“So he really did that? Made you forget everything?” Tiff asked, flabbergasted.

I nodded. “It was like… The life he made for me was the only one I’d ever known. I didn’t even remember my own name until I saw you.” The words felt shocking coming out of my mouth. Tiff was my sister, my closest family. To think I could have forgotten her…

“That’s incredible. Horrifying, but incredible,” Tiff pondered, her voice trembling ever so slightly. “But then, how did you find me?”

“I saw you on the news while I… Well, never mind what I was doing. What’s important is that I saw you, and it was just enough for me to remember parts of my old life.”

“But weren’t you, like, brainwashed? How did you break free?”

“I didn’t, not really anyways. I used the same tactics that programmed us to retain my memory of you, then built up my own programming to force myself away. It was… Difficult… But it worked!” I explained eagerly, feeling an emotion that still felt foreign—pride. Not in Master, but in myself.

Tiff let out a soft, tired laugh. “Even with a whole new life, you still managed to outsmart everyone around you. No wonder you were on the board.”

“The board?”

“Yeah, the Viricom Board. You were an executive, don’t you remember?” Tiff asked, looking puzzled. I furrowed my brow. It sounded familiar, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was. Evidently there was still a lot left to recall.

“Sorry, no. What is it?”

Tiff’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh! Well, um, it’s a media company. They make a couple talk shows and soap operas, but their main business is local and national news. Maddie, you were an executive there. You sat on their board. You even helped me land my first real job there!”

I blinked, struggling to process that I could have ever held such a high position. I was still getting used to having a real name. “Was I really that important?” I asked.

Tiff nearly gasped “Of course you were! Everyone was always crazy about you! Your bosses loved you, your subordinates hung on your every word, and don’t even get me started on Mom and Dad.”

“Mom and Dad…” I murmured, the words hanging on my tongue. I couldn’t remember them, no matter how hard I pushed myself to. How could I have forgotten my own parents?

“Yeah, they um…” Tiff paused, shifting to a more considerate voice, “They died about seven years ago. Car crash. I’m sorry, Maddie, you had already gone through the whole grieving process, so I was hoping you’d remember that…”

“Oh,” I stated bluntly.

Tiff raised an eyebrow. “Oh? That’s it?”

She wasn’t wrong to judge. As soon as the words left her mouth I expected to be flooded with a wave memories and grief, but no such thoughts or feelings surfaced. I didn’t remember a thing about them. Perhaps if I’d remembered even the tiniest thing about them I’d have something to attach to, but…

“I’m sorry,” I said, “I just don’t remember them. I know I should, I know it’s messed up, but I can barely remember anything. Nothing except you.”

Tiff’s face softened for a moment, betraying a conflicted emotion, like she was pained and sympathetic at once. A moment later, however, she regained her bearings. “It’s okay, Maddie, as long as you’re here it’s okay. Listen, I’m gonna go into the other room and call the police, let them know you’re okay. Are you good to stay here until then?”

“Yes, I should be,” I confirmed. Truthfully I was still a bit shaky from our reunion, but I could handle being on my own for a few minutes.

Tiff flashed me a sympathetic smile, albeit one that betrayed more pity than she had likely intended. As she made her way into the adjacent room and shut the door, I couldn’t help but admire her house. It was huge, intelligently decorated, and opulent in a way I truly hadn’t expected. The furniture set was a sharp white, as if daring to be stained, yet remained practically untouched. I almost felt guilty sitting on the couch, it felt like I was sitting on an art exhibit. As happy as I was to see Tiff, I didn’t exactly feel comfortable. Nothing felt comfortable, really. I still hadn’t been able to recall anything else about my life. Not my job, not my parents, I hadn’t even remembered my own name until she had told me.

Maddie. My name was Maddie. Not Tuesday, not Slave, Maddie.

I closed my eyes, quietly reciting my mantra

I had a name

I had a life

I have a sister

I felt the excitement course through me as the words escaped my lips. For the first time, they were more than just aspirations.

I had a name, Maddie.

I had a life, I was an executive.

I have a sister, her name’s Tiff.

