have some food inside.  Here, I’ll help you.”

He doesn’t remove the gag, or the handcuffs, or the anklets.  Doesn’t unfasten what I now know is another belt fastened around my upper body.  He just grasps me by the arm, and pulls me feet first out of the back seat,  he allows them to dangle over the side, before they slowly touch the grassy earth below. Then I’m pulled up, and Preston puts the mouth of his gun to my back before forcing me to walk along a winding path that eventually leads up to a very immaculate looking house.  I see...I see construction trucks parked over to one side, that are obviously vacant.  They say Hillway Construction.  They’re not here today...and I know he planned it this way.  It’s the perfect day for him to get me inside without being seen.

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” He sighs, as he pulls me to a stop in front of the house.  “Three floors, and a sub level that runs half the length of the house.  We’re completely secluded.  The next house is about fifteen miles from here, and I’ve already had an electric sensor installed that will tell me if anybody is coming on or off the property.”

I nod.

“Let’s get you inside.”  He rubs my arm a little, before willing me to shuffle further along.  We walk up the steps together, and to the door, which is key coded.  He puts his gun away, and moves in front of me to enter the pin, but I’m so delirious right now, that I wouldn’t be able to make out the numbers anyway.  Then it slides open, and I’m pushed inside.

“Six bathrooms, five bedrooms,” he begins, as he unfastens the belt from around my body, allowing me to move my arms once again.  “Pool, sitting room, grand room, game room, office.  Professional kitchen.  Rustic Oak flooring and paneling throughout,” he tells me, once he slides the door closed behind us.  “State of the art lighting, and motion sensors.  Voice activated, computerized surveillance and monitoring.  Once the construction is complete, if you call out from downstairs, I’ll be able to hear you from anywhere in the house.  It’s all here Bets, and there’s even more to come.  It’s all for you too, once I’ve gotten you past...everything.  Eventually, I hope to not have to use any of these things anymore...dismantle them all.  It will take years, unfortunately, but it’s all for the best...a good investment.”

“Grmph.”

“Oh here, let me take that off...”  He moves his hands around the back of my head, and unfastens the gag, shoving it in his pocket.  “There, better?”

“Thank you,” I whisper, stretching my jaw out the best I can.

He smiles.  “Come on.  I’ll show you where you’ll be staying for now.”

I try to tug away at the mention of my new prison, but he keeps a firm grip on my arm and ushers me along.  We go through most of the downstairs area, and down through the finished basement, before we reach another door.  When he opens it, there’s nothing but a closet, but he quickly finds a keypad hidden amongst the shelves, and presses some numbers into it.  Then the wall slides aside, and...and that’s when it’s revealed to me.

It’s as big as a studio apartment would be, with all the comforts of home.  There’s a comfortable looking bed, and on that bed, are four leather straps.  Two padlocked to the headboard posts and two padlocked onto the posts at the foot of the bed. I know they’re there to give Preston the option to tie me down quickly, if he feels the need.  I hope to God it won’t be a nightly thing.

I hope to God he’s only planning on using it as a punishment...for when I break the rules.

I’m terrified of what those rules might be.  Terrified because I don’t know if I’ll be able to abide by them all.

I also take the time to notice a flat screen television, private bathroom, desk with a small laptop, a walk in closet that I can already tell has been filled with dozens of outfits.  There’s also a small kitchenette with table, and when I gaze up at the ceiling, I see a camera positioned in each corner of the room, ready to spy on my every move.

“Great isn’t it?”

I just stare at him.  “Are you...are you going to strap me down to the bed at night?”

He sighs.  “Only if you’re bad, Bets.  It’ll be shut up tight down here, so there’s no risk letting you move around on your own, and the chains make for an extra bit of security.  Don’t think about those belts.  Pretend they’re not even there, okay?”

I just nod a little.

He leads me over to the bed, and sits me down, running a hand through my hair.  “I’m...I’m so glad we made it here without a problem, Betsy.”  He gives me a long, sensual kiss that I’m too afraid to back down from.  “I really think this is going to work out.  In fact...I think that tonight we should celebrate.  The workers will be here tomorrow, after all, and I’ll have to keep you locked up down here for the week.  You won’t see much of me, except for care time.  How about I help you shower, get settled, and changed? Then we can watch a movie and eat a little something.  I’ll bring down some things I bought at the store, and cook for you.  I was planning on making your favorite...Chicken Marsala.  How does that sound?”

