The Basement Prison

I was held captive in my sadistic neighbor's basement, separated from my fianc's garage by nothing more than a single wall.
Adam searched the world for me on the outside.
I screamed until my throat was raw, praying he would hear me.
The next moment, my neighbor burst in and brutally cut out my tongue.
The agony sent me into darkness. In my despair, I slammed my head against the wall, only to find it lined with soundproof foam the next day.
To survive, I learned to grovel, to debase myself in every way he demanded. I endured three years of unspeakable humiliation, all for a single chance to steal the key.
The moment I stumbled home, I found Adam sitting with him, sharing a cup of tea.
"It's been three years," Adam said calmly. "Serena should have learned her lesson by now. Let her out tomorrow. Julia wants her at our wedding."
The neighbor smiled. "Don't you worry, Mr. Monroe. The lady is quite tame now. She won't be causing Miss Reed any more trouble."
I staggered backward, the reality too much to bear. I ran from the house and threw myself into the lake.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day I was taken.
This time, I sent a message to Julia Reed:
"Come to the basement. I have a secret about Adam to tell you."
1
"Serena, darling, a last-minute meeting just came up at the office. I'm going to be late tonight." Adam smoothed the collar of my dress, his touch gentle as he placed a soft kiss on my cheek. "Once I'm done, I'll take you to that French place you love."
"Okay," I said, smiling as I wrapped my arms around him.
Where he couldn't see, my nails dug deep into my palms.
In my past life, this was the same excuse he used. He told me to wait for him by the villa gates after midnight. The moment I stepped outside, my neighbor, Rick, clamped a hand over my mouth, and the world went black. I was dragged into his basement.
In one night, I went from being the celebrated princess of the Sterling family to a prisoner, treated worse than an animal.
My brother had searched for me, but Adam masterfully fabricated a story that I had run away, cutting off my only chance of rescue.
As for his claim that I had bullied his secretary, Julia Reed, I had no memory of it. The only thing I could recall was a single, offhand comment I made when I visited his office.
"That perfume is a bit strong."
Adam dealt with a lot of clients. An overly sweet, cloying scent was unprofessional and didn't suit his image. I never imagined that simple sentence would be twisted into a malicious attack.
Fine. If that's what she considered an attack, then this time, I'd give her a real one.
Adam ducked into his car, waving goodbye. I returned his smile.
The moment his car was out of sight, I pulled a phone from my pocket. I had lifted it from his jacket during our hug.
I unlocked the screen and opened his chat with Julia.
"Serena's out for the evening," I typed. "Come to my villa later. We'll have some fun."
The reply was almost instant, her tone cloyingly sweet. "Adam, honey, how did you know I bought a new slip dress? It's lace. I'll wear it for you tonight."
"No," I typed back, glancing down at the white dress I was wearing. Adam had specifically asked the maid to lay this out for me for our dinner.
From what I understood, Rick had just moved in and didn't know me by sight. This dress was the signal.
Coincidentally, Julia owned a similar one. A "performance bonus" from Adam last month.
When I told her to wear that specific dress, she replied with a cute, nodding emoji.
Once she took the bait, I messaged the head butler, telling him to give all the staff the evening off. I needed the villa empty. No witnesses.
As dusk settled, I went upstairs with a pair of binoculars.
At eleven o'clock sharp, Julia arrived at the gates.
Using Adam's phone, I sent one last message: "Wait for me at the gate. Just grabbing something."
She glanced at her phone, a blush creeping up her cheeks, and waited obediently.
A second later, a large figure emerged from the shadows behind her, clamping a hand over her mouth. She struggled, her muffled screams useless against his strength.
I watched as Julia was dragged away, then lowered the binoculars and dialed my brother's number.
"Hey, you know that vacation you said you wanted to take me on? How about right now?"
My brother met me in the airport lounge, dressed in casual clothes. The moment he saw me, he playfully poked my forehead.
"Well, well, if it isn't Mrs. Monroe-to-be," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, though his eyes shone with delight. He was holding a cup of my favorite coffee. "What's this? Finally have time for your big brother? Done playing house with that bastard Adam?"
My nose stung, and tears welled in my eyes.
My parents died when I was young, and my brother raised me. He poured everything he had into his work, building our family's name into an empire, all to ensure I would never want for anything. He had been against my engagement to Adam from the start, seeing him as a man consumed by ambition, but he had given in for my sake.
How could I have been so blind?
"Brother..." My voice cracked.
He immediately cupped my face, his brow furrowed in concern. "Why are your eyes so red? Did that bastard Adam do something to you?"
