The Golden Cage - S01 E06

Story 2 weeks ago

The Golden Cage - S01 E06

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 6

Episode 6: The Golden Cage

Life as a married woman was much worse than Linda had ever imagined in her worst dreams. Before the wedding, she thought the big house was a palace. She thought the gold and the cars and the shiny floors were signs of a happy life. But as soon as the wedding party ended and the guests went home, the truth came out like a cold wind. The big house did not feel like a home anymore. It felt like a very large and very quiet prison. Frank did not treat Linda like a wife. He did not treat her like a person he loved or respected. Instead, he treated her like a servant who did not get paid. He treated her like a piece of furniture that he could move or kick whenever he wanted.

Every single morning, Linda had to wake up very early. She had to wake up before the sun was even in the sky. She had to clean the whole house by herself. Frank had sent away the regular cleaners. He told Linda that since she did not have a job, she had to earn her keep. He made her scrub the floors until her knees were sore. He made her polish the silver until her fingers ached. He would walk around the house with a white glove. If he found even a tiny bit of dust on a table or a chair, he would get very angry. He would shout at her and call her names. He would tell her that she was lazy and useless. He would say that a village girl like her should be happy to even touch such expensive things.

Frank was very hard to please. He complained about everything Linda did. He would sit at the big dining table and wait for his breakfast. If the eggs were a little bit too soft, he would throw the plate on the floor. If the coffee was not steaming hot, he would pour it into the sink and make her start over. Any small mistake always led to a slap across her face. Linda’s face was rarely without a bruise now. She learned to wear a lot of powder and makeup to hide the marks. She learned to look at the floor when she spoke to him. She learned to be as quiet as a mouse so she would not make him angry.

But the physical pain was not the worst part. The worst part was the shame that Linda felt every single day. Frank did not even try to hide the fact that he was seeing other women. He continued to go out to fancy parties without her. He would come home smelling like different perfumes. Sometimes, he was so mean that he even brought these women to the house. He would tell Linda to go to the kitchen and prepare a big meal for his guests. Linda would stand over the hot stove, cooking meat and rice and vegetables, while she heard the sound of other women laughing in her living room. She heard them sitting on her sofas and drinking from her glasses.

Linda would cry in the kitchen while she worked. Her tears would fall into the food she was making. She felt so much shame. She felt like she had lost all her pride. She remembered the girl she used to be at the university. She remembered how she used to study hard and how she was the best in her class. She remembered her big dreams of becoming a successful woman and helping her village. Now, that girl felt like a stranger. She felt like that smart girl had died and been replaced by a sad servant. She wanted to run away. She wanted to pack a small bag and walk out of the golden gates and never look back.

But Linda felt very weak. Every time she thought about leaving, she felt a heavy weight in her chest. She felt that because she had taken Frank’s money for so long, she owed him her life. She looked at the expensive clothes in her closet and felt like they were chains. She looked at the diamond ring on her finger and felt like it was a lock. She had become used to the things that money could buy, and she was terrified of being poor again. She was scared that if she left, she would have nowhere to go. She had no money of her own. She had no phone to call for help. She was completely alone in the big city.

One afternoon, the sun was very hot. Frank was sitting in his office inside the house. He called Linda to come and bring him some cold water. When she entered the room, he looked at her with a very dark smile. He told her to sit on the floor near his feet. He looked at her and said something that made Linda feel like her heart had stopped. He told her that he owned her soul. He said, Linda, you can never leave me. I pay for your parents' medicine every month. Without my money, your father would not be able to breathe. Without my money, your mother would have no food. I bought their lives, and that means I bought you. You are my property until the day you die.

Linda felt a sharp pain in her chest. She realized that Frank was right. He was using her love for her parents as a weapon against her. She was paying for that money with her own blood and her own tears. Every slap he gave her was the price for her father’s medicine. Every insult he shouted was the price for her mother’s food. She felt like she was drowning in a sea of gold. She walked out of the office and went to get a bucket of water and a brush. She started to scrub the floor of the hallway. She scrubbed and scrubbed until her hands were red. She felt like she was trying to wash away the shame, but it would not go away.

As the weeks went by, Frank became more and more busy. He started to leave his office door unlocked sometimes. He thought Linda was too scared to ever go inside without being called. One day, while Frank was out at a meeting with his father, Linda was cleaning the house. She reached the door of his office. She felt a sudden spark of courage. She wanted to see what he kept in there. She wanted to know more about the man who claimed to own her soul. She walked into the room. It was very cold because of the air conditioner. The desk was very large and made of dark, heavy wood.

Linda started to dust the desk. She moved the papers and the pens. She was being very careful. As she was wiping the side of the desk, her brush hit a small piece of wood that felt loose. She pushed it with her finger. Suddenly, a small door clicked open. It was a hidden compartment that she had never seen before. Linda’s heart began to beat very fast. She felt like she was doing something very dangerous. She looked inside the dark hole.

There was a small leather bag inside. Linda reached in and pulled it out. Her hands were shaking. She opened the bag and saw a passport. She picked it up and opened the first page. She gasped so loud that she had to cover her mouth. The photograph on the passport was her own face. It was a picture of her from the university. But the name on the passport was not Linda. It was a completely different name that she had never heard in her life. The passport said she was from a different country.

Linda stared at the passport in total shock. Why did Frank have a passport with her face but a different name? What was he planning to do with it? She felt a cold shiver of terror go down her back. The mystery of the golden cage was becoming much deeper and much more dangerous. She was not just a wife or a servant. She was part of a secret that she did not understand. She heard the sound of a car in the driveway. Frank was home. She quickly pushed the passport back into the hidden spot and closed the door. She stood up and tried to act like she was just cleaning, but her mind was spinning. The suspense was so thick that she could hardly breathe.

Why do you think Frank has a passport with Linda’s photo but a different name?

Does Frank plan to take Linda away to another country where no one knows her?

Do you think Linda should have taken the passport and ran away right then?

How can Linda find out the truth without making Frank angry?

Do you think Frank is part of a secret criminal group?

The mystery is getting deeper and the danger is everywhere! What is the secret of the fake passport? What is Frank really planning to do with Linda? You cannot afford to miss the next episode!