The Deception series boxset: FaCade, Cadence, Beneath Innocence by Ker Dukey, D.H. Sidebottom Page B

as if they were bought specifically for my dimensions.
    I was wary of the whole change in everything. This beautiful room such a contrast to the cell I’d lived in before the assault. Was it all to lead me into a false sense of security? Before I could let my mind drive me anymore crazy I heard people re-enter the bedroom.
    Cautiously I slipped out of the bathroom. The hairs on the back of my neck rose like a wild cat’s in the outback, preparing itself, when Dante stood stock still, penetrating me with his eyes, flanked by Delia.
    “Star, would you mind coming with us please?” the woman asked.
    I flicked my gaze between the two. “Where?” My nerves were going to kill me. I could feel my heart’s slow thud echo through my body as if I was hollow, taunting me to the emptiness inside me.
    “Just to another room where we can all sit.”
    Okay, that didn’t sound too horrifying unless it was a ruse. Dante turned and exited the room first. Delia gestured for me to following behind him.

    We were in a house, the dark wooden theme from the bedroom continuing throughout the entire mass structure. How was it possible that this and my previous prison was the same place? Sensing my thoughts Dante’s baritone voice punctured the air. “You were moved when you fell unconscious. This is our house.”
    Ours? Did he mean his and Delia’s? Was he married? Oh God, I felt sicker than ever before.
    The hall we were currently passing through opened up into a beautiful living space, a mass of seating choice with a beautiful wooden desk and bookshelves adorning the entire back wall. The neutral colors gave the place an airy feel and for the first time since waking in that cell with no memory, I was looking at a window with rays from the sun dancing through the open blinds. It was like a child first seeing the ocean.
    My steps carried me in its direction, summoning me to embrace its touch. It travelled over my feet then up my legs, waist and chest before heating my face. Closing my eyes, I felt the tears prick my lashes. All I was capable of in that moment was inhaling and exhaling, breathing as my body rejoiced in something so simple.
    “Star, come and sit, we have a lot to discuss.” I swallowed down the sorrow, mourning the light as the shadows dispersed its glow when I moved into the room to sit at a table with them both. “As I mentioned before my name is Delia, and I consider myself a friend of yours.” I didn’t speak, just stared straight at her waiting for what more she would tell me. However I wasn’t prepared for her next confession. “I work for your fiancé.”
    Cue the stampede of horses trampling all over my insides. The room dropped out of focus but flooded back in when Dante’s hand reached across the table to grasp mine. In slow motion my head turned to him. He was… smiling at me.
    “Dante and you asked me to assist you both in a project.”
    “Fantasy,” Dante cut in.
    She grinned at him before continuing. “A fantasy, you had, Star.”
    The buzzing in my ears grew with intensity. She wasn’t making sense. Nothing made sense.
    “Baby.” Flinching from his endearment, I snatched my hand away to cradle it to my chest. My eyes frantically searched them both, begging for them to stop talking in riddles. “The drugs that keep your memory were supposed to wear off but for some reason we’re not quite sure of yet, yours hasn’t.” They drugged me to steal my memories? Was that possible? “My company made a drug to suppress memories. It’s used for victims of violent crimes. To help them heal, come to terms slowly with what happened to them. The drug wears off, feeding your memory back little by little.”
    I couldn’t comprehend what I was hearing. They used a drug meant for helping victims of violent crimes, to commit a violent crime. I must have voiced my thoughts because Delia answered me
    “Dante is your fiancé, Star. He loves you immensely and finally gave into your desires to play out this