The tears streamed down my cheeks. I couldn't hold it in any longer. I told him everythinghow Adam and Julia had conspired against me in my past life, the whole sordid story.
When I finished, my brother's hands were clenched into fists, his body trembling with rage. "That son of a bitch. I'm going to kill him."
He started to storm off, but I grabbed his arm. "Don't. Not yet."
"This time," I said, my voice steady, "I'll get my own revenge. I just need you to be there when I need you."
"For example," I added, "I need you to find me a voice actress. One who sounds just like Julia."
He blinked, then a slow, dangerous smile spread across his face. "Done."
He immediately made the call, while I opened my tablet and pulled up the live feed from the villa's security cameras. Before leaving, I'd had my personal security team install 360-degree surveillance, including cameras in Rick's basement.
It was now the day after Julia's abduction.
Adam didn't return until dawn. He called my name twice, tentatively. When there was no answer, a triumphant smirk touched his lips. He eagerly called Julia to share the news, but the call went straight to voicemail.
He sighed, a fond, patronizing sound. "Still asleep at this hour."
He didn't give it a second thought and went to his study.
I switched the feed to Julia.
The basement was pitch-black. She was huddled in a corner, shivering.
Creeak.
The door opened, letting in a sliver of light. Rick entered, rubbing his hands together with a lecherous grin. He tilted Julia's chin up, looking her over.
"Tsk, tsk. I thought a rich man's wife would be more refined. You've got a cheap look about you."
Julia's eyes widened as if she'd grabbed a lifeline. "You've got the wrong person! I'm not Serena Sterling! I'm Julia Reed."
"Take me to Adam Monroe," she pleaded. "He'll still pay you!"
Before she could finish, Rick slapped her hard across the face, then spat on her. "Don't fucking lie to me. You match the description Mr. Monroe gave me perfectly."
"White dress, brown wavy hair, and this mole on your neck." He yanked her collar open, his eyes greedily tracing the rise and fall of her chest as he pinched her cruelly.
"No! The mole is drawn on!" Julia shrieked, fighting back.
Watching the monitor, I almost doubled over with laughter. She never imagined that the very thing she did to imitate me would become her undoing.
Rick had lost his patience. He roughly shoved her skirt up and unbuckled his belt. "I don't give a damn who you are. Mr. Monroe said you're my woman from now on. Behave, and maybe I'll go easy on you."
As he forced himself on her, a wave of despair washed over Julia's face.
Just then, the sound of a car pulling into the garage echoed from the other side of the wall.
Like in my past life, Adam put on a show, barking into his phone. "Keep searching! I don't care if you have to tear this city apart, you find Serena Sterling, or you'll all pay!"
A flash of hope lit up Julia's face. With a sudden burst of strength, she shoved Rick off her and scrambled to the wall, pounding on it with her fists.
"Adam! It's me, Julia! Help me!"
On the other side of the wall, Adam's footsteps stopped. He had heard her.
My grip tightened on the tablet, a knot of tension forming in my stomach. But it quickly dissolved.
Adam didn't go to the basement. Instead, he called Rick and tore into him. "You idiot! What kind of sloppy job is this? I can hear her screaming from here! It may not be clear, but do you think the Sterling family are fools?"
Rick flinched, then turned and kicked Julia viciously.
Adam's voice was laced with menace. "If she makes another sound, I'm cutting your payment in half."
"Adam, honey, it's me! It's Julia!" she screamed again, desperately trying to make him understand.
Rick slapped her into silence. He tossed his phone aside, grabbed a pair of scissors from a nearby table, and forced her mouth open. "You just had to scream, didn't you, you little bitch? You had to make this difficult."
"Ah"
The scissors snapped shut. Her scream was cut short. Blood and tears flooded her throat, and she choked, gasping for air.
Watching this, the ice in my veins grew colder. So, in my past life, it wasn't Rick's idea to cut out my tongue. It was Adam's order. The deliberate cruelty of it, far more than the betrayal of his love, was what had truly broken me.
On the screen, Julia convulsed in pain before passing out. Rick, having lost interest, got up, cursing under his breath. He took the bloody piece of her tongue and went straight to Adam's house to report his success.
"Mr. Monroe, it's done," he said, bowing obsequiously. "You can rest assured, she won't be saying another word." He added, "The crazy bitch kept screaming that she was your secretary, Miss Reed."
Adam paused, then let out a derisive chuckle. "Tsk, tsk. Serena used to look down on Julia so much. And now she's using her name to try and save her own skin."
He laughed again, then pulled out his phone to call Julia, wanting to share the joke. The call went to voicemail, as before. He frowned and tried a few more times.
