I didn’t sleep that night.

As if the stone cold floor of my cramped cell wasn’t already too uncomfortable to sleep atop, the fear of what Candace had planned kept me up for hours in constant paranoia, waiting for someone to open that door. I leaned against it and listened to the impatient tapping of my fingernails against the hard steel, the only sounds I had to keep me company. The bare metal surface against my naked sent shivers down my spine. I’d never been so naked. Not even the quietest of nights alone in the woods could make me feel this small.

Unsure of the exact time, I knocked on the door for the umpteenth time in hopes of reaching the other side. “Are you there, Candace? Can we talk about this?” Again I asked and again received no answer. Paused to wait for a response that never came, I pounded on the door, stopping only once my hand was as red as my shame with pain. “I’m not sorry. I know you’re angry and disappointed, but I won fair and square.” I said. Being forced to apologize for an accomplishment I was so proud of was the worst part. Taking it back didn’t soften the blow any, but maybe if I retracted my apology she’d demand to hear another. “I hate you so much…”

“You’ve said that already, and I repeat, I hate you more.” Her voice came from the cell behind me, heartlessly distant through the filter of the intercom. “My answer hasn’t changed.”

“Candace, please!” I spoke to the ceiling like I was addressing some sort of angel. Wherever the speaker might have been, signs of it were hidden invisibly within my cell. “I’m tired, I’m hungry, and I’m in a lot of pain. Let me out!”

“Maybe if you behave, I’ll actually feed you. Though if you ask me, you could probably do with some dieting. Really, you are looking a bit bloated. You were quick to hog out on my entire fridge. I’m surprised you’re already hungry. You’re like a pig in a pen. Getting in your cell is the one good thing you’ve done since you got here, I can’t let you out. That’s where animals like you belong after all.”

“I do not! And I’m not bloating either, my face is just swelling because you hit me! Quit calling me a pig!”

Candace giggled to herself through the speaker. Her taunts were so amusing to her that she couldn’t help it. “Oh but it suits you! You’ve always had an ugly pig face, but now you look like a zombie with those bags under your eyes!”

“Uh huh, sure, just last night you were drooling over how gorgeous I am.”

The scoffing from the other end of the microphone made me smile, but only for a moment. “Don’t get snarky with me, Sophia.”

“You fucking started it!”

“I’m allowed to do whatever I want because I’m above you.”

“No you’re not! You’re a psycho lunatic asshole who throws pissy fits whenever you don’t get your way. If anything, I’m above you!”

“Says the naked one talking up at the ceiling.”

“Come say that to my face and we’ll see who ends up on the floor.”

“You were the one who walked in without a fuss. We both know you wouldn’t be talking smack anywhere but from the safety of your new box.”

“That’s it. When I get out of this thing, you’re so done for. Now open up.”

“So you’ve still got some fight left in you after all. I’m impressed, most girls would be curled up in a ball crying their eyes out by now.”

“Unfortunately for you, I’m not like most girls.”

“Not yet, you aren’t. But you’ll get there eventually.”

“If you think I’m gonna just fold and give in to your demands, you’re dead wrong. You’ll never get away with this.”

“That’s funny. Because I feel like I already have. Besides, it’s not like you would hit me even if you could. Or else where was this fight last night?”

“I told you already. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Yes you do.” Candace said, letting her microphone pick up the silence that followed. “You’ve already hurt me.”

For some reason, I couldn’t help but hang my head. Candace sounded sad. She never sounded sad. “I didn’t mean to.” I said. Plainly put, I felt bad for her. And talking to her robotic voice wasn’t helping. “Come on, Candace. Open up and we can talk about this. Give me another chance, please?”

The intercom chimed one last time. “One more chance.”

I waited a few moments for more before I heard the sound of clicking coming from the wall between my cell and her bedroom. The small metal hatch was opening for the first time. The panels slid open individually, creating an opening large enough to reach through, but not big enough for a whole person to squeeze through unless all of the panels were opened at once.

And at last, from the other side of the hatch, Candace spoke to me in person again. “I’ll give you one more chance to behave.”

