Page 37 of Maddox

Which made sense. I just didn’t want to.

“How about,” Daddy said, “you tell me a story about how Daddy can vanquish the evil king and what he needs to do?”

I perked up a little. I loved stories. I could do that. I reached over for the little gray bear who’d been going to watch a movie with us. He needed a name. “Once upon a time there was a lonely princess who didn’t have any friends.”

MADDOX

She was killing me. Didn’t have any friends?

“But she was trying hard to be friends with people, so she believed the wicked sorcerer when he said he wanted to be her friend…her Daddy,” Clare continued in her sing-song Little voice.

I listened intently as Clare wove her tale, my heart breaking for the "princess" in her story who was clearly herself.

"But the sorcerer wasn't really a Daddy," she continued, her voice dropping to a whisper. "He was taking princesses for the evil king. The king likes to watch from his castle far away. He sees everything through magic mirrors."

I felt a chill run down my spine at her words. This might confirm our suspicions about Rice being involved, but the "magic mirrors" part was new information. Were there cameras in Blakeny's operation? Was Rice watching remotely?

"Did the king ever come to see the princesses?" I asked gently.

Clare shook her head. "No. The king never leaves his castle. He just watches. The sorcerer tells the princesses that if they're good enough, maybe the king will choose them. But that's a lie too." She clutched her bear tighter. "No princess ever gets chosen. They just...disappear."

My blood ran cold. Disappear? Were there other victims we didn't know about?

"Princess," I said carefully, "do you know what happened to the other princesses who disappeared?"

Clare's face scrunched up in concentration. "The sorcerer would get angry sometimes. He'd say a princess wasn't good enough for the king. Then the next day, she'd be gone." She looked up at me, her eyes wide and frightened. "I was good, so I didn't disappear.”

“Princess,” I said carefully. “Did you see the other girls?”

She nodded. “But they were kept in the naughty room. I only had to go there once.” She started humming to herself and I kept my mouth closed. Firstly, because she’d had enough, andsecondly because I was stunned. The naughty room? Then a god-awful thought came to me. What if we hadn’t gotten all the girls out? We knew Blakeny and Rice were deep into human trafficking. Dear God, there could have been other girls in the house we didn’t know about.

I kept my arms around Clare, trying to process what she'd just revealed. Other girls, a "naughty room" we hadn't known about, and almost a confirmation that Rice was involved. This was critical information, but I needed to handle the situation delicately.

"Thank you for telling me that story, princess," I said softly, stroking her hair. "You're so brave and such a good girl for sharing."

Clare looked up at me, vulnerability written across her face. "Are you cross with me, Daddy?"

"No, sweetheart, not at all," I assured her quickly. "Daddy's just thinking. How about we watch that movie now? You can pick anything you'd like."

Her face brightened immediately. "Can we watch Tangled? It's my favorite."

"Of course we can, princess." I helped her off my lap and guided her to the sofa, making sure she had the bear, a cup of juice, and a princess snuggly throw. "You get comfy while I set up the movie, okay?"

As Clare snuggled into the cushions and I tucked the blanket around her, I quickly sent a text to Gideon:

"Need to talk ASAP. New info from Clare. Possible other victims we missed. Any chance you can come here?"

I set up the movie and sat down next to Clare, who immediately curled up against my side. As the opening scene began, I felt her relax against me, her earlier distress seemingly forgotten as she became absorbed in the story.

I held her close, my mind racing with the implications of what she'd revealed until I saw a text from Gideon.

“On r way. ETA 30.”

I was hoping Clare wouldn’t mind me talking to the guys in the kitchen while she stayed here, but as I saw her eyes drooping ten minutes later, I knew she would be asleep by the time the guys came.

Twenty minutes later I’d made the coffee when Gideon and Dion both walked in. “She’s napping,” I said quietly, and I mixed their coffees and told them what Clare had told me.

“Eric scanned the feeds,” Gideon said equally quietly, knowing I didn’t want to disturb Clare, and took a seat at the breakfast bar. “It’s sitting empty, but there’s no way anyone is still there.”

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