Chapter Four – Caged in Gold
1011 Words
I had always imagined cages to be made of iron, cold and suffocating.
But I was wrong.
Because the cage Damien Blackwood built for me was golden, dripping in luxury and excess.
And the worst part?
I had walked right into it.
Trapped in His World
The elevator glided upward, smooth and silent, yet the weight in my chest grew heavier with every second.
I wasn’t going home.
I was being taken to his home.
I turned to the security guard beside me, my pulse racing. “This isn’t funny. Let me out.”
He didn’t even blink.
I jabbed the emergency stop button. Nothing happened.
A chill ran down my spine. Of course. The controls had been disabled.
The moment the doors slid open, I was greeted by a space so vast, it didn’t feel real.
Damien’s penthouse was a kingdom in the sky.
Marble floors stretched across the massive open-concept living room, leading to floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked all of Manhattan. A sleek black grand piano sat near the glass, and beyond that, an open kitchen that looked like it belonged in a Michelin-starred restaurant.
But it wasn’t the sheer wealth that made my skin prickle.
It was the silence.
This was a place meant to isolate.
To remind anyone who stepped inside that they were in someone else’s territory.
The Devil Awaits
I took a hesitant step forward, my breath catching as Damien’s voice cut through the silence.
“You’re late.”
I turned sharply to find him standing near the windows, hands in his pockets, watching me.
The city lights behind him cast long shadows over his face, making him look even more untouchable.
I clenched my fists. “You had your guard drag me here. I didn’t exactly have a choice.”
His lips curved slightly. “You always have a choice, Sophia.”
I let out a humorless laugh. “Really? Because last time I checked, I signed a contract, not a damn prison sentence.”
Damien moved toward me, slow and deliberate, his gaze never leaving mine.
“You agreed to be available to me at all times,” he murmured. “That includes tonight.”
I swallowed hard, my heart hammering against my ribs.
He stopped just inches away, his presence suffocating.
“You’re moving in,” he said.
The words hit me like a slap.
I took a step back. “Absolutely not.”
He arched a brow. “That’s not your decision.”
I gawked at him. “Excuse me?”
He sighed, as if he found my resistance mildly amusing. “You signed the contract, Sophia. You belong to me now.”
I recoiled. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
His expression darkened.
“Don’t fool yourself,” he said, his voice like silk wrapped around steel. “This world isn’t built for people like you to have control. But lucky for you…” His fingers tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“…I protect what’s mine.”
A shiver ran down my spine.
This wasn’t protection.
This was possession.
The Rules of the Game
He gestured toward the hallway. “There’s a room prepared for you. I suggest you get comfortable.”
I shook my head. “I’m not staying here.”
“You are.”
“No.”
His gaze sharpened. “Would you like to test me on that?”
I hated how my body reacted to the challenge in his voice.
“I have an apartment,” I hissed. “I have a life.”
He let out a low chuckle. “You have an apartment that is falling apart. And a life that consists of scraping by for crumbs.”
Anger flared in my chest. “You don’t know anything about me.”
Damien tilted his head slightly, studying me.
“Oh, but I do,” he murmured.
His next words sent a cold wave through me.
“Your landlord is raising the rent. Your job at Le Maison pays you next to nothing. And that brother of yours?” He smirked. “The one who keeps borrowing money he can’t pay back? He’s two weeks away from getting himself killed.”
I felt like I had been punched in the stomach.
“How” My voice broke. “How do you know that?”
He didn’t answer.
I took a shaky step back. “You had me investigated?”
Damien sighed, unbothered. “It’s standard procedure. I don’t hire people blindly.”
Hire. As if that’s what this was.
My hands shook with rage. “You had no right.”
His gaze darkened. “I had every right.”
I sucked in a breath. “This is insane.”
Damien moved closer again, and I hated how my breath caught.
“You can leave, Sophia,” he said softly.
My heart stumbled.
He was… giving me an out?
“But,” he continued, “if you walk away, I won’t be there to clean up the mess your brother leaves behind.”
Cold terror shot through me.
Was this a threat?
Or a warning?
The Devil’s Offer
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out something small, sleek, and metallic.
A keycard.
He held it out to me.
“Take it,” he murmured.
I stared at it like it was poison.
Taking it meant giving in.
It meant accepting that he had won.
I wanted to throw it back in his face. Wanted to tell him to go straight to hell.
But then I thought of Ryan.
My brother.
He was the only family I had left. The only person who had ever been there for me.
And if Damien was right… if Ryan was really in that much trouble…
I had no choice.
With a shaking hand, I reached forward… and took the key.
Damien’s lips curved. “Good girl.”
I knew, in that moment, that I had just sealed my fate.
Because once you step into Damien Blackwood’s world…
He never lets you go.
- Writer