I took the bundle of clothes I was then given and with little examination began slipping them on before slowly realizing what they were. “You’re kidding. A french maid uniform?” Sensing that this could only be a joke, I shoved everything but the undergarments back. “You realize they didn’t even wear these stupid things, right?”

Candace opened the hatch another notch and pushed them through again, creating an opening big enough to comfortably peer through. “But you will.”

“Like hell I will.” Through the gap, I curled my fist into her nightgown and dragged her towards me by the chest. “I said I would make it up to you, not work it off. If you want someone to keep your stupid haunted house tidy, you’ll have to hire someone else. I am not going to be your maid.”

Candace merely squirmed. A slowly blinking light on the fancy bracelet around her wrist capitalized her annoyance as she wrapped her fingers around my wrist. In just a moment I was letting go, forced to release her as she squeezed my muscles to part. “Oh look, I can do that too. See?”

Like I had, she pulled me in with one arm. My body slammed into the wall between us. I recoiled. Candace had her other hand through the opening and around my throat before mine could break free. Not until I was choking would my wrist be freed, and only out of what felt like pity. What I wouldn’t give for the wind to spit in her face, had I been able to more than wheeze. It took both hands grasping at her arm and both feet pressed against the wall to break free, the leftover force of which sent my back slamming into the wall behind me. Flight.

“As I was saying. One last chance. Do you want to run that past me again, Miss Cavalier?”

“Bite me, you bitch.” My hoarse voice whinnied. “Keep your second chances.”

“Be that way, then.” Candace droned. Her spying blue irises were the last lights penetrating the avenue as she disconnected our two domains with the slam of the hatch. “See if I care.”

“I said bite me!” I shouted, slamming my fist against the fading warmth of steel.

She slammed back from the other side, now screaming at me. But from a distance. “I fucking will!”

This wasn’t the Candace I knew. I wouldn’t accept that she could do something like this. Kidnapping wasn’t any sort of payback. My Candace would never. Something must have possessed her. When I first met Candace, she was sweet to me. She was that way with everyone. A nice girl with sympathetic goals and a warm smile. A sore loser maybe, but not this. Candace was a sweetheart.

Except when the cameras were off, that is. Rolling onto my side, I blanketed myself with the dress she’d left me and closed my eyes. I shivered awake hours later. When I did, it was cold. I must have fallen asleep, because the cell wasn’t freezing last I remembered it being. Every memory I had of Candace were like my words, now a fog. So this was how the ice queen shed her fur. “You bitch…”

“Are you ready to do as you’re told, Sophia?”

“Depends on what you want from me…”

“For now, I just want to talk.”

I stopped. Teeth chattered. Breath turned to mist in the air. My cheeks were warm, and not just from the heat of anger. “Okay…” I said. Clothes still wrapped around me, I leaned my back against the door. She did the same on the other side. I would negotiate, although upset, because I was still willing to talk this out.

“You’re from California, aren’t you?” Candace asked.

“San Francisco.” I answered. “You?”

“New York, originally.”

“Didn’t take you as a big apple girl. Why’d you move?”

“My dad wanted out mostly.” She said, “I don’t suppose you know anything about the mafia?”

“Not really. I only remember the broad strokes, like something about crime families.”

“The Five Families. So you have heard of them?”

“I guess I have.”

“What else do you know about them?”

“Like I just said, nothing. I didn’t even know there were five of them until you said so, honest.”

I paused to let my teeth chatter for a few moments while I tried to remember anything more. My breath was turning to fog in the frozen air. Candace’s sudden interest was confusing to say the list, but I decided to humor the topic. She was the only way out of here after all. “I’m trying to think, but that’s all I know. Why do you ask?”

“Because you’ve pissed off some really powerful people, Sophia Cavalier.” Candace said. “And you’ll need to know a lot more than nothing if you plan on surviving them.”

“…What do you mean?” My head spun at a mile a minute, racing my heart as it tried to process what she was saying. “…Who?”

Candace only giggled.

“Why, the Five Families of course.”

The cold hard truth dawned on me in waves. My body turned on a dime, backing as far away from the door between us as I could, frozen in her gaze as the headlights slowly crept in. “You…”

“It is awfully chilly in here, isn’t it?” My tormentor remarked through the small open slit built into the door. “I didn’t realize just how cold it could get.”