I look down at my lap.

“Bets.  Now come on, I’ve made a lot of sacrifices.  The least you can do is thank me.”

He’s serious, but I can’t get the words out just yet.  I’m still shocked that I’m even here...in a place like this.  It seems like it would only exist in a movie or TV drama but Preston has made it a reality with his money and his father’s power.

Somehow, I know Eli knows what’s going on, and he’s fine with it, so long as he wins his case.

“I can strap you to the bed right now,” he threatens.

“No!” I say, as he pulls out the key to my chains, an angry expression on his face. “No...Preston...please...” I sob.  “Please don’t! I’ll...I’ll do whatever you want!”

“Then say what you’re supposed to say,” he mutters, staring at me with dark, empty eyes.

“It...it’s all wonderful, Preston,” I choke out.  “Thank you...thank you for everything.”

He sighs, and finally smiles again.  “Much better, Betsy.” He kisses my cheek and winks at me before getting up, and holding his hand out for me.  I take it, and he helps me into the bathroom, where he unlocks all the chains and helps me take my clothes off, kissing my neck and my body when I’m completely naked.  Then he...then he lays me down on the floor, and makes me have sex with him.  It’s not rough and he doesn’t try to hurt me, so I don’t try to stop him.  After, he runs the shower, making sure it’s at the right temperature before letting me in.  There is a shackle on the floor of the tub, and he cuffs my left foot down, before he’ll allow me to do anything else.  
Then, he watches me intensely as I wash myself, like he’s hungry for more, and I have do hold back my urge to vomit.  Then, when I’m finished, he unlocks the shackle and wraps me in a towel, getting me warm again as we head back into the main room.  He picks out a dress for me.  This one is new, pretty and expensive looking.  He makes me put it on after I get my underwear on, and accentuates it with one of my diamond necklaces.  Then, the chains are back on, and he stands back and smiles.

“Such a pretty picture.”

I grimace slightly, and then he kisses my face all over, seemingly oblivious to my feelings.

“I’ll be back soon, gorgeous.”

He walks away, punches the keycode so the door will slide open for him, and then he disappears back into the real world.  I’m left standing there, at a loss for words.  This can’t be happening, I keep telling myself.  I can’t be...I can’t be his prisoner.

But I am.  More so than I ever was back in the brownstone, and I feel the last ounce of hope slip away from me.  I’m not going to be able to grab his gun.  The only time I’m not handcuffed is when I shower, and he’s taken every precaution to prevent me from moving around.  I know escape is impossible.

This is going to be my life.  I sacrificed it...so Justin would be okay, and I guess a part of me can be happy knowing that he’ll have his life back, even if...if this is what happened to me.

I can’t hold that against anybody but myself.

With that in mind, I shuffle to the bathroom, lift the toilet seat, and vomit into it.
***********
It took a week for me to fall into Preston’s routine.  He still has that chime.  There’s different ones for each event of the day. It goes off in the morning, to wake me up, goes off fifteen minutes before noon, so I can prepare to have lunch with him.  It goes off an hour before dinner, so I can shower and make myself up for what’s usually a candlelight dinner and forced intimacy down here in the dungeon, as I’ve so affectionately named it.  It also goes off at nine thirty at night, signifying that I have an hour before I have to be in bed.  He’s told me several times that I have to obey the tones.  That it’s part of the second step.  If I’m not out of bed, or if I don’t shut the lights out when it’s time, I’m punished.  I messed up last week, overslept because I’d been crying for hours in the darkness the night before.  He gagged me and finally used those leather belts to secure me to the bed.  He left me that way for the entire day, to teach me a lesson.  My arms and legs felt like they were about to fall out of their sockets by the end of it...he pulled the things so damn tight, because he was angry.

I could barely walk for days, and the chains made my raw, chaffed wrists and ankles burn every time I would move my body.

Needless to say, I haven’t overslept since.

In fact, I barely sleep at all.

I’ve spent a month in this place.  I’ve been counting, and it’s been two months since he took me away from my life.  That means Justin has a month left until his court date.  I try not to think about him so much, because I...I miss him.  I miss him so much that it hurts.  I miss his smile, the way his eyes will light up when he’s with me, like nobody has ever made him happier.  I miss the way he can just...hold me, and make me feel like I didn’t have to worry about work, or politics...or anything else.  He allowed me to experience true love, even though I couldn’t face it, couldn’t admit it.

