All Chapters of THE RUIN OF CASSY BEAUMONT: BOUGHT AND BROKEN: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

45 Chapters

WHILE SHE'S AWAY II

CASSYI'm on the couch with Delilah, halfway through a rom-com neither of us is really watching. My phone buzzes. I glance at the screen.It's an email from an unknown sender.Subject line: Do you know the dark secret about Sienna Vale?My stomach drops, I check the time and its 3pm, then I open it.Ms. Beaumont,My name is irrelevant. What matters is what I know about the woman you're currently living with.Sienna Vale has done this before. The contract and control. The breaking down of young women who remind her of someone from her past.You're not the first. And if you don't walk away, you won't be the last.I have proof, photos, testimonies and evidence that will destroy her but I need to speak with you first. In person.Meet me tonight. 7 PM. Washington Square Park. South fountain.Come alone. Or I release everything I have to the press. Including these, which by the way would make an interesting headline.Attached are three photos.Me at the gilded cage, on my knees, collared. L

EVIDENCE AND DOUBT

CASSYI make it back to the penthouse by eight-thirty. My hands are shaking so badly I can barely press the elevator button.Delilah is on the couch, halfway through another movie. She looks up when I walk in."Hey, how was your walk?" she asks. Then she sees my face. "Cass? What's wrong?""Nothing," I lie. "I'm just tired. I'm going to bed.""It's barely nine...""I'm tired, Delilah."I walk to the bedroom before she can ask more questions. Close the door and lock it.Then I sit on the edge of Sienna's bed… our bed and stare at the folder in my hands.Daniel Ross. Investigative journalist.-You're not the first.-The photos of those girls burned into my mind. Emily, Sarah and Grace. All of them had similar features like me. All of them were destroyed.I should throw this away. I should call Sienna right now and tell her what happened. Let her handle it.But what if it's true?What if I'm just another Emily? Another girl who fell in love with Sienna Vale and didn't survive it?My phon

LIES AND PROMISES

CASSYI look at her face on the screen. At the fear in her eyes. The vulnerability I almost never see. Her pupils are dilated and huge, like she's terrified of losing me."I don't know," I say honestly."Then wait," she says. "Don't do anything. Don't talk to that journalist again or make any decisions. Just... wait for me. I'll finish this deal and come home and we'll figure this out together. Can you do that?""How long?""Three more days. Four at most. I'll cut it as short as I can.""And what am I supposed to do for three days?""You're supposed to trust me." Her voice softens. "Please, Cassy. I'm asking you to trust me. Even if you don't know if you can. Even if you're scared. Just... wait for me."I look at this woman who bought me, broke me, and made me hers. Who might have done the same thing to Emily Richardson. She might be lying to me right now or telling the truth."Okay," I whisper. "I'll wait.""Thank you." She closes her eyes. "I have to go. I have calls to make. I'll h

THREE DAYS I

CASSYI wake up on the couch. Delilah must have covered me with a blanket at some point during the night. The laptop is still open on the coffee table, frozen on the page showing the wire transfer from Singapore to Daniel Ross.Proof that my mother paid him to destroy Sienna. My phone is next to the laptop. Six new texts from Sienna, sent throughout the night, Hong Kong time.SIENNA: I found the payment. Your mother funded Daniel Ross. I'm tracking down more proof.SIENNA: I know you're asleep but I need you to know I'm handling this.SIENNA: I can't sleep. I keep thinking about that look on your face during the video call.SIENNA: Three more days. I know it feels like forever. But I'm coming home to you.SIENNA: I miss you.SIENNA: Morning check-in. I need to hear your voice.It's 7:50 AM here. Which means it's 8:50 PM there. She's probably in her hotel room, waiting. So I call her.She answers on the first ring. "Cassy." The relief in her voice is overwhelming."Hi," I say."Did you

THREE DAYS II

DAY TWO - AFTERNOONCASSYDaniel Ross won't stop trying to contact me. I've blocked his number, but he keeps calling from new ones, he's even leaving voicemails."Cassy, we need to talk. I have more information.""Sienna is dangerous. Every day you stay with her is a day closer to ending up like Emily."I delete them all but then an email comes through.Subject: FINAL WARNINGCassy,I know you think you've uncovered the truth. That Sarah and Grace were fabricated and that your mother is behind this.You're right, though that doesn't mean Sienna is innocent.Emily Richardson was REAL and she's dead because of Sienna Vale. How many more girls have to die before you walk away?This is your last chance. Meet me tomorrow. 3 PM. Same place.Or I go public with everything. Including the photos from The Gilded Cage. Your face. Your name. Everything.The choice is yours.- DanielMy hands are shaking. He's threatening to expose me. To publish the photos of me collared and kneeling.I should te