“Cut the crap, St. Clair. What the hell do you want from me?”

“I’ve already told you what I want from you. But the families, well…” Candace paused for dramatic effect. “They want you dead.”

“But that’s insane. What could I have done to piss off five whole mafia families when I’ve never dealt with any of them before?”

“You do have a point. They aren’t all mad at you. Just the one.”

Sweat began to bead on my worried skin despite the arctic climate of my holding cell. “Your father didn’t move to get away from the mob, did he?”

“Daddy was none too pleased to find out his darling little angel of a daughter lost to a filthy orphan girl.” She said, “It pays to have a family sometimes. Wouldn’t you say?”

Already I was on the verge of tears. “Shut up…”

“Awwww… She’s so scared of me now .”

“I am not! I don’t care if you’re some Godfather’s daughter. I’m not scared of you!”

“The look on that grimy little face of yours tells me otherwise. Or maybe you’re just jealous? After all, my Daddy loves me…”

“How could anyone love a demon like you?”

“I don’t know. How come your parents didn’t love you?”

My fingers clenched the unworn white gown she’d gifted me tighter and tighter. I was always a tough girl, I could take a little bullying. It’s not like it was anything I hadn’t heard before. “How do you even know about that?”

“Because I know everything there is to know about you, Sophia Cavalier. First through last names, addresses, phone numbers, birthdate, job history, social security, account passwords, best friends, teachers, foster parents, real parents, ex-boyfriends and the nicknames they used to call you. I own you now… My little Collie…”

“Don’t call me that…”

“And why not? Because I don’t deserve to say it? Or because you don’t deserve to hear it?” Too worked up to respond, and to Candace’s delight, I averted my eyes. So she continued. “Those are the tears I’ve been wanting to see. You’re just a weak, pathetic, little crybaby. Aren’t you, Soph?”

“Don’t call me that either…”

“And here I thought you said I’d never see you cry. You must really want Poppy right now, huh? Your dear old foster mommy made that for you. Because your real parents couldn’t stand to look at you.”

“That wasn’t my fault…” I stammered back the tears. “This isn’t my fault…”

“Oh but I warned you this would happen. You knew not to mess with me, girl. I gave you your chance. You were the one who spat in my face and told me I’d never be the world champion. Don’t lie to yourself, Sophia. Everything is your fault. You know that.”

Unable to keep from bawling any longer, I hid my face in the fabric I’d been using as a blanket and began to sob. Tears pouring out of my eyes threatened to freeze onto my pale skin. So long ago now was the last time I’d cried, I couldn’t recall it. It wasn’t like me to show this level of emotion to another human being- if Candace could count as that anymore- but it felt cathartic in a way.

“What happened to that rebellious spirit of yours? Don’t feel like challenging me anymore?”

“You win, okay?!” I shouted with all the anger, fear, and sadness I could muster. “There. I’m crying. Are you happy now?!”

Minutes went by. Candace sat there as I curled up into a tearful ball on the stone floor, crying. She could see my pain now. I didn’t have to hold back anymore. It was a relief to know I’d lost that fight. But still she held, patiently waiting for me to calm down before speaking to me any further.

“Kill me…” I cried. “Please… If you want to kill me, just do it already…”

“I don’t want to kill you, Sophia.” Candace said. “I wouldn’t have gone through all of the effort of bringing you here if I wanted you dead. I’m not trying to kill you. I’m trying to spare you.”

There was just enough sympathy in her delivery to leave me second guessing. It was laughable, but she was right. Candace was calculating. If she wanted me deleted, I would be.

I wiped away my tears so I could see her. Something about Candace was off kilter. Her hands shot up to readjust the neck of her nightdress, and the way she quickly looked away made me believe she had been staring. She wanted to see me cry. Yet when that moment came, she stopped. It was as if she suddenly changed her mind.

“Put those on and I will turn the heat back up. Don’t and I won’t be feeding you tonight. I’ll return in a while to check on you.” Candace said, and with that she finally rose to her feet and exited the closet, making sure to close the way behind her.

