Chapter 3: Blood in a Diamond CagePart 2
704 Words
Chapter 3: Blood in a Diamond Cage
Part 2
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The next evening, Damian didn’t give her a choice.
“You’re coming to the auction.”
That was all he said.
No explanation. No details.
Just a long, silent drive through the outskirts of Lagos until they reached a discreet, windowless building with armed guards at every entrance.
Inside: red velvet walls, masked faces, golden chandeliers. Luxury and danger poured together like wine.
The air smelled like money and menace.
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Elena stood near Damian in a dark hallway just off the main room. He didn’t look at her. He just handed her a mask.
Lace. Black. Just enough to hide expression but not identity.
“Why am I here?” she asked, slipping it on.
He buttoned his cufflink slowly.
“Because I want them to see you.”
“See me as what?”
He met her eyes. “Mine.”
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Inside the room, the auction had already begun.
But they weren’t selling art or jewels.
They were selling people.
Contracts. Slaves in disguise. Women and men dressed in elegance, their eyes hollow.
Elena’s stomach turned.
“This is illegal,” she whispered.
Damian leaned toward her. “So is revenge. But you seem fine with that.”
She wanted to slap him again. But she didn’t.
Not when her brother’s life was still the price.
---
The crowd parted as they entered. Everyone saw them. Everyone whispered.
Damian Alaric — cold and untouchable.
And beside him, the Vaine girl — beautiful, broken, bought.
Someone walked toward them. A woman in red.
Tall. Blonde. Mid-thirties. Her eyes sparkled like blood.
“Damian,” she purred. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing her.”
“Elena,” he said calmly, “meet Natalia Draven.”
Elena had heard that name.
Blackmail. Smuggling. Dangerous alliances. Natalia was whispered about in every elite circle — but no one ever saw her up close.
Until now.
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Natalia looked Elena up and down like she was a painting.
“Beautiful,” she said softly. “But still naive.”
Elena didn’t respond.
Natalia tilted her head. “You know he’s never going to let you win, right?”
“Elena’s not here to win,” Damian said. “She’s here to watch.”
Natalia smiled like she knew something Elena didn’t.
And maybe she did.
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The rest of the night was a blur of velvet seats and forced smiles. Elena sat beside Damian while people placed silent bids on lives. No one screamed. No one cried. That would ruin the illusion.
By the end, one girl was sold for a diamond mine in Sierra Leone.
Another for a senator’s silence.
And every time a deal was closed, Damian tapped Elena’s wrist — reminding her what silence bought.
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After the final round, Natalia found Elena again, this time alone.
“I was where you are once,” she said, sipping dark wine. “Pretty. Useful. Controlled.”
“And now?”
“Now,” Natalia said, “I choose which cages I build.”
She handed Elena a card.
No name. Just a silver symbol.
“If you ever want out… come to me. But be sure. I don’t do second chances.”
Before Elena could speak, she was gone.
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Later, back in the car, Damian studied her in silence.
Then finally: “What did she give you?”
Elena held up the card.
“No lies.”
He took it. Burned it with a lighter. Tossed the ashes out the window.
“You belong to me,” he said flatly. “Not her.”
“I don’t belong to anyone.”
“You do,” he said. “The moment you signed that contract.”
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Her voice broke. “Then at least let me see my brother. Please.”
Damian didn’t look at her.
But after a moment, he spoke.
“You get ten minutes. Tomorrow.”
Then silence.
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👉 Part 3 of Chapter 3 coming next:
Elena finally sees Zane — but the reunion is heartbreaking
Damian drops a truth that changes everything
And someone in the shadows makes a move… not on Elena, but on Zane
- Writer