SIENNA, YOU'RE MINE

CASSYThe elevator doors close on my mother. She's crying, looking at me like I've betrayed her."You'll regret this," she says as the doors slide shut. "When she destroys you, you'll wish you'd listened to me."Then she's gone. I lean against the wall and Delilah wraps her arms around me."Jesus," she breathes. "That was intense. She actually thought we'd go with her. Delusional.""She's our mother.""She's a narcissist who abandoned us," Delilah corrects. "And I'm glad she's gone.""Me too."Five minutes later, I hear the elevator. The doors open and Sienna steps out.She's still in her travel clothes, she looks exhausted. But when her eyes find mine, everything else fades away.She moves to hug me then she's kissing me. Deep and desperate like she's been drowning and I'm air. When she finally pulls back, we're both breathing hard."Hi," she says."Hi."She touches my throat. Where the collar used to be."You really took it off.""I really did.""And?""And I'm still here," I say. "

THE RUIN OF CASSY

CASSYBelow the headline, there are photos of me at The Gilded Cage on my knees, wearing the collar. Looking at the camera with an expression that looks like desire.My face is clearly visible and my name is in the article."Oh my god," I whisper.Sienna takes the tablet back. "It gets worse."She scrolls down. The article talks about Emily, about her suicide. About Sienna buying her from The Gilded Cage and the "pattern" of Sienna targeting vulnerable women who look alike.And then it talks about me.-Cassy Beaumont, 26, daughter of disgraced businessman Marcus Beaumont, entered into a year-long "service contract" with Vale after her family's empire collapsed. Sources close to the situation describe the arrangement as "psychological abuse disguised as consensual employment." Beaumont currently lives in Vale's Tribeca penthouse, where she is allegedly kept under strict control…-"He published it," I say… my voice cracked. "He actually published it.""I'm already on it," Sienna says. S

THE EX

CASSYI don't know how long we drive, but time loses meaning when you can't see, speak, or barely breathe through the panic.Eventually, the van stops, a pair of hands grab me and pull me out. I stumble as I can't see where I'm going. Someone catches me before I fall."Easy," Evans says. "Don't want to damage the merchandise."They walk me inside somewhere and I hear a door close. They push me down and I land hard on the concrete fall. I hear footsteps walk away, then a door slams. Then silence.I lie there, bound, gagged and hooded, trying not to panic, trying to think. Sienna will notice I'm gone and she'll come looking for me but will she find me in time?Time passes. Eventually, I hear footsteps again. Someone pulls off the hood. I blink because of the sudden dim light. We're in what looks like an abandoned warehouse with trash scattered around.Evans is standing over me. He's smoking something and the smell is acrid."Hello princess…" he smirks.I glare at him. I can't speak thro

THE RESCUE

SIENNAThe location Wendy sent me is an abandoned warehouse district. Half the buildings are condemned. The other half are used for god knows what.My security team arrives ten minutes after I do. Three men in tactical gear."Ms. Vale," the team leader says. "We need a plan-""The plan is simple," I interrupt. "We find Cassy Beaumont. We extract her and we neutralize the threat.""Do we know how many hostiles are inside?""No. But I don't care. We're going in."One of them hands me a vest. "At least wear this."I put it on, then I follow them toward the building. Wendy sends another message.WENDY: Thermal imaging shows three heat signatures inside. Two mobile, one stationary. The stationary one is probably your target.We approach the building carefully. The security team moves like professionals. They breach the door.Inside, the warehouse is a maze of debris and shadows, broken machinery, trash and the smell of rot and chemicals.We move through it silently. Then I hear voices."..

EXPOSED TRUTH

SIENNA Cassy refuses to go home. "I'm coming with you," she says in the car. Her voice is hoarse from crying but steady. "You need to rest-" "I need answers." She looks at me. Her eyes are red-rimmed but fierce. "Evans framed my sister because of me. Daniel published those photos because my mother paid him. I need to know the whole truth." I study her face. She's exhausted and traumatized. There's a bruise on her cheek where Evans hit her. "Okay," I say. "You can come. But you stay behind me. Understood?" "Yes, Ma'am." The words are automatic but they still send heat through me. I take her hand. "Are you really okay?" "No," she says honestly. "But I will be, after we finish this." The motel in Jersey is exactly as depressing as I expected. Peeling paint, flickering neon sign. The kind of place people go when they're running from something. Wendy meets us in the parking lot. "Room 147," she says. "He's inside alone. I've had eyes on him since this morning. He hasn't

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