Crawling towards the door of the cell after her, I examined my clothes. The dress was black and frilly, with an apron sewn onto the front and a pair of white strings that tie around the waist to tighten it. Candace was cold. Born and raised on the west coast, I could handle the heat, but I hated the cold. Unable to take any more of that from her, I took a deep breath and put it on. Slipped it over my head, flattened the skirt out, and tied the gown into place. The last thing I wanted was to be Candace’s servant for the rest of my life, but I gave my best attempt to look presentable to appease my watchful overlord.

I took a seat and braced for her verbal abuse. The cold stone bench built into the wall wasn’t any softer than the floor, but leaning against the cell door with my knees tucked to my chest was never comfortable.

And sure enough, the room slowly began to warm. Seems my captor opted not to check up on me in person. Good considering that I wasn’t sure I could bear seeing her again today. So she could see me, no surprise there. Having spent this long on camera naked, I felt silly for not getting dressed sooner. But more importantly, Candace couldn’t take her eyes off me.

The room remained quiet, however. My captor simply watched me, saying nothing, doing nothing. There was no telling how long I’d be kept waiting until she gave me what I was promised. But I was above begging a kidnapper for help or mercy.

I cracked my knuckles to break the silence; I wanted to make sure she was listening. “So what if I was a foster kid. I’m still the best player in the world.” I said. “At least I was taught not to bully people. You’re just a cockroach trying to get under my skin. And a cockroach is a cockroach, no matter who her family is. Like father, like son.”

Not moments later the intercom came back on, and Candace sounded as irritated as I hoped. “What did you just call me?”

I smirked. “A cockroach?”

“You may live in tomboy land, but I am a real woman. Never call me my father’s son again.” She hissed. “And don’t you dare insult my father either.”

If it wasn’t so damn cold in here we would have seen smoke fuming from my ears. Candace always flustered me, but today she cranked it up higher than the thermostat could go.

Candace sighed in exasperation, pausing for a few moments before giving up. “But I’m glad to see you’ve finally put on your uniform. Does this mean you agree to my terms?”

“Hell no! Next time you show your stupid face I’m gonna kick your fucking ass!”

“I see you’re back to being stubborn and bullheaded.”

I jumped to my feet in anger, still looking up at the camera as I stomped towards the door. “Open this fucking door or I’ll make your life a fucking nightmare…”

Candace simply laughed. “What are you going to do, whine at me? News flash: I’m in control now, and you aren’t leaving that cell until you agree to my terms.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” I growled furiously, winding my right arm back and pounding my fist into the door. The impact made a loud thunk, echoing through the entire cell, but the steel barrier was still intact.

“See what I mean, Cavalier? You may feel safe with that door to shield you, but you’re completely powerless in there. You couldn’t make a dent in that thing if you had a million years!”

Determined to prove her wrong, I pounded my other fist into the door. Knuckles cracked with pain, but I continued beating with them both, wanting nothing more than to wallop my captor in the face.

“Are you even listening to me anymore, or have you lost your damn mind?! You can’t break that door!”

She was right, but I ignored her. My knuckles bruised and every punch hurt worse than the last, but it was all I had left. There was nothing else I could do but throw myself at the door with all the strength I could muster. So that’s what I did.

“I… As much as I’d love to see you in pain- I think I’d prefer to inflict that pain myself.”

I dropped to my knees and pressed my head to the door, unable to keep it held high any longer. My curled hands still thrusted into the metal barrier, forehead bumping against it with every pound.

The normally cold Saint Clair demeanor turned hot. “You’re going to hurt yourself you imbecile! You’ll break your hands before you ever make a scratch!” She screamed. “Please stop… This is getting difficult to watch…”

“What do you care?!” I screamed back. “It’s not like they’re any good for holding, now are they?!”

I’d never felt so helpless before. So powerless. So weak. Tears were streaming down my cheeks for the second time today, yet still I was unable to stop myself from pounding against the door.

But as I kept going, the door suddenly began to open. I fell to my hands and knees, wincing in pain as my bruised skin contacted the cold stone floor beneath me. I looked up, and for a brief moment my eyes met Candace’s, standing on the other side of the door, staring down at me.

Then came another impact, as Candace slammed her foot into the side of my head, sending me hurdling back towards the ground, unable to hold myself up and bruised fists.

“Threaten me all you want, Cavalier. But I refuse to watch my trophy damage itself before my eyes.”

