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Playing games with this man was exhausting. “Very well, I’ve seen it. May I get to work?”

“I know you think you’re special, Serena, but you’re not. Everyone here has seen these rooms. And now you have, too.”

She knew it wasn’t that simple but just another manipulation and taunt in Kingsley’s endless games. Instead of taking the bait, she kept quiet and allowed him to come to terms with not getting what he wanted.

“Very well. Feel free to head upstairs to begin your work. At noon, I’d like you to join me for a brief meeting before you have lunch. I have something else to show you. Perhaps you’ll find it more interesting.”

And now she had her answer. Showing her this room had been a precursor. Was he going to tell her to do something, and if she refused, this would be her future accommodations?

Knowing there was nothing she could do until she was faced with whatever he had planned, Serena turned and started up the stairway. When she was halfway up, Kingsley called out, “See you soon, Serena.”

She didn’t bother to acknowledge his words. Giving this man the satisfaction of a response wasn’t going to happen. In a few hours, he would be back to taunting her. Until then, she was going to continue to do her dead-level best to find a way to burn his evil organization to the ground.

Hands in his pockets, Colton paced his office. He was strangely displeased with Serena’s response to the torture room and prison cells. She hadn’t seemed disturbed or even surprised. He told himself that, unlike his other guests, Serena had been involved in black ops for several years. According to his sources, she had aided in rescuing people who’d been held captive, so it was likely she had seen similar dark scenarios. He knew from experience that a less seasoned person would have been appalled at the sight.

His protocol when training a new addition to his household was to introduce them to the torture room three weeks into their stay, though he’d shown it to Serena earlier than usual. Terrifying them at the beginning was counterproductive. Every person he’d brought here was already horrified at their circumstances and filled with terror that if they did something wrong, a loved one would pay the price. As time passed, they would draw comfort from the knowledge that as long as they did what they were told and produced solid work, then they could achieve some level of normalcy, ensuring their survival. Having them get too comfortable was always the worry, which was why he gave them a friendly tour of the torture chamber. Smelling the despair and seeing the stains on the floor, the tools of the trade, and the stark bareness of the cells were usually enough for them. He’d had more than one person run, rather than walk, back up the stairs. A few had openly cried.

Serena was seeing it earlier than others had for a couple reasons. She had blatantly challenged him on more than one occasion, and while he enjoyed their repartee, she needed to know what would happen if she went too far. Secondly, he had something to show her today, something significant. If he got the slightest inkling she was lying, then she might be sleeping in a different, much less comfortable place tonight.

Chapter Thirty

Rattled but trying not to show it, Serena was glad to see today’s assignments waiting for her when she entered her workspace. As usual, Smith was there to answer any questions and provide assistance. She mumbled some sort of excuse of wanting to get started immediately. Smith thankfully left her alone. Even though she knew Kingsley could see her on camera, she had no choice but to stare at the wall for a few moments and recenter herself. You don’t just leave the place where your husband was once tortured, knowing that some of the blood she’d seen on the floor was his, and just go about your day. She wasn’t built that way. So she sat, she stared, and she gathered the armor she needed. This evil man…this mission would not break her.

Finally feeling more like herself, she turned her mind to the work before her and was pleasantly surprised at the challenge being presented. Not only would it require her to write a long string of code, but she would be able to send OZ a significant amount of intel. Her earlier messages had been shorter and more succinct. Even though she had developed the program and trusted that it was working, she was smart enough to know that there were other people just as smart or smarter. Each time she sent a message, she was more than aware that the anomaly in the code could be discovered, and her game would be up.

She wanted to alert her team that she believed that the majority of the staff were either being coerced to work here, or they had been trafficked. When OZ arrived to rescue her, she wanted them to understand that not everyone was their enemy. Multiple victims resided here.

She had just finished her first few lines of code when Kingsley stepped into the room. Surprised, she glanced at the time on the laptop. It wasn’t yet eleven o’clock, so why was he here now?

“Serena, please come to my office.”

“I thought we were going to meet just before lunch. Did something change?”

Kingsley raised a brow at her question. She had apparently overstepped, but she would continue to test the man. She already knew he had a cruelty that would match the most sadistic sociopath, but she didn’t yet know how far she could antagonize him before he lost control. She didn’t intend to enrage him, but there was a gleam in his eyes that made her think he might have impulse-control issues. If that was the case, did he fly off the handle every time things didn’t go his way? She wasn’t planning to test him enough to set off an act of cruelty like what he’d demonstrated with Maggie, but she did want to measure his instability. At some point, she might need to use his emotional immaturity against him.

She frowned at him and then flicked her gaze down to her laptop. “I’m in the middle of something. Can it wait?”

Shock flared in his eyes. She was sure he didn’t get challenged a lot. Instead of reprimanding her, he cocked his head and gave her his trademark smile. “You’re not afraid of me, are you?”

“Of you specifically? No. The people you work for? Very much so.”

In an instant, the smarmy smile was gone, and a hard gleam entered his eyes. “Having you fear me isn’t important, but you will show me respect, even if it’s fake. When I tell you to do something, I expect immediate compliance. Just because your family is protected doesn’t mean I won’t punish someone in their place. Based upon your reaction to my discipline of Maggie, having someone—anyone—hurt because of your bad behavior would greatly upset you.”

So he knew she had witnessed his cruelty to Maggie. That was no surprise. With cameras everywhere, she was sure very little escaped his attention.

Knowing he was waiting for her to respond, she stood and nodded. “You’re right.”

Seemingly pleased by her answer, he backed away from her desk. “Now that we have that settled, please come to my office so I can show you something that I think you’ll find very intriguing.”

With no choice but to do as he said, Serena followed Kingsley to his office. As usual, she saw no one as they walked through the mansion. When she was alone or with Smith, the mansion seemed to be teeming with people, but she’d noticed that when Kingsley was around, everyone seemed to be elsewhere. She wondered if that was at his command or if people just wanted to be out of his sight as much as possible. She had a feeling it was the latter.

“Here we are.” Unlocking the door with the eye scanner, he pushed it open and walked inside.

Serena followed but stopped cold at the image on the wall screen. An unconscious Sean lay in a hospital bed, tubes and monitors attached to him on both sides. Her heart cried out at the pain he had suffered—was likely still suffering—thanks to the evil fiend standing in front of her.

Before she could demand an answer, Kingsley raised his hand. “Don’t be alarmed. This footage was taken only a few hours after he was dropped off at the hospital. As you know, he is no longer there.

“A few hours after his arrival, the cameras went down, and the hospital suffered a total blackout for several minutes. When the lights came back on, your husband had disappeared.”