The Trapped Daughter
Jay Kerk
Publication date: September 12th 2020
Genres: Adult, Psychological Thriller
Have you ever been trapped somewhere? I have.
Have you ever found that the world does not believe you? I did.
I have been betrayed by the people I trusted the most. They coil around me like snakes, lulling me with whispers about protection and safety and for your own good.
They offer up pills like sweets, promising me relief. Just take the meds and everything will be fine, Belle – the meds, Belle, the meds.
Everything will not be fine, and it never will be again. Justice is gone from the world. I have been wronged by Gabe, the man I loved most, and when I turned to others for backup, they sided with him because he’s a star. When I ran to my father for safety, he locked me up in his great big mansion and threw away the key. Now I drift like the ghost Gabe pretended I was, my bare feet tasting the coldness of rich tiles, my breath turning to ice.
Gabe isn’t real, they tell me. They insult me, they spit at me, then smile and pretend that they wish to help. Meanwhile, Gabe is out there, luxuriating in all that I won for him, and I suffer and burn.
—
EXCERPT:
Prologue
When locked up in my room, I can no longer imagine good things.
I take a piece of paper out of my notepad and cut it into small pieces. On each piece, I write: I am Belle. My father is holding me hostage at his home. I sign them all and fold the papers until they become small enough. I then scatter them around the room, under the closet, beneath the mattress, under the carpet, in the cabinets, and inside the drawers.
A few minutes later, I realize that all of the pieces I have hidden could be discovered in one sweep. If something happens to me, I want the police to know about my father. I start again. This time, I cut the paper into larger pieces so I can write a longer message.
My name is Belle Andresson. My father is holding me against my will at our home. My father is dangerous and unpredictable, and if something happens to me, he is to be blamed. Today is the eighth day, and most of the time I am trapped inside my room, with no means of communication.
I hide the papers in places they cannot be found easily: on top of the closet, taped to the curtain, and in a sealed bag in the toilet tank.
My fate is unknown to me. I can only think of escaping to survive, but before escaping, I must know why my father is doing this to me.
About Gabe: 2011
We met for the first time on a dry autumn day. If I had known who I was going to meet on that day and what he would do to me, I would have turned back… but innocent me had no idea.
It was the kind of clichéd meeting most hopeless romantics dream of.
The ground was carpeted with leaves, and I was surrounded by the huge oak trees they’d fallen from, trying to cram my way through the crowded main entrance to the university. The passage could probably hold a few hundred of the thirty thousand students registered in an academic year at once, and it was hot with the smell of excitement and sweat.
I am a shy person, but back then – there should have been a stronger word to describe how shy I was. I walked with my gaze on my feet, my hair across my face, my shoulders hunched inwards as others bumped and barged me from left and right. I walked as one who wants to be invisible, and has almost – almost – achieved it.
The last bump was hard enough to knock my notepad out of my hand. I bent to pick it up, and was faced with a hand that wasn’t mine on the pages. I lifted my head and saw Gabe squatting in front of me.
Our eyes met, and I felt the butterflies, felt my mouth turn dry. I crouched motionlessly, bewildered by how perfect he was. Without a word, he gave me the book and hurried away, looking at his watch. I told myself, this is fate. I will marry this man one day.
I didn’t want anyone else. I loved him before he became a superstar – and once he did, I adored him.
I wish I could to listen to his music, waltz into one of his shows, a casual observer with nothing to lose, nothing to care about. People die from broken hearts, but I haven’t died. Yet.
I never I imagined I could stay in love with someone for so long.
Author Bio:
Jay Kerk uses his medical background and clinical experience as a physician to research and create disturbing psychological thrillers. His main driver is his fascination with the human mind and its vast capabilities, and he loves complex situations that test and challenge reality.
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