Maureen Roberts stretched her arms, approached the balcony of her Michigan Avenue penthouse, and gazed down at the hustle-bustle of the city she called home. Chicago was still waking up, and yet the streets were already teeming with furious horns and people late for their daily grind. Luckily, she didn’t have that problem. 

The early thirties hypnotist and financial dominatrix had long stopped worrying about keeping schedules and working for another, instead living her best life at the expense of an ever-growing collection of mindless thralls. Drawn by her magnetic beauty, men from all continents happily threw themselves at her feet, open wallets, and credit cards in their mouths, begging her to use them in any way she saw fit, and she did. It was always a good time to spend a servant’s hard-earned cash, and anyone that said otherwise didn’t know what they were talking about.

At the beginning of every month, she usually did a check-up to see how her pets were doing. She noted the volume of tributes, the fluctuations in numbers, as well as their success. Maureen’s stable comprised lawyers, movie directors, Democrats, and Republican politicians, but also construction workers, struggling artists, and many more. While luxury was her bread and butter, the truly devoted came from the lower-income sections and she cherished every one of them even if she didn’t verbalize it or show it that often. Every bitch has a reputation to maintain, and she was no exception.

She also had her favorites, of course. A recent one went by the name of Timothy Rogers, a shy young man she had seduced while boot shopping. Like most unsuspecting pets, he had been taken aback by her devious charms at first but had quickly fallen in line after receiving the honor of visiting her house. Ever since the day she had successfully warped his thoughts for the first time, Timothy’s confidence levels had risen to levels never before seen and he was about to land a position as Assistant Manager the next month. He remained one of the most charming toys she had ever had the pleasure to play with but was far from the only one.

Boyd Harris was another, and the one on her mind that Saturday morning as she watched the commotion of the normal world. The two had met three Summers before as she was on her way to a Cash Drop. The distracted former architect bumped into her while holding a hot cup of coffee and the result was as disastrous as expected. However, it also opened the doors for a surprisingly successful relationship both had grown to love.

In her three-tiered list of men, Boyd fell in the ‘Open Beta’ category. His mother had taught him the joy of being useful to women from the moment he was born, and his education had always been a fruitful one. When he stared into her bewitching eyes after making a mess out of her purple coat, he apologized so hard it was like his body was about to melt on the sidewalk.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry,” he blabbered. “I wasn’t paying attention and... I’ll pay for the cleaners, of course.”

“Yes, you will,” Maureen declared, stepping on the now empty paper cup right in front of her. The buckled shiny boots captured his bated breath the game of submission began again.

Boyd was everything she loved in a pet: hard-working no matter how much the odds stacked against him, gentle with himself and everyone else around him, and always enthusiastic to show his affection even when the funds were running low. Sure, she had slaves who paid thousands of dollars to buy her designer outfits, shoes, and purses galore, but “a tenner for coffee” every other week was worth more than that. He was one of a select few who had her private cell number, and not once had she charged him for texts or occasional calls. She trusted him implicitly and explicitly and was proud to have him be a part of her realm. If all who served her were like him, she would be the happiest woman alive.

Things went smoothly between them until the day he stopped communicating with her. It happened without warning, a dark shadow looming over a dream of perfection she didn’t want to see the end of. His number was disconnected and even his landlord stopped hearing from him. Boyd had become a ghost and the only entities of the kind she enjoyed were in movies and TV shows, not in the real world. Something had happened, and she intended to find out what it was. 

Following Boyd’s sudden disappearance from all his social circles, Maureen hired a P.I. to look into the matter and present her with believable answers as soon as possible. After two weeks of laborious search, the moment had come to get the facts straight from the source.

“The door is open,” she said to the chubby middle-aged man waiting outside her house. Elliot Danes walked in, a paper folder pressed against his chest and a bemused smile on his upturned lips. Despite being so early, he had dressed up for the occasion, even going to the point of wearing a tie and sprinkling his face with expensive cologne. 

“Miss Roberts,” he muttered, handing over the files he had accrued. “I found him, and unlike what you suspected, he didn’t leave Chicago at all. Everything I dug up on him is right there, including his new appearance and place of residence. You’ll find the pictures at the bottom particularly interesting.”

“Hmmm,” Maureen mused, unsure whether to believe what her eyes were telling her or not. “You’re sure this is him?”

“Positive. I could have made contact, but I was afraid to scare him off. Whatever he got himself involved with seems pretty bad, judging by the shady grounds he’s walking on. Are you really going through with your intention of meeting him in person? Because that part of the city is no place for one as distinct as you.”

“I appreciate your concern, Mr. Danes, but yes, I’m sure, and I’m more than capable of taking care of myself,” she replied, peering through a handful of images that made her heart cry out in pain.

“I never said anything to the contrary, but you’d be wise to be careful, nonetheless.”

“I always am. Thank you, Mr. Danes, you served me well. The rest of your fees are being transferred as we speak along with a little extra for your diligence and perseverance. I trust that concludes our current business arrangement in a satisfying fashion.”

“It certainly does though if you require company for your rendezvous, I’m more than happy to provide.”

“That won’t be necessary. Have a good day.”

“And to you as well, Miss Roberts. It’s been a pleasure working for you.”

