Master Anderson handed her the pillow he had brought. “I want you to keep this in honor of today, young Brie.”
When she took it from him, she was finally able to read the word stitched in gold thread:
THRIVE
Her bottom lip trembled, remembering Sir’s promise to her. Crushing the pillow against her chest, she said with conviction, “I will, Master Anderson.”
Brie looked at the pillow again, adopting that word as her battle cry.
With Sir’s guidance and the support of her found family, Brie was determined to do exactly that.
She would not only heal from the pain, but she would find a way to thrive.
Gentle Wolf
After the last reporter abandoned her in pursuit of better leads, Brie was grateful for the peace. Unfortunately, her reprieve did not last long.
The moment the authorities announced that a recently buried body had been discovered on the site of the compound, the press came back with a vengeance, hungry to know exactly what happened during Brie’s captivity there.
There was nothing Sir could say or do to deter them this time. So, he installed soundproof inserts in the windows facing the street, telling Brie, “I will not allow them to impede our lives, and I resent that you and the children must be subjected to their constant invasion.”
Brie was concerned, wondering what some of the other survivors might leak during their interviews. In the reporters’ eagerness to unearth the atrocities Holloway had orchestrated, they were willfully ignoring the mental harm they could cause the survivors.
To the press, they were simply a “story” that had proven too sensational not to pursue at any cost, regardless of the immense pain it would cause the victims and their families.
As for Brie, she had yet to tell her parents about her experience. It had been hard enough sharing it with Sir, knowing he would internalize it—her suffering becoming his suffering.
Thankfully, Sir was not a man who lived in a world of “what-ifs” and “if-onlys.” He was actively pursuing a path to aid in her recovery and well-being.
Brie knew her parents would not be able to do the same. So, to protect herself as well as them, she had chosen to remain silent. But, that choice was stolen from her now that the press had broken down the defenses of several of the victims. Some of the reporters were zealously exploiting the horrors the survivors had suffered, hoping to further their careers by any means necessary.
When the public heard about sex slaves being tortured in the dungeon and the violent scenes the slaves were forced to play out, they went wild wanting to hear more. It was as if the world had some kind of sick fascination with it, needing to know every lurid detail while forgetting that real people had suffered.
Their morbid curiosity felt like a second assault to her.
Sir did his best to shield Brie from it, but he also warned her. “Whenever the press approaches you in public, ignore them. You mustn’t react, no matter if they say something painful or incredibly far off-base. Give them nothing. Do not look at them, do not speak, and do not react. It’s the only way to protect yourself, Brie. The second they find a crack, they will be relentless. Unfortunately, because you and Mary are known in Hollywood, you will be of particular interest to them.”
She had already heard rumors that some members of the press were claiming she had been a willing participant in the macabre scenes, which was the reason behind her silence.
Even knowing that, Brie was caught unaware when her parents came to visit and her father confronted her on it. Holding a newspaper in his hand, he demanded, “Have you seen this? Is what they’re saying true, little girl?”
Brie stared at the newspaper, shaking her head. “I don’t know who ‘they’ are or what they’re saying, Daddy. I avoid the news as much as possible.”
“We suggest you do the same,” Sir stated, standing beside Brie as he wrapped an arm around her protectively.
Her father turned on Sir. “I knew that asshole producer kidnapped my little girl, but what I read can’t be true!” he insisted.
Then he looked at Brie helplessly, “Can it?”
She could barely breathe and was unable to answer.
Her father’s hostile gaze returned to Sir. “If any of this is true, I blame you for what happened to my daughter. If you hadn’t come into her life and polluted her mind with your perverse kinks, none of this would have happened!”
Brie felt chills when she heard her father’s accusation, realizing it could rip her family apart.
Thankfully, Sir remained calm and stated firmly, “Don’t believe everything you read in the newspaper.”
“Please, Bill,” her mother begged. “Can’t we talk about this later? Look what it’s doing to our daughter.”
He waved his hand dismissively at his wife, telling her, “I have to know the truth, Marcy. I need to know what happened.”
He then pointed at Brie, crying weakly, “That’s my daughter for God’s sake!” Her father broke into angry sobs, holding his hand up to his eyes as he tried to stop his tears.
Brie understood his anger came from a place of concern for her, but he was so consumed by it that he couldn’t see that he was hurting her right now.
Rather than spell out what happened, she told him in a cold tone, “I was kidnapped and tortured, Daddy.” She saw him flinch but continued. “I fought hard every day to survive so I could come back to my babies because I knew Thane would never give up until I was safe.”
She glared at her father. “The only person responsible for what happened to me is Greg Holloway. If you don’t understand that, then you have no place in my life.”
It was as if an anvil had fallen, and the weight of her words echoed dangerously in the air.
Even as Brie said it, she was shocked by the words that had flown out of her mouth. However, she’d meant every word and refused to take them back.
Her father stared at her in stunned silence.
Brie knew she might be witnessing the death of her relationship with her father, but she could not—and would not—back down.
However, she was extremely resentful.
None of this would be happening if it weren’t for the perverse lies being spread by the press—the very people who remained perched just outside her front door.
Not wanting Brie to be derailed by the strained relationship developing between him and her father, Sir set about creating her next challenge.
Brie found it curious that Sir chose Faelan to play out the encounter. There was a time when the two men had been fierce rivals.
Unable to accept Brie choosing Sir at the collaring ceremony, Faelan had tried to win her back by approaching her at the little shop where she worked. That encounter, along with her decision not to tell Sir about it, had led to her first punishment—with rice.
Sir’s relationship with Faelan had changed significantly since then. So much so, that Sir now trusted him enough to scene with her.
Brie was anxious to see Todd Wallace in person because it was the only way she could tell whether he was doing okay. Although he’d returned from Russia to raise his baby daughter alone following the death of his wife, Brie was unsure how well he was handling the responsibility of parenthood or his grief.
While she waited for Faelan to arrive, Sir asked her, “Are you wondering about my choice of Dom?”