Page 83 of Shattered Silence

They dropped into the water, and it was warm and silent and perfect. Layla opened her eyes and saw a blurry version of the universe; a million brilliant white diamonds shifting and swirling, as if her entire world had just turned fluid.

Her hair swam around her face. The feeling of pure immersion reminded her of the many hours she’d spent swimming laps in the her private pool in the sky, suspended over the edge of a towering condo in the desert. That had been pure luxury.

This was a trillion times better.

Whoosh.

They came up for air, and Enki kissed her. “Ever since I found you, my craving for solitude has disappeared.”

“The lone wolf finds a mate,” she quipped, letting him pull her toward the far edge of the pool, where the starry bottom became continuous with the soaring window. Suspended in nothing but water, it felt like she were actually floating in space itself, only this was warm, and Enki was beside her, wrapping his slick wet arms around her as they drifted through infinity. “You know, back on Earth, I was the sort of person who could never get a moment’s quiet. People were constantly wanting to know what was happening in my life, as if my existence could somehow substitute for theirs. But the scrutiny was never meaningful, like yours.”

“And you accepted this?”

“At first, it was thrilling. Exciting. The money was phenomenal. When you’re young and stupid, you get sucked in by certain things. I couldn’t believe my success, because I was just a…” she searched for a word he might understand, “a commoner. My former manager spotted me jogging in the street and brought me in for auditions because I fit a certain profile, and I was athletic enough to do the necessary stunts.”

“You entertained the masses… for credits.” Enki spun her around, curling his powerful legs around her body, locking her in place. Somehow, he was able to keep both of them afloat with slow, undulating movements of his hands and feet.

“On Earth, we have this thing called Virtuariwood. It’s an entire industry built around telling stories—movies—through virtual simulation. People want to feel like they’re living the experience. They want to feel like they’re right there in the scene with you. I was a mega action star, until…”

Enki radiated absolute patience as he waited for her to explain the strange events that had led to her downfall on Earth. The gentle caress of his thumb on her lower back told her he wasn’t angry; wasn’t judging her.

“This manager of mine… Damien. He discovered me, made me famous, connected me with the best directors and scriptwriters in the world.”

Enki hissed softly as he clutched her just a little tighter.

“At first, he was so kind and charming, and I was young and naive. He had a partner then. I mean, they were engaged to be married and all. I never thought he saw me in that way. I didn’t think he could possibly…” She was only seventeen, and he’d dazzled her with promises of wealth and fame—a future she’d never even been able to dream of—and so she’d signed her life away, entering into a terrible contract. “But when success came, things started to change. He became controlling, violent, erratic. Obsessive. His partner left him.”

Enki went very still.

“There was a sense of entitlement about him. He wanted more from me, because in his mind, Layla Rose was his creation.”

“Did he…?” His voice carried the promise of death.

“We were never, ever involved.” She shuddered. “At some point, I sensed what was going on and I always tried to make sure there were others around, so we were never alone together. But he tried, several times, even when I started avoiding him.” That terrible night was still so fresh in her mind. Damien entering her apartment—how the hell he’d gotten access, she didn’t know. He’d professed his desire for her and demanded sex. The stench of alcohol on his breath made her feel nauseous. “I made you, Layla Rose. All of this,” he gestured around her sumptuous living room, “you wouldn’t have any of it without me. You’d still be a fucking street-seller.”

Really, the little innuendos and ‘slips’ of his hand and subtle public humiliations had been going on for months before that, and when Layla started refusing certain roles—the ones where she was supposed to play a certain type of heroine—his behavior became more and more controlling, manipulative, stalkerish.

And then one day, the illusion had slipped away completely, and Layla had seen Damien for what he truly was.

The day he’d put his hands on her; around her neck. If Layla hadn’t fought back with all her strength…

And he’d stepped away, his eyes widening as his anger faded away, and even he knew he’d gone too far.

After that, Layla had taken small steps to regain legal control of at least some of her vast wealth, quietly transferring credits to a secret off-planet intermediary until she’d hoarded enough to guarantee herself an escape route from Earth… and enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life.

“To spite him, I intentionally screwed up the biggest, most lucrative VR-film deal in the history of Virtuariwood.” Oh, she’d bombed the audition spectacularly. It wasn’t hard to act fucked up when you were. “And then he released the Black Tapes, without my consent.”

Layla Rose: The Black Tapes. Ha. What a fucking disaster. Overnight, the pay-per-use VR-movie series was viewed one billion times, with each view earning the uploader—Damien—a single credit. When Layla logged onto her Network link and watched the footage, she’d become physically sick.

“He had a composite made. Took secret footage of my face—my expressions, words, sounds—and fused it with footage of another woman’s body. He made a fake virtual sex tape, with me as the subject.”

It was the ultimate violation of her privacy, of her dignity, and it had been streamed to billions, making Damien Andross a hefty profit in the process.

You shouldn’t have stolen my money, Rose. You left me with no choice. I had to recoup the money somehow. And don’t try any legal avenues, my love. Read the fine print in your contract. You’ll find that they’re all closed.

It irked her now that she’d let him chase her away from Earth—that she’d let him get away with it—but she’d always thought she might return to Earth at some point, and the years spent in deep cryosleep would keep her young while everyone who’d known her grew old and forgot.

But it was all okay now. She’d been to hell and back. She could handle anything.

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