Kylie POV:
The room was cold, stark, and smelled faintly of antiseptic and despair. Four white walls, a single bed, a tiny, barred window high above. They had taken Jodie. Separated us. Just as Julian had intended.
A tray of unappetizing food, a grey slop and stale bread, was pushed through a slot in the heavy door. My stomach churned. I couldn't eat.
From the other side of the wall, a muffled voice, Julian's, floated through. "Fanny, darling, are you comfortable? Darryl, is your room warm enough?" His voice, solicitous and concerned, was a cruel mockery.
Then, Fanny' s voice, hushed but audible. "Julian, dear, about Jodie... the doctors here, they're suggesting a more… aggressive form of therapy. They call it 'desensitization therapy.' To help her overcome her 'delusions' about you."
My blood ran cold. Desensitization. I knew that term. It meant breaking a child's spirit, conditioning them to accept abuse, to believe their fears were irrational.
"Whatever it takes, Fanny," Julian said, his voice devoid of emotion. "Whatever helps her 'adjust' to our new family dynamic. And ensures she doesn't disrupt my public image."
A small peephole, previously unnoticed, opened in the door. I saw Fanny's eye, cold and gleaming with malicious satisfaction, peering in. Then Darryl's, a cruel smirk on his face.
My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic bird seeking escape. Jodie. They have Jodie.
Through the peephole, I saw it. A small, sterile room, eerily similar to mine. Jodie was strapped to a chair, her eyes wide with terror. Darryl and Fanny stood before her, reenacting the scene at the stairs, Darryl feigning a fall, Fanny shrieking accusations.
Jodie whimpered, her body writhing against the restraints. She was forced to watch, to relive her trauma, over and over.
"This is therapy, Kylie," Julian's muffled voice explained, a chilling calm in his tone. "To help her understand the 'truth' of what happened. To break her attachment to your 'unhealthy narratives.'"
Darryl, emboldened by Julian's twisted approval, lunged at Jodie, his small fists flailing. He punched her in the arm, then hard in the stomach. Jodie cried out, a raw, desperate sound that tore through me.
"Stop it!" I screamed, pounding on the door until my knuckles bled. "Leave her alone, you monsters!"
But my screams were met with silence, the thick walls absorbing my desperation.
Then, a sickening thud. Jodie' s chair had been pushed, violently. She fell backward, hitting her head against the hard floor. Her small body lay crumpled, still.
Julian' s voice, suddenly laced with a hint of concern, but quickly masked. "Fanny, perhaps that was a bit… zealous. We don't want to leave any visible marks."
Jodie was rushed to the infirmary. I heard the frantic footsteps, the hushed voices. My heart was a frozen lump in my chest. They killed her. They actually killed her.
A wave of crushing despair washed over me. I had failed. Again.
But then, a memory. A stark white newspaper headline from the other timeline: "Julian Maynard: The Compassionate Guru Forgives All." And the blurry photo of Darryl, the pyromaniac.
No. Not this time. This time, I had to survive. For Jodie.
I took a deep, shuddering breath. I had to play their game. I had to pretend to break.
A few hours later, the door creaked open. Julian stood there, flanked by two burly orderlies. His face was carefully neutral.
"Kylie," he said, his voice softer now, almost coaxing. "Jodie is stable. She'll be fine. But she needs a different environment. I've found a special facility for her. A place where she can truly 'heal,' away from your… influence."
My blood ran cold. A "special facility." A mental institution. His ultimate control.
I nodded slowly, my eyes downcast. "Yes, Julian. Whatever you think is best. I… I understand now. I was wrong."
His eyes widened slightly, a flicker of surprise, then satisfaction. "Good. Good. I knew you'd come around." He stepped closer. "And once Jodie is settled, you can serve Fanny and Darryl. They need a stable presence, a… nurturer."
My stomach churned, but I forced another nod. "Of course, Julian. Whatever you need."
He watched me, his gaze analytical. He was searching for any sign of resistance, any hint of my true thoughts. I kept my face blank, my body language submissive.
My complete capitulation seemed to disquiet him. He clearly preferred me fighting, raging, so he could dismiss me as unstable. My docility threw him off.
"Very well," he said, a hint of unease in his voice. "You're free to move about the house, Kylie. But your phone, your car… those will remain confiscated for your own good. Fanny and Darryl will keep an eye on you."
He turned to leave, then paused, his gaze lingering on me. "Kylie, darling," he said, his voice low, almost intimate. "It's been a long time. Too long." He stepped closer, his hand reaching out for mine. "Perhaps tonight, we can… reconnect. For the sake of our family. Our future."
My skin crawled. I knew what he wanted. To fully assert his dominance, to remind me of my place, to ensure his "control" was absolute.
"Yes, Julian," I said, my voice soft. "Tonight. But… could we do it in the dark? Please? It's just… I'm not ready for the light yet. After everything."
His eyes gleamed, a predatory glint. He misinterpreted my request, seeing it as my brokenness, my desperate need for his touch. My surrender.
"Of course, my love," he purred, a triumphant smile on his face. "Anything for you." He squeezed my hand, then turned and left.
Fanny, who had been watching from the doorway, her face contorted in a sneer, glared at me. "Don't think you can get him back, Kylie. He's mine now."
I met her gaze, a cold, calculating resolve in my eyes. "Fanny," I said, my voice unwavering, "Julian just agreed to spend the night with me. In the dark. Alone."
Fanny's eyes widened, a flicker of fear, then jealousy. "You're lying!"
"Am I?" I asked, a tiny, cruel smile playing on my lips. "Go ask him. Or better yet, just observe. I'm sure he'll be very busy tonight."
Fanny stormed off, her jaw tight. Good. Let them fight each other.
Later, as the house grew quiet, I found Darryl lurking in the hallway, clutching a new video game console.
"Darryl," I said softly, my voice devoid of anger. "You know, your mom and Julian… they' re talking about sending Jodie away. To a very strict school. And if that happens, Julian will be very upset. He' ll yell at your mom. And maybe… he won' t buy you any more new games."
Darryl' s eyes, usually so smug, flickered with uncertainty. "What are you talking about?"
"Julian' s mad, Darryl," I whispered conspiratorially. "He wants Jodie to be quiet, to leave. But if she goes to that school, everyone will know what Julian did. It will make him look bad. And when Julian looks bad, he gets very, very angry."
Darryl nervously fiddled with his console. "So… what do you want?"
"I want to help Jodie," I said, my voice earnest. "And when Jodie is safe, Julian will be happy. And when Julian is happy, he buys you lots of new things. But if Jodie goes to that school… no more new games, Darryl. Maybe he' ll even take this one away." I gestured to his console.
Darryl' s eyes widened in horror. "No! He can't!"
"He can," I said, my voice firm. "Unless you help me. Where is Jodie?"
He hesitated, then pointed vaguely towards the back of the house. "In the old nursery. The one with the padded walls."
"Thank you, Darryl," I said, my voice filled with false gratitude. "You're a very smart boy. And a very helpful one."
He watched me, a mixture of confusion and self-satisfaction on his face.
I found a spare key to Julian's office, a secret stash I remembered from the other timeline. Inside, I found his emergency cash, his spare phone, and a small, discreet GPS tracker. Always prepared, Julian. Always prepared to escape.
I looked around the lavish, opulent house, a cage disguised as a palace. My past, my prison.
But not anymore.
I took one last look at the place that had been my gilded cage, the place where my daughter had suffered. No more.
I took a deep breath, and with Jodie' s name a silent prayer on my lips, I walked out. Towards the unknown. Towards freedom.