I’ll always regret it.  Regret how I walked out on him that night I said goodbye.  If I’d just listened, tried to work things out with him, I doubt any of this would have happened.  I was too hell bent on protecting him though, and what I realize now is that...Justin was ready to take complete control of his life.  If he wasn’t, he never would have asked me to stay.

If nothing else, I hope he can still hold his head high at the hearing, and get Ava back.  It will show Eli that even though he endorsed my kidnapping, it couldn’t guarantee he would win his case.  I hope that son of a bitch rots in hell.  The more I think about it, really think about it and analyze all of this, I know that Preston isn’t totally to blame.  Yes he snapped, and yes he did this to me, and yes he’s fucking crazy, but...his father provoked it, told him it was okay...that I deserved it, and that’s the biggest reason I’m here right now, locked away forever.

Preston allows me clocks and calendars, says he doesn’t see the harm in it.  It’s insane how fast the time dwindles away here.  Sometimes he lets me upstairs for a while, but I spend most of my time locked away down here.  Preston says its part of step two, and I don’t try to argue with him. I get lost in mindless television shows, always some kind of comedy or sitcom that forces my mind away from my situation.  Sometimes, I’ll watch all day, aside from the tones and Preston’s phone calls and visits.  It’s Netflix, not cable.  He’s blocked that out, so I can’t connect myself with the real world anymore.  He says I don’t need to worry about what’s going on out there, that it’s too commercial, will give me too many ideas, and so...I have to depend on him for any scrap of news from the outside world.  Sometimes he’ll tell me about world records, or sports, but that’s the extent of it.  

I make use out of the little laptop on the desk at times.  There’s some games and he’s granted me access to two websites: Bloomingdales and Nordstrom.  I’m allowed to shop at my will, he’s loaded his credit card into both sites, but I’m never in the mood.  I’ve tried to access other parts of the web of course, but it’s all password encrypted.  Once or twice it’s popped into my head that if I ordered something, a delivery man would have to come to the house, but I know even if I screamed, he wouldn’t hear me.  Nobody can hear me down here.  Preston told me the inner walls are constructed of reinforced steel, with a layer of soundproof foam over them, and then three layers of top quality concrete.  He’s always watching me too, on video, and soon...when the construction is complete, he’ll be able to hear whatever I say with the simple flip of a switch.  He tells me once he has that in place, if he hears me screaming or crying, he’ll punish me.  I’ve been working on myself since he told me that, been trying to figure out ways to relax and hide my emotions deep inside.

It’s so hard though, because I’m a prisoner, now more than ever.

I hope when I’m promoted to step three, I’ll be allowed to join the human race again.

A chime goes off, but it’s not a normal one.  It’s only two o’clock, and I’m no where near ready for dinner.  I rise up, off the bed, and stand several feet away from the sliding door, waiting for him to come through it and crucify me for not being on my game.  When he finally comes in though, he doesn't’ look angry.  There’s an excited gleam in his eyes.  He gets this way when he’s about to introduce something new to me, and I know it has to be big.  

I pray it’s something that can help get me out of this.

“I have a surprise for you.” He walks forward, and I plaster my smile on for him, before he kisses me.  “You’ve been so good this month.  You’ve really put all your effort into coping with everything.  The construction is nearly done, and today, they just finished something special I designed just for you.  Are you ready to see it?”

“That sounds wonderful.”

He takes my hand and I shuffle along, out the door, up the stairs, back into the regular part of the house.  It’s changed so much since the day he pulled me through the front door, and I realize that I’ve been shut away in the dungeon for entirely too long.  Every window has a sheet of chain link fencing covering the outside and inside...no need for keypads, and each and every door that I see has a keypad installed where the doorknobs should be.  Oh, and there are cameras.  Cameras everywhere.  It tells me he’s almost ready to move me upstairs, and while that gives me a little bit of hope, I know escape would be very difficult.

The last room we travel through is the kitchen.  Every cabinet is accessed by lock and key only, and the refrigerator is pin pad accessible.  He’ll use it as an intimidation tool when I’m moved up here...keeping me from food unless I follow his plan.