Emboldened, I smiled. I laid back on the couch, allowing myself to relax my posture and truly be present in the space. Scanning the dozens of paintings and small sculptures on display in the room, I had to admire Tiff’s sense of decor. Clearly my little sister had grown into someone with expensive taste.

Little sister…

As Tiff reemerged from the other room, I excitedly addressed her.

“Tiff! You’re my younger sister!”

“Um… Yeah?” she confirmed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I suppose it was to her.

“No, you don’t get it! Up until now I didn’t know that! I remembered on my own!” I beamed.

Tiff paused for a moment before giving me a sympathetic smile. “Well, baby steps I suppose.”

I sank a bit further into the couch, deflated by her nonplussed reaction, but remained optimistic. I’d just proven to myself that I could regain my memories, and that was cause enough to celebrate.

“So what was it like, down in the compound? What did you do?” she inquired.

I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to recall it now that I was free, but I had to explain exactly what happened to Tiff at some point. “I was…” I hung on my words deliberately, hoping she would decide to change the subject. Unfortunately, her expression remained steadfast. I sighed.

“I was a slave. Every day I would wake up and stare into a screen that would give me instructions and reinforce my role.”

“Your role?”

“Yes, my role. Duties and responsibilities. Things like always obeying Master, dedicating my every thought to his needs and desires. I wasn’t a whole person, Tiff, I was just an extension of him.

“So if he was making you act a certain way, is that why you’re dressed like… That?” Tiff said, her eyes scanning my attire. I was still wearing the outfit I’d picked out from the town, one that, as I regained my sense of self, I was rapidly realizing showed a lot more skin than a typical outfit did.

“Yes, our outfits were very much a part of our programming. But, um, do you happen to have anything I might be able to change into?”

In spite of the high emotions, Tiff chuckled. “I borrowed your clothes all the time when we were teenagers, guess it’s time I returned the favor,”

Soon enough I had changed out of my unwittingly slutty outfit, having changed into a tight blue dress that hugged my waist. It actually complemented Tiff’s outfit well, a tight purple dress with a belted waist and a cut that showed a tasteful amount of cleavage. I had to admire how great Tiff looked, no wonder she was doing well on TV.

“So this “Master” of yours, do you remember his name?” she asked, directing my thoughts back towards my slave life.

“No, I don’t think I ever knew it to begin with. From day one I only ever knew him as Master.” I crossed my legs, quietly taking a heavy breath as Tiff interrogated me.

“Interesting…” Tiff said, leaning in closer. Noticing my discomfort, she leaned back. “Sorry, I know this is a lot for you, but I have a reason. You probably don’t remember, but that first job you got me at Viricon was as an assistant journalist. I did that for a couple years before I landed the anchor job. I want to figure out who this guy is. Is that okay with you?”

A deep, pulsing discomfort panged in my chest. This would be the most direct betrayal of my Master possible, to directly expose him to the world. Could I do that? Even with all my strength, could I muster the willpower to turn against him so directly?

“Yes,” I declared, stilling the quaking in my heart.

Tiff gave me a warm smile. “Thanks, Maddie.”

We spent the next hour or so poring over the details of my enslavement—The names we adopted, the duties we’d carry out, the programming routines, all of it. I shocked even myself with how candid I was, as if all obligation I had ever felt to Master was well and truly gone. Tiff listened carefully, doing well to withhold her reactions and ask questions critically.

“Okay, you’ve done so well, Maddie. Now I just want to hash out some of the logistics. How many slaves were at the compound?”

“At least ten, but I only regularly interacted with six of them. There were the seven main ones, plus at least three others I saw that tended to some of his other needs. I think one of them managed his finances, if that helps.”

“Right, and the seven were named after days of the week?”

“Exactly, you would attend to him whenever it was your day. Sunday on Sunday, Friday on Friday…”

“Tuesday on Tuesday,” Tiff interjected.

My heart stopped for a moment, hearing my slave name come out of Tiff’s mouth, before quickly and quietly regaining my composure, “Yes.”

“And what would he normally have you do?” she asked.