I suddenly remembered a note in his phone's calendar: today was the day he and Julia were supposed to go on a cruise. Her not answering would make him suspicious.
I quickly signaled to the voice actress. She called Adam, her voice a perfect imitation of Julia's coquettish tone. "Adam, honey, I'm not feeling well today. Can we reschedule?"
I thought that would be enough, but Adam's concern for Julia was greater than I'd anticipated. "Not well? Did you catch a cold yesterday? Stay right there, I'm coming to take you to the hospital now."
He hung up and was out the door in a flash, heading for Julia's apartment.
My heart was in my throat. If he found out she wasn't home, the whole plan would unravel. I had suffered for three years in that hellhole. I wasn't about to let them off so easily.
Just as panic began to set in, Adam arrived at Julia's apartment and started pounding on the door. "Julia! Are you okay?"
I stared at the screen, my mind racing.
The next second, the door opened. A woman who looked remarkably like Julia poked her head out. Her tone of voice, the way she tucked a strand of hair behind her earit was a perfect mimicry.
I stared for a second, stunned. My brother sat down beside me and raised an eyebrow. "Am I not the most reliable brother you have?"
I laughed and punched him lightly on the chest. "You could have told me! You scared me to death."
Adam went inside and was quickly charmed by the double. She wrapped her arms around his waist. "Adam, honey, I'm just a little tired. I just need to rest. We don't need to go to the hospital."
He was still insisting when his phone rang. It was Rick, his voice frantic. "Mr. Monroe, it's bad! The lady she tried to kill herself! She cut her wrists!"
"What?" Adam shot up from the sofa, his hand tightening around his phone. He wanted to teach me a lesson, yes, but he never wanted me dead. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had Rick release me in my past life.
He didn't have time to soothe the double. He rushed out of the apartment, running seven red lights on his way back to the villa.
Rick was waiting for him, babbling. "Mr. Monroe, you should have seen her. I was trying to feed her, and she just went crazy, hitting me, smashing the bowl. The next thing I knew, she had a shard of porcelain and was cutting her wrist. It took all my strength to stop her. She's really trying to die."
Adam said nothing, but his face was terrifyingly dark.
He stopped the car at the basement entrance and burst inside. In just one day, Julia had lost all her former polish. Her hair was a matted mess, her face caked with dried blood, rendering her unrecognizable. The medical care in the basement was primitive; Rick had just used ashes to stop the bleeding.
When Julia saw Adam, she scrambled towards him, crawling and clawing, only to be yanked back by the iron chain on her ankle. She fell hard, and the wound on her wrist began to bleed afresh.
Her mouth was open in a silent scream, tears streaming down her face. She gestured wildly with her uninjured hand, trying to tell him who she was.
Adam just gave her a disgusted glance. Once he confirmed she was alive, he turned to leave.
Suddenly, something shiny was thrown at his feet.
It was the limited-edition watch he had given Julia last month. Only three existed in the world.
He bent down and picked it up, his thumb stroking the watch face, his expression unreadable.
I watched on the monitor, my heart pounding. Julia had stopped crying, her eyes filled with hope.
The next second, Adam grabbed Rick by the collar and slammed him against the wall. "Didn't I tell you to take everything from her?" he roared. "What if the Sterling family sees this? What if they think Julia was behind this and go after her?"
Rick's face went white. "I-I swear I did! I didn't know she was so cunning, hiding Miss Reed's things! Mr. Monroe, you have to believe me!"
Adam let him go, lighting a cigarette with a frustrated sigh. "It's too late now. She's seen my face. She knows I'm behind this." He took a deep drag, as if making a heavy decision. "She's your problem now. Make sure she never gets out of here."
Julia froze. She lunged forward, grabbing his pant leg, her sobs tearing through the silence.
"Get off me!" Adam kicked her away and walked out without a backward glance.
A wave of cruel satisfaction washed over me. I couldn't wait for the day Adam finally learned the truth.
In the months that followed, Julia was stripped of all dignity. Chained by the neck, her clothes torn from her body, she lived like an animal. Rick trained her, broke her, until the sound of footsteps was enough to make her kneel and present herself.
Meanwhile, Adam's life wasn't much better. Julia's double kept making excuses to avoid him. Frustrated, he showered her with gifts and money, but nothing worked. Finally, he had the maids throw out all of my belongings and redecorate my room for Julia, intending for her to move in.
When everything was ready, he called her one last time.
Just then, a voice came from the doorway.
The maid bowed respectfully. "Madam, you've returned."

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