Chapter 2 : New Identity

“Gabrielle!”

I was being gently shaken away. My head snapped up and Bridgette was standing over me. Early morning light was streaming in from the office window. I stretched and grunted as I felt my neck stiff.

I had fallen asleep at my desk again. Good thing I didn’t have a partner or any pets to go home to. That was why I was the perfect person to go undercover.

Bridgette was wearing the same clothes as yesterday and the bags under her eyes told me that she spent most of the night researching.

“Everything is ready. Since the rest of the team is away on missions, I’ve informed them of the plan. You meet with someone from the society today for the preliminary checks,” Bridgette told me.

Then, everything happened really fast. So fast that I barely had time to ponder what I was going to do. To consider what I was actually signing up for.

She created a whole new identity for me. We kept my first name the same because I didn’t have enough time to prepare myself to answer to a new one. My alias was Gabrielle Taylor. She gave me a different job, address, and background. I dyed my light blonde hair brown, staining the company's bathroom sink with the hair dye.

However, it was perfect. So perfect, I barely recognized myself.

The preliminary meeting was a cakewalk. I played up the doe-eyed girl who needed a fresh start, and then the man interviewing me was putty in my capable hands. All I could think about was how I was going to take this whole operation down.

After the interview, I was handed a contract. I read through it. I was basically signing my life away. I could have no contact with the outside world and I must stay on the premises at all times. A luxury captivity, that’s what it was.

Even though I wasn’t signing with my actual last name, I still hesitated. I would lose all contact with Bridgette until I found a way to reach her. I had to hand over my phone and all my other electronics too. That put me a little on edge. It made everything more real. If I needed help or to be rescued for any reason, I could never reach out to anyone. I would be completely on my own moving forward.

This was something I knew. I had already had a tearful goodbye with Bridgette, but now that I had the papers in front of me, realization seemed to hit me full force. Was I making a huge mistake? Should I not go through this? This could either go entirely wrong, or entirely right.

The man interviewing me cleared his throat and looked meaningfully at my hand that was poised over the paper.

Fuck. I had to make a choice.

Then, all the missing women who had joined this society flashed before my eyes along with Sara’s picture. I had to do this. Someone needed to bring these fuckers down.

I signed the contract with a flourish feeling, like I had just made a deal with the devil.

I was ushered into a white van right after, and we drove for around an hour. The man had assured me that I didn’t need to pack anything. Apparently, a whole new wardrobe and anything else I would need would be provided. The van then pulled up to a private property. There was a security guard standing watch amid fenced gates. I wondered if they were more worried about keeping people out or in.

Finally, we stopped in front of a gorgeous white mansion. It was the biggest property I’d ever seen. There was a wrap-around porch and rocking chairs out front. Despite the grand exterior, my heart began to beat wildly as I considered what I was about to do. This was the most dangerous mission I’d ever been a part of, but it was also the most important.

I stepped out of the van and walked up to the front door.

There was no turning back now.

***

I wasn’t in a sorority in college, but I assumed this was what it was like. A bunch of women were chattering as they introduced themselves to me. I made sure to use my undercover name. I wasn’t the only new girl joining today and for that, I was thankful. It would be easier to blend in that way.

I nodded and smiled at everyone, pretending to be taking it all in. What I really was doing was studying the other escorts around me. On the surface, everyone seemed happy to be here. But I could tell that wasn’t the case for some girls. Their smiles were too bright. Their responses were too similar.

It was like being an escort at The Golden Hive had changed them—forced them to be someone else. Like they no longer had the same personality as when they walked in here. It was very unnerving to witness.

Everyone was gathered in the huge dining room, which seemed to double as a meeting place. At the head of the table was a gorgeous woman in her late forties. Her bun was tight and her cheekbones were high. She was clearly a fan of botox.

The woman had a bee-shaped pin on her freshly ironed blouse. The bee was the Golden Hive’s insignia. It seemed like she was the leader of the group because when she cleared her throat, all of the women quieted down.

Even before she spoke, I automatically didn’t like her. I noticed that while all the girls were talking, she was judging everyone from her spot at the table—like she was judging their behavior and didn’t like what she saw. The woman’s posture was so straight that it looked like someone had shoved a steel rod where her spine should be. She automatically put me on edge.

“Good afternoon, ladies. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Miss Valerie. If any of our new members have any questions, I’m the one to ask,” she said, standing up even straighter. “I’d like to welcome you home.”

She gestured around and smiled at us.

But the only thing I could see was the dark glint in her eyes. Chills ran down my back and I swallowed hard as she proceeded.

“We will be holding a party tonight to welcome our newcomers. This is a long-standing tradition in our society, so please be respectful of our guests and be on your best behavior. I won’t be the only one watching you,” Miss Valerie warned us.

Holy shit, this woman was speaking to us like we were children. I would need to work on controlling my reactions so I didn’t piss this lady off, even though I already disliked her.

