Chapter 14 - The Golden Cage
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A week passed. Owen's fever broke, and the twins returned to their happy, babbling selves. Clara was given a suite larger than her entire apartment back home, filled with silk clothes and expensive perfumes she hadn't asked for.
She was no longer treated as a maid. She ate at the dining table with Damian. The guards bowed their heads when she walked past. But she quickly realized the truth: she was a prisoner.
Whenever she walked toward the front gates, two armed men politely blocked her path. When she asked for her phone, she was told it was destroyed for security reasons.
One evening, Clara stormed into Damian's study. He was sitting behind his mahogany desk, reviewing shipping manifests.
"I want to see my mother," Clara demanded, slamming her hands on the desk. "She's in the hospital in Providence. She hasn't heard from me in two weeks. She thinks I'm dead."
Damian didn't look up from his papers. "Your mother has been moved to a private facility in Switzerland. The best oncologists in the world are treating her. The bills are paid in full for the next five years."
Clara’s breath hitched. "You moved her without my permission?"
Damian finally looked up, his dark eyes locking onto hers. "I secured her. The Moretti family is still hunting me. If they found out about you, they would use her to get to me. She is safe."
"I want to leave, Damian," Clara said, her voice cracking. "I saved your sons. I did my part. Let me go."
May you like
Damian stood up slowly, walking around the desk until he was inches away from her. He reached out, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"You are the mother to my children now," he whispered. "You don't leave."
