Chapter 2

The Glass Cage

Ladina

"You can't just leave me here with them."

I grabbed my mother’s arm the second we were alone in the bride's dressing room.

She pulled her arm away. She didn't even look at me. She walked right over to the mirror and picked up her bright red lipstick.

"Stop acting like a baby, Ladina," she said, carefully fixing her makeup. "You are nineteen years old. Grow up."

"But they hate me," I begged, stepping closer to her. My chest felt so tight I could barely breathe. "Gabriel looked at me like he wanted to hurt me. And Oliver... he just stares. Please, Mom. Let me go back to our old apartment. I can get a normal job. I won't ask you for any money."

Anna finally stopped and turned around. Her blue eyes were as cold as ice.

"Our old apartment is gone," she snapped. "I sold all our cheap stuff. Do you have any idea what I had to do to get us here? James Blanthen is not just rich; he is a billionaire. We never have to worry about paying rent or bills ever again. We are totally safe."

"But"

"No but!" she hissed. She stepped right up to my face and grabbed my chin. Her nails dug into my skin. "Listen to me. The Blanthen boys are your stepbrothers now. You will go to that cabin. You will smile. You will be the perfect, sweet little sister, and you will not ruin this for me. Got it?"

Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. She was choosing money over me. Again.

"Got it, Ladina?" she asked, squeezing my chin even harder.

"Yes," I whispered.

She let go and gave me a fake, sugary smile. "Good girl. Now get your coat. The helicopter is waiting on the roof."

Thirty minutes later, the loud roar of the helicopter blades drowned out the whole world.

The freezing wind on the hotel roof whipped my hair across my face. I hugged my heavy winter coat tightly around me. James and my mother were already in a different helicopter, flying to the airport.

I climbed inside our chopper. Gabriel got in right after me. He didn't sit on the other side. He sat right next to me. The space was tiny, and he was huge. His broad shoulder pressed hard against mine. His thick leg pushed right up against my knee. I tried to lean away against the cold window, but there was nowhere left to go.

Oliver climbed in last. He sat across from us. He closed the heavy door, sealing us inside.

The helicopter lifted into the air. The bright city lights of Zurich dropped away, replaced by the pitch-black sky.

Nobody said a word. The engine was too loud to talk, but the quiet inside our small space felt heavier than the noise.

I kept my eyes glued to the window, watching the city disappear as we flew straight toward the snowy Swiss mountains. But even looking away, I could feel them.

Gabriel’s body heat baked right through my winter coat. He shifted in his seat, spreading his legs wider. His knee pressed firmly against mine. He didn't move it. He just left it there, silently claiming my space. I was too scared to tell him to move, and he knew it.

I nervously glanced over at Oliver.

He was already staring at me.

He wasn't glaring at me like Gabriel. He was just watching me. Watching how fast I was breathing. Watching my shaking fingers pick at the edge of my coat.

When our eyes met, he didn't look away. He didn't even blink. He just slowly tilted his head, studying me like a puzzle he wanted to take apart.

A hot, nervous shiver ran down my back. The air in the cabin suddenly felt too thick to breathe.

The flight felt like it took hours. By the time we started flying down, my whole body hurt from sitting so stiffly.

I looked out the window. Below us, surrounded by miles of dark pine trees and sharp, snowy mountains, was the cabin.

But it wasn't a cabin. It was a huge, modern glass and wood house. It sat right on the edge of a cliff, totally cut off from the rest of the world. There were no other houses. No streetlights.

The helicopter landed near the front door.

Gabriel shoved the door open before the blades even stopped spinning. Freezing wind rushed in, biting my skin. I hurried out, desperate to get away from them, but my high heels sank deep into the thick snow.

I tripped and almost fell face-first into the ice.

A large, hot hand grabbed my arm, holding me up.

I gasped and looked up. It was Oliver.

"Careful, Dina," he whispered. His voice was smooth. "It’s a long way down."

He didn't let go of my arm. He pulled me through the deep snow. His grip was tight and strong. Gabriel walked ahead of us like a dark shadow in the wind.

Inside the hallway, Gabriel did something disturbing.

He pulled the key out of the lock, tossed it in the air, caught it, and slid it deep into his front pocket.

He looked at me with a dark, wicked smile spreading across his face.

"Welcome home, little sister," Gabriel whispered. His deep voice echoed in the empty house.

A sudden, violent gust of wind slammed against the glass windows. The snow started falling faster, turning into a wild, blinding storm. The blizzard was here.

I took a shaky step backward and bumped right into Oliver's solid chest. He didn't move away. He just placed his hot hands gently on my shoulders, trapping me perfectly between them.

I was locked in. And I had absolutely no way out.