Page 63 of Truth

“Given enough time, yes. I’ll need to work with the IT department and see if we can figure out whose computer made the changes.”

“Do what you need to do. If it was Karl Walker, then we’ll pass the information along to legal and let them deal with him. But if not, we need to find out who and if they are still working here.”

“Agreed.”

“Do you mind if I keep this?” I asked. “I’d like to look over it a little more. I can bring it by your office before I leave.”

“Of course.”

I spent the rest of my day reading over the report. The more I went over the numbers, the more I was convinced it was Walker. All the withdrawals coincided with those Lily made but in roughly half the amounts. It’s no wonder Sheila hadn’t noticed them. Anyone would think they were payments for supplies. The only thing that signaled that wasn’t the case was the account number the money was charged to. It was a single digit off the one Lily used.

A knock on my door caused me to look up. It was Jamie. “Sorry, Sir. I thought you’d like to know it’s almost five.”

Glancing over at my computer, I realized she was right. I thanked my assistant, laid the report aside for a moment, and checked my e-mail. Unfortunately, there were a handful that needed my attention before I could leave. Once they were taken care of, I shut everything down, slipped my jacket on, and grabbed the report from my desk.

By the time I made it to Michael’s office, he was already gone. Laying the report directly in front of his chair, I left. After the day I’d had, I couldn’t wait to get home to Brianna.

Brianna

While Stephan was at work, I spent some more time exploring his toy drawer. The rope was soft as I wound it around my hand. I remembered how Stephan secured it at my father’s wrists and wondered if he’d do the same thing to me.

There was a man at a party Ian had taken me and Alex to who had tied intricate knots all over this woman’s body, and then he’d used even more rope to hoist her up into the air. I hadn’t gotten to see what happened after that. Ian hadn’t been happy I was watching and forced me to spend the rest of the party with my head on the floor under his boot. I refused to think about what had happened later.

A chill ran though me as I pushed the memory aside and glanced up at the ceiling to see if there were any signs of hooks where ropes could be attached. There was nothing.

Moving on, I picked up what to me was the scariest thing in his drawer. It was shaped like a penis. I held it in my hand, trying to remember what Stephan told me. It was just a thing.

As I touched it, I realized it didn’t feel all that much like a real penis. I knew male parts came in all shapes and sizes, but this was harder, stiffer. There was no give to it. When I touched Stephan, I could feel him pulse in my hand. This... thing... was lifeless.

After spending over an hour looking at his toys, I wasn’t as scared as I had been. I still wasn’t sure about his using them on me, but he was right—they were just things.

I was a little nervous what would happen after dinner. For the last two nights, Stephan had made me write in my journal about very unpleasant things. Last night, I’d had a nightmare about a time I’d been with two of the men Ian had loaned me out to. I’d been chained to a bench, unable to move. The two men took turns ramming their penises down my throat while spitting on me and calling me names. I was a thing to them. Just a thing.

When I’d woken up screaming, I’d thought I was there, tied to that bench. It was only Stephan’s soothing words that brought me back to the present and calmed me. He always made everything better.

I was setting the table when Stephan walked through the door. He looked like he’d had a rough day, and as soon as he saw me across the room, he hurried toward me. Before I knew it, we were kissing, and I almost burnt dinner.

To my surprise, Brad showed up at seven. He usually came only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so I was shocked to see him. He was there to show us some self-defense moves. Stephan had mentioned it, but I hadn’t expected things to happen so soon.

Stephan and I changed into workout clothes and then headed upstairs to the gym.

“We’ll start with something simple. Stand facing each other.”

We did as instructed, and Brad came behind each of us and adjusted our positions slightly.

“Now, Stephan, grab hold of her wrist as if you are going to try and drag her away.”

Even though I knew it was coming, I gasped when Stephan wrapped his hand around my wrist. There was a combination of uncertainty mixed with excitement. The memory from the night before of his hand holding my arms down as he’d thrust into me had me thinking of things that had nothing at all to do with self-defense.

“Anna?”

When I glanced over at Brad, he was looking at me with a knowing smirk on his face. I blushed.

He chuckled and shook his head.

“I want you to twist your wrist, like this.” He demonstrated using his own hands.

I tried what he said, but nothing much happened.

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