Chapter 5: Captive

“Emily, how much time do you have? When would your window of opportunity to escape be?” Rachel asked, her fingers tapping lightly on the silver rings adorning her hands.

Emily’s blue eyes flickered with uncertainty. “I-I’m not sure. Michael rarely leaves the house. And all my finances are tied to his accounts; he’d be notified immediately if I tried anything.”

“Classic controlling behavior,” Rachel muttered under her breath, her mind racing with possible solutions. “Is there any time when he lets you out of his sight?”

Emily hesitated, a tear rolling down her cheek as she recounted Michael’s bizarre ritual. “He likes me to dress provocatively and then takes me to a fancy bar. He tells me to sit at the bar, wait for men to approach me, and reject them.”

Rachel’s eyebrows furrowed in disgust. “And he just watches from a distance? Enjoying the show?”

“Exactly,” Emily whispered, shame in her voice. “The only time I’m alone is when I go to the restroom.”

Rachel could see the spark of hope in Emily’s eyes despite her tears. That one small moment of freedom had likely been her lifeline during her darkest nights. She knew that the best way to defeat narcissists like Michael was to let them stumble over their own egos.

“Alright, we can work with that,” Rachel said, a faint smile on her lips as an idea took shape in her mind. The atmosphere shifted, a sense of determination driving away some of the shadows surrounding them.

“Really?” Emily’s mouth hung open, her gaze meeting Rachel’s through the haze of tears.

“Trust me, we’ll get you to a point where that notebook will be nothing more than a bad memory,” Rachel reassured her, extending a hand in sympathy. “But first, it’s time for a makeover.”

As Emily grasped Rachel’s hand, a strange mix of gratitude and desperation in her grip, Rachel couldn’t help but think it would be just another case of helping an abused woman escape. Little did she know how wrong she would be.