All the women around me began to talk about the upcoming party. There was a delighted tone in their voices as they discussed what they would wear. I was excited for tonight as well, but for a completely different reason. Tonight would be the perfect opportunity to start gathering data about my suspect list and the escort system in general. I could begin gathering evidence to bring them down.

After a quick lunch of salad, which didn’t fill me up at all thanks to the strict diet we were in here, I walked up to my newly assigned room. I was sharing a space with two other younger women named Alice and Charlotte. They introduced themselves to me and I studied our room. It was big for three people. My bed was in the corner and it was queen-sized. At least that I was grateful for. It was definitely better than my own bed back home.

“Is this your first day here too?” Alice asked me.

She was tiny with big brown eyes and short brown hair. She looked so young that I wanted to grab her and escape this awful place. I wondered how she ended up here, as I did with every other woman I’d met so far. But I had to play my part and stay undercover, so asking questions now would be suspicious as hell.

I nodded to answer her question.

“Aren’t you ladies excited?” Charlotte questioned eagerly. “I’ve been here for two weeks and this is the first party that they’ve put on.” She opened their giant closet and inspected the clothes. “I have no idea what I’m going to wear.”

Charlotte was tall, slender, and beautiful. She spoke about the party with such excitement, that it caught me off guard for a moment. I wondered if these two girls knew just how sick this organization was.

“I hope that I catch someone’s attention tonight,” Charlotte beamed, and held up a small white dress to herself.

Alice turned to me. “I heard that tonight is our best chance of getting noticed by someone," she explained. "If a man is interested in us, he might choose to sponsor us. You know, showering us with expensive gifts, that sort of thing.”

Hmm, looked like I needed to find a sponsor if I wanted to get anywhere with my investigation.

I got ready with the two other girls, choosing a long, tight, red dress that went well with my new dark hair. I did my make-up intending to be noticed, painting my lips red and highlighting my hazel eyes with dark eyeshadow. Even though it was against everything I believed in, I would play my part and flirt with these rich men to gain their trust.

All the women gathered outside the doors of the banquet hall a few hours later. The smell of different perfumes and hairspray instantly gave me a headache. Valerie was wearing a modest dress and scanned all of our outfits intently with hawk eyes.

“Good job, ladies. You managed to look presentable,” she said with her nose in the air. I noted a slight tone of jealousy in her voice and filed that away for later. “Now, welcome to the party.”

She opened the large oak door and revealed a grand room with many men and some women milling around. The decorations were extravagant and classic, and servers were walking around with champagne and fancy-looking appetizers. As soon as the doors opened, everyone stared at our group. The room was full of men dressed in suits.

I noticed that they all had the Golden Hive's symbol – the one with a bee that I saw Valerie wearing earlier today – pinned to their suit jackets. All the men looked like they were assessing us, like farmers studying cattle they wanted to buy. It made me want to puke, but I pasted a huge smile on my face and stepped forward.

Show time.

It was a sensory overload. I walked into the room and scanned it for familiar faces. I grabbed a glass of champagne so I wouldn’t look out of place and took a tiny sip. But I wouldn’t be drinking tonight. I needed to keep a clear head. I made a loop around the party searching for faces or a man who looked like he could be easily manipulated into being my sponsor.

I could spot some celebrities, and even politicians amongst the men, but I did not remember their names right away. Then I saw someone I’d never expected to find here.

The fucking chief of police, Leonel!

He was talking to a young girl in a tight pink dress, his eyes on her chest.

That asshole!

Was this why he threw me off the case? Because he was a part of this fucking secret society that took advantage of women? That creep had a wife and kids at home. I wanted to wrap my hands around his throat and squeeze the life out of him.

But I couldn’t.

That would give away my real identity and the whole mission would be blown. Even though I had dyed my hair, he would recognize my face if he saw me. I had to keep a low profile tonight.

He suddenly said goodbye to the girl and started walking in my direction. Oh, no!

I turned and weaved in and out of people trying to act normally. I checked, but he was still following me. Crap! Had he recognized me? I searched the room for the closest exit, but in my panicked state, I couldn’t find any. What the hell was I going to do?

Then, a mysterious stranger came out of nowhere and pressed his lips against mine. I didn’t even have the chance to see his face. I was about to protest, fight him off, but the feeling of his lips made everything else in the world fall away.

Who had I been running from again? Why was I even here? What the hell was my name? The stranger's kiss made every worry in my life fade away. There was only him and his strong arms holding me and keeping me steady. There was only his tongue dancing with mine and making me want so much more from him. I thought about nothing else until he pulled away.

What the hell had just come over me? I had a mission to complete and I couldn’t let some stranger sidetrack me like that just because he was a good kisser.

When I studied his handsome features, I knew I was fucked.

This man was none other than Dante Faust, the only person I had on my list of suspects up to this point. The only person I knew was involved in this whole sickening scheme.

People continued to pass by us as we stared into each other’s eyes, and I wondered how the hell I got involved in this situation and what I was supposed to do now.