I breathed heavily and rose to my knees, struggling to regain my composure but ready to defend myself this time. “I told you to bite me.”

“Shut your frothing rabid mouth and get up!” She growled angrily, bringing her other foot to my face, kicking upwards, smacking me directly in the mouth. “Are you going to kick my ass now, Soph?! Didn’t you want to fight me? I’m right here!”

In an instant I watched her expression change from smug and condescending to shocked and fearful as I jumped to my feet with inhuman speed, slamming my nearly blackened fist square against her nose, slamming her head backwards. I winced loudly, clutching my pained fist, it was covered in blood now.

My tormentor rubbed her nose, hands as red as mine as it spilled from her nostrils. “Lucky shot…”

She grinned eagerly, stepping towards me and grabbing me at my wrist, spinning me around and slamming my back into the wall opposite the woman’s bedroom. Before I could move, she was slamming her own fist into my chest, stopping my breath. I slid to the floor once again, unable to breathe. The last thing I saw before everything went fuzzy was the bottom of Candace’s shoe soaring towards my face.

My world was still spinning when I awoke. The door was still wide open- and I tried moving towards it- but I was stuck in place. Whining to myself, I took a few more moments to come to my senses, looking around the once again freezing cold cell.

Candace was sitting on the floor opposite me, her legs crossed, leaning back against the secondary hatch. She had a bandage on her nose, and a stylish blue winter coat around her torso. I was not so comfortable, however. Luckily, she hadn’t stripped me again, but I was still clad merely in the maid uniform Candace had given me. There were now ice packs pressed against my knuckles, hands wrapped together to keep them in place. Even worse, my arms were suspended above me and splayed out across the wall, wrists bound by shackles built into the stone surface to keep me restrained. I was kneeling- unintentionally- against the wall, my legs being about the only part of me not bound by cold heavy chains.

She made a point of not making eye contact with me as she spoke- but from experience- she’d just finished staring at me. Instead she stayed focused on the platter of warm cooked food in her lap, bringing a mug of what looked like hot tea to her lips to drink from for a few moments. “Don’t even think about kicking my dinner over or you won’t be getting any.”

I took a few moments to catch my breath, a pain in my chest stinging me whenever I tried to breathe. “As if you’d feed me anyways…”

Candace shut down that train of thought immediately. “I told you already. I’ll feed you if you behave.” She was clearly exasperated, and no longer having very much fun at all. Occasionally she’d reach up to rub her clearly pained nose, a bruise visible under the bandage. “If I’d known you were going to be such a hassle, I would have rethought my entire plan…”

“Did you really expect me to bend over like a helpless little girl?” I asked calmly.

“I had hoped for as much… But I guess you’re more of a little orphan Annie type…” Candace began giggling to herself, and I couldn’t help but join her after that comment.

“Endlessly optimistic, you mean?”

“Stubborn.” Candace smiled, picking up her spoon and tapping the bottom of the handle against my forehead. I shook my head, smirking at her for a moment before my smile quickly faded.

“I used to think you were a good person, you know. Especially during those months leading up to the championship. I tilted my head upward, meeting her eyes with mine. “But you really are a terrible awful monster…”

Candace set her spoon down and swallowed her food. “The world is a heinously cruel and unfair place… Where horrible things happen to all sorts of people for little to no reason at all. You never really get to control your destiny. I didn’t choose to be born the way I was.” Her gaze trailed downwards for just a moment, back to her food in drink, finishing them both and setting them aside before forcefully squeezing her thighs together and tucking them to her chest. “I was born into my family, and you were born into yours. You just have to go along with what the world decides to throw at you…” She said, “Even and especially when it decides to throw the bad things at you…”

She smiled at me, and finally I saw a part of her I recognized. “And right now, the world is throwing everything it’s got at you… I’m throwing everything I’ve got at you… You can either fight against what’s in store for you- or you can learn to live through it- live with it, and maybe you’ll find something good on the other side.”

“Candace…” I interjected. “What is this about?”

“You already know what this is about, dear. I’ve not been subtle. As punishment for humiliating me like you did this past year, I have gone to great lengths to make you my slave. All you have to do is follow my every order and your life will be spared.”

