Page 4 of Taken By the Dark Billionaires

“I mean, whatever this is, is not meant for me. I’m the wrong person.”

“I don’t understand. If you came to the inner circle, you are definitely the one. They wouldn’t have brought you here to the inner circle otherwise. You must do as you’re told, or he will do worse to you,” Briella whispered. “He is a terrible human being.”

“This isn’t because I didn’t deliver the envelope, is it? I’m not being punished for it, is it?” It was all so weird.

“Envelope?” Briella shook her head. “No. You are The Perfect One. The only one chosen. You are not being punished. You are being revered. It’s such a privilege to be in your position.”

“Nothing you’re saying makes any sense because I’m not that person. I came here to apologize for not delivering an envelope." She cut herself off. It was futile. She quickly realized that escaping was no longer an option for her. Her only hope was to speak directly to the owners of the house, the billionaires she worked for at Basilisk Industries as an inconspicuous temp.

“I need to see either Mr. Ezra Collins, Mr. Jensen Flynn, or Mr. Maxim Black. Can you help me get to them?"

“You mean the Masters?”

“What?”

“The heads of the family. The rulers of the Basilisk family. The Masters.”

It was a strange way of calling them the rulers of the Basilisk family when they really were the owners of Basilisk Industries, but that wasn’t any of her business what they wanted these people to call them.

“I need to see them now. Please help me,” Sutton said softly, urgently.

“You will see them. That is the reason for all this, after all. They’re waiting for you.”

“Briella.” A woman’s clipped and harsh shout echoed around the enclosure.

“I’m sorry. I’ve said enough. You must obey until you get to see the Masters. You must be prepared for the ritual now.”

“What ritual?” Sutton asked in disbelief. Surely, she had misheard what Briella had said.

“You just need to go with it.”

“What ritual?” Sutton cried more forcefully, panic soaring from the very pores of her skin.

“I don’t know what happens at the ritual. It’s information only on a need-to-know basis, and I am very lowly in this organization. My task is to help you bathe.”

The sound of footsteps approaching had the other girl pursing her lips and stiffening her shoulders.

“Just do as you’re told. The Masters will listen to your story and set you free once you see them. Hopefully,” she added even more softly. “Just go with it. Let thesaintessguide you.”

“I—”

But a strong, overwhelming, and sickeningly sweet scent filled her nostrils as a cloth was covered over her mouth from behind. She had a moment where she tried to fight off the person behind her, but already her eyelids had started to droop. Her throat felt thick and heavy, and her thundering heart decelerated at an alarmingly slow pace. She thought she was dying. And then there was only darkness.

~~~***~~~

Sutton jerked awake as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice-cold water in her face.

She gasped and fumbled at the feeling of falling but soon found herself upright and bound to what looked like a wooden structure behind her, her arms above her head and her legs spread wide.

Her wrists and ankles were secured so tightly that she could only move her fingers and her toes. But her mind felt so cloudy and fuzzy that she felt as if she were thinking in slow motion and every thought she had hurt her brain more than the last one.

Her body and mind continued to battle against a complete state of drowsiness and one of chaotic wakefulness. She tried to remember how she got here, but it was all too vague and surreal to comprehend.

Had she been drugged?

Images flashed by her. The feel of water over her skin. Lying on a concrete slab where she shivered naked but not fully awake. Her hair being brushed, and her skin coated with a thick, cold cream that smelled like a mixture of flower scents. What had they done to her while she’d been in some sort of comatose plane? When she’d been helpless to protect herself. But that was not the sum of all her problems.

She became aware of a new horror.

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