“You’ll earn the code to the refrigerator in time,” he reassures me, when we stop in front of the back door.  “Don’t worry about that, Bets.”

I nod.

“Now...please don’t struggle.  You’ll have to wear the gag while I show you this.”

“What? Why...no!” I shake my head rapidly.  I hate that thing.  “I won’t...I won’t make noise...I promise! ”

He sighs and gives me a sad look as he reaches into his pocket and takes out the belt he uses to gag me.  I whimper once more, try to fight him off by keeping my mouth shut, but...but then he takes out his gun, and shoves it up under my chin.

“Please don’t make this harder than it has to be,” he tells me, sternly, but sadly.  “C’mon sweetheart.  This hurts me more than it hurts you.”

I’m terrified, and when I hear him cocking the gun, I immediately open my mouth.  He pushes the wadded rag into my mouth, and I moan slightly when I feel him securing the belt portion behind my head.

I don’t understand, and I start to panic.

Is he...is he going to kill me?

“Relax.  I’m not trying to hurt you,” he reassures me, trying to calm my muffled cries.  “It’s just a precaution.”

I realize he’s put the gun away and I take a deep breath through my nose, in and out, trying to make sense of what he’s doing.  He’s showing me something...right.  There’s no danger...

There can’t be.

He enters the pin that slides the back door aside, and he leads me out into...into a sort of cage.  It’s constructed out of more chain link fencing, only leaving room enough to poke my fingers through.  It’s long, and roomy, runs half the length of the back of the house.  There’s patio furniture and magazines laid out on a small table, as well as a small refrigerator in the corner.  It would be a very normal, relaxing place if it wasn’t for the walls of fencing all around.  I realize there’s no way out either.  There’s no door, the only way out is to go back inside the key coded interior of the house.  The yard itself, is large, but a huge stone wall has been built all around the property.

Nobody will be able to see me sitting out here.

Even so, it doesn’t make the urge to scream leave me.  Surely, if I was loud enough, somebody would have to hear me?

Right?

“I know you want to go outside.”  He smiles, wiping the tears off of my face.  “This way, I can keep an eye on you, and you can relax out here, when you’ve earned the time.”

I look all around, my eyes wide.  Even above me, I see that the ceiling is constructed from fencing,with a piece of metal laid over the top to keep the rain out, and of course, there’s a camera watching me.

“No need to thank me, Bets.” He kisses my cheek gently.  “I told you that I was doing all of this for you.  And just to let you know, the people who built this aren’t concerned about what I’m doing with it.  They’re a private construction company about to go bust.  They’ll do whatever I ask them, as long as they get paid.”

Of course.

He pulls me back inside, and key codes the door shut.  “Going out there is a privilege you’ll have to earn, Betsy.  Act out, and you won’t see the sun for months.  Behave, and some day, that cage will get torn down.  That’s why I chose fencing.  It’s easy to remove on my own with the right tools.  You won’t be able to toy with it.  I have a device you’ll wear that will shock you slightly if you get too close to the fence.” 

He reaches around the back of my head, and unfastens the gag, pushing it back into his pocket when he gets it off.  “An hour a week, is all you’re going to get for now.  I’ve decided to spread it out, so you’ll go out twice a week for a half hour on Mondays and Fridays.  For the first few weeks, I’ll still have to gag you.  I’ll give you a pass on the way you acted today when I put it on, because you weren’t expecting it.  Next time, there will be serious repercussions if you try to fight me off.  Once you’re out there, the camera will let me know if you try to take it off too, and well...I don’t want to tell you how bad things would get if you tried that.  I hope you understand why I have to do it.  I have to make sure you won’t scream.  If you behave and sit quietly each time, I’ll consider letting you go out there without it on.  This is just another hurdle...getting you acclimated to the outside.  You understand don’t you?  It kills me to do this...all of this, to you, because I love you.  But, I feel that we’re making some progress.”

“Yes.”

“Yes what?”

“Y-yes...I understand.  It’s...it’s wonderful, what you’re doing, Preston.”  I look at the ground as I say it.  Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I feel something start to splinter and crack, like a wooden shelf with too much weight on it.  “I’m so thankful.”

A few more weeks of this and he won’t need to gag me anymore.  I’ll be too far gone to care what he’s done to me, or what he’s planning to do next.

Although, I know that’s his ultimate goal.