“And you expect me to trust you?” I cried. “…How am I supposed to trust someone who only wants to hurt me?”

“Because that’s not what I want. Sure, I want to hurt you. But that’s not the only thing that I want… I want my revenge, yes. But if I wanted you dead… You’d be dead…”

“You keep talking like you want something more from me than just ruining my life. What are you trying to say to me? What is it? What more do you want?”

“I want to make you a part of the most powerful family in the world.”

My heart skipped a beat, suddenly feeling butterflies in my chest, able to breathe again. “A part of… your family?”

Candace nodded, but frowned. We sat there in quiet for a moment, and I admired the way her deep blue eyes glistened in the dim light of the cell. “You and I can never be, Sophia Cavalier. Not the way you want us to be. I’m the heiress to one of the most powerful organizations in the world. And you, well…” She hesitated for a moment. “You’re a nobody. Plain and simple. You were born in your world, I was born in mine. Even if I wanted to, my father would never approve.”

The truth was always the hardest pill to swallow. “Then why bring me here at all?”

“Because my father doesn’t merely disapprove of you. You shattered my dreams and broke my heart. He wants you dead.” She said, “But I think there are better ways for you to learn your lessons, and that’s why I’m going to be the one to whip them into you. Because there are other ways to make you mine. You have two choices.”

I took a deep breath, nodding in compliance.

“One. Resist. Remain as you are now, keep fighting, keep losing, and starve to death in this cold cell- alone and afraid. Or...” She paused for a few moments, letting me soak in everything she was saying. “Two. Submit. Give up your old life. Forget your name, everyone you knew, everything you owned- and start again. Right here. Right now. A second chance. Do everything I say, and begin a new life… With me… As my slave…”

I bit my lip, staring at the ground in dismay, watching more tears fall from my face and soak into the floor beneath me, unable to control my emotions. I pulled on the chains that bound me as hard as I could, knowing I could never break them. “...Why would I want to be a part of your family?”

“Because you have no family, Sophia…” Candace reached towards me, tenderly placing her hand on my cheek, lifting my head to face her. “I have eyes and ears everywhere… and I was prepared to face anyone who tried to come find you… but…” She sighed, and for a moment, looked like she might cry. “Nobody is looking for you… Are they?”

A terrible weight in my chest dragged me down as she asked, “You don’t have anyone… Do you?”

I sniffled, trying to smile as I spoke, tears flowing out of my eyes as I shook my head. “No…” I finally admitted. “What’s the point of having a useless championship title if no one cares to come to my funeral, right?”

Candace placed her other hand on my cheek. “Poor girl…” She picked my head up, holding it in both hands, staring directly into my eyes. “You have to make your choice… Resist or Submit...”

My voice cracked, barely able to speak the words. “Submit… I submit…” I said with a sinking heart, breaking down. “I’ll do what you say. Please… I can’t…”

“Hush now.” Candace silenced me. For a moment I expected the worst, but what she came at me with was care. She pulled me in and held me close to her as I sobbed, stroking my hair as I bawled. “This isn’t going to be easy for you. I expect you’ll try to escape from my grasp, but…” Candace reached up and cleared tears from her eyes I didn’t know were there before gently rubbing my back. “I have plenty of defenses against that.”

We sat there for a few moments in silence as I calmed down, she removed the wraps around my fists, helping me regain my composure before she rose to her feet, standing over me.

“Tomorrow you will begin your work as my housemaid… I will feed and house you, and in exchange you will do everything I say… or you will be punished further.”

“What about right now…”

“Right now… is a test of your resolve, try to get some sleep while chained to that wall, and be ready to perform exceptionally for your first day.”

“Okay…”

“The proper thing to say is- Yes Ma’am.”

I sighed, my cheeks turning pink as I blushed. “Yes Ma’am….”

“Very good… And one more thing before you go to bed…”

She leaned down to make eye contact with me one last time. “From now on… No mentioning what you did, the championship, or anything like that… I don’t want to hear the name Sophia Cavalier ever again.”

“But… that’s my name …”

“Not anymore it’s not.”

“I… I don’t understand…”

“Chloe.” She said without a moment’s hesitation. “From now on, your name… is Chloe.”