“We’d serve whatever his needs were. Sometimes that meant giving him a massage or fetching him food and beverages. Usually, though, it meant… Personal activities.”

Tiff raised an eyebrow. “Activities such as…?”

I felt a lump in my throat. I’d never been ashamed of the sexual services I’d provided Master, that shame had been programmed out a long time ago. But to tell Tiff, my own sister, about what I did as Master’s slave? It just felt wrong.

Tiff adopted a sterner gaze, leaning forward as she spoke to me. “Maddie, if we’re gonna nail this guy, you need to tell me everything. I promise I won’t judge you for it, I know you had no control. So please, talk to me,” she implored.

Maybe it was her comforting words, or maybe it was the intensity of her questioning, but either way I cracked. I began to speak, and didn’t stop.

“Usually he would bend me over and fuck my pussy, he would always talk about how tight it was and how good it felt to have his cock in me. I’d give him a lot of blowjobs as well, he said my plump lips felt amazing on his dick. Sometimes he’d have me do a striptease for him, dancing and showing off my body. He loved it when I did that, he said I had the best curves out of all his slaves. Oh! Also…”

I didn’t stop talking for at least another full minute, describing everything we ever did together in a machine gun monologue as Tiff’s eyes grew wider and wider. When I finally did stop talking, she froze for a moment, stunned by the candid nature of my admissions. Taking a moment to recompose herself, she once again adopted a professional tone. “Would he be an active participant in these activities?”

“Sometimes,” I answered, “Some days he would be all over me, ravishing my body as if I were the only woman in the world. Other days he was calm, and simply wanted a companion to offer him pleasure while he attended to his hobbies.”

“And did you… Like that? Like, did the programming make you like it?” asked Tiff, drumming her fingers silently on the side of her chair.

“I…” I paused. There was truth to Tiff’s suggestion, a kind I couldn’t help but acknowledge as the confessions flooded out of my mouth, “Yes, I did. Having Master use me felt amazing. It didn’t matter when, how, or why he was using me, it felt amazing to serve his needs. I didn’t have my own wants or desires, fulfilling his was enough to leave me utterly satisfied.”

Tiff was, again, speechless, but I caught a hint of another emotion on her face. Her face softened, almost as though she was relieved somehow.

“Then, how did you leave? Wouldn’t you have been happy to stay there?”

“Escaping was hard, really hard, but the thought of forgetting about you and my old life, I couldn’t bear it. So I worked hard, I trained myself to turn the programming in my favor and I ran away. It was all to find you, Tiff. I even had a mantra, and I still use it when I start to get overwhelmed. It kept me free, and you were the most important part of it.”

Tiff gave me a long, thoughtful stare, before suddenly jolting off her chair and embracing me in a tight hug. I was caught off guard, but slowly wrapped my arms around her waist, embracing my sister. “Thank you, Tiff,” I whispered. She said nothing back.

Our tender moment was interrupted by the ringing of a doorbell. “That must be the police,” Tiff said, her voice surprisingly flat. “I’ll be right back.”

With that, she walked around the corner towards the front door. I sat on the couch, my emotions settling within me. Yes, escaping had been hard. A part of me, a big one, wanted to stay at that compound and serve my Master for the rest of my days. That would have made me happy, but it wouldn’t have been a life filled with love. In that moment, I knew what love felt like. I loved my sister, and I knew with absolute certainty that seeking her out was the right choice.

I turned as she re-entered the room, looking at me with a surprisingly cold expression. Another figure followed her in.

A single glance was enough. I knew it was him, and I melted. I slid off the couch, falling onto the hardwood floor and stretching my arms far in front of me in a prostrated pose. I felt him step closer until I could see his shoes at the edges of my vision even with my face facing firmly toward the ground.

“Stay kneeling, Tuesday, I’ll deal with you soon,” Master ordered. I obliged, not daring to move a muscle in my body. The shockwave of reflexive obedience had overwhelmed my mind so thoroughly I barely had time to process. That was, until I heard the next words out of his mouth.

“It’s good that you called, Tiffany, I’ll have this sorted out in no time.”