“That’s what everyone says,” she smirked as she watched him leave. While the news delivered was anything but great, she was not one to blame the messenger and watch everything go down in flames. Boyd had a terrible secret and only a truly heartless vixen would ignore it. She would not play that role with him, yet cruelty wasn’t out of the question if she didn’t like what she heard. She set the papers aside and waltzed into her walk-in closet to look for an attire as inconspicuous as possible. He had a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

Approximately two and a half hours later, Maureen sat alone inside a last-minute rental SUV in West Englewood, dressed in a light gray jumpsuit with matching shoes, and a pair of dark sunglasses. A dirty blonde wig covered her brown curly hair as she waited for Boyd to cross the street heading her way. The proud man who could have been a Mediterranean male model in another lifetime and now looked like a hobo with sunken green eyes and a scruffy beard was in a hurry to get out of sight as if everyone surrounding him was secretly conspiring to take him down. He passed by the vehicle, head hanging low, and froze in abject fear when he heard her stern voice coming from behind.

“Get inside, Boyd. Now!” she commanded.

“G-goddess?” he stammered. “W-what... what are you doing here?”

“Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing,” she peeked from the passenger’s window. “You decided to  AWOL on me and everyone you hold dear, only to re-emerge in this unsavory part of town? You never officially left my service, so I hope you’re ready to tell me everything that led you here. Get in. That’s an order! We’re going for a ride.”

“I...” he mumbled, eyes locked on hers as she removed her sunglasses. Looking everywhere for invisible spies, he hid in the back, covering his partially shaved head with his hands. “I wish you hadn’t come here.”

“And I wish you would have been forthcoming about your problems before disappearing. No matter what you’re going through, what you did was beyond asinine and I’m pissed like you’ve never seen before. Now tell me what I want to know and don’t leave anything behind,” she drove the rental away.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

“You forget who you’re talking to, slave. Truth serum activated,” she declared.

When training her pets in the best ways to do her bidding, Maureen employed a wide assortment of techniques such as mantras, covert brainwashing, menial tasks, and of course, hypnotic triggers. Different people responded more effectively to particular stimuli, but all surrendered to the idea that lying to her was an absurdity sooner than later, and the imagery planted in their brains solidified that with every usage.

“Feel it flowing through your veins again, your blood washed away by its power. Whatever I ask of you, you will answer without hesitation, offering only subservience to my undisputed will. You can’t resist me, Boyd. Drop deep and obey,” the entrancing findomme commanded.

“Yes, Goddess,” Boyd adjusted himself in his seat, with rigid muscles and evaporating thoughts. The streets of the City of Big Shoulders became a colorful blur pulling him deeper and deeper under her control.

“Good. Start from the beginning, slave. Why did you stop calling me after all the wonderful times we had together?”

“I messed up big time and got dragged into something I couldn’t get away from,” he replied, trembling voice interspersed with a sob. “I didn’t want anyone else to get involved and so I ran.”

“And in doing that, you only made things worse. That’s unacceptable and you will be punished accordingly when we’re done. Tell me what caused this predicament. The truth serum within you compels you.”

“A bet. A stupid bet I should have never agreed with. I lost a lot of money in an underground card game,” he sighed. “and with no way of paying it back, I had no choice but to become... well, this.”

“And this is...? What are you not telling me?” Maureen asked.

Boyd reached for the back pocket of his torn-out khaki pants and produced a small plastic bag filled with a thick white powder that was anything but refined sugar. Maureen glimpsed it from the rearview mirror and immediately stopped the van in the middle of a crowded street.

“Are you kidding me, slave? You’re doing drugs now?” she growled.

“No, Goddess, but I am selling them, at least until I make enough to pay my debt. After that, I’ll stop.”

“You will? And who told you that? The criminals you started working for? Come on, Boyd, there’s no way you can be this naïve. Once people like that rope good guys like you, the only way you get out of their ‘business’ is the back of a police van or inside a body bag, neither of which are outcomes I’m looking forward to. How could you have fucked up this badly? And why didn’t you ask for help the moment the world began to collapse around you?”

“You’re my Goddess, my world. I should take care of you and not the other way around. What was I going to say? And how? I created this problem alone, and it’s up to me to fix it no matter what. You owe me nothing and I hate that you had to find out like this,” he broke down in tears.

Maureen grabbed the wheel again and parked the SUV in a more respectable place before joining him in the back. Boyd was inconsolable, a grown man with a heart of gold reduced to a quivering mess that could hardly be called human anymore. He threw a furious punch at the door handle to his right, knuckles bleeding red on the leatherette seat.

“I’m sorry, I’m so terribly sorry...” he wailed.

“Shhh, that’s okay, slave,” she wrapped her perfectly manicured hands around his slender neck. “You’re safe, you hear? You’re safe with me as you’ve always been. I shouldn’t have lashed out earlier but I get it now. They threatened your family, didn’t they? They said they would come after them if you didn’t become their bitch.”

“Yes,” he admitted, leaning against her bosom. “I told them no at first, that I would find another way to pay them back but the morning after they sent me pics of my baby sister on her way to work. Some of them were cropped to look like she was missing an arm or a leg. The last one didn’t have a head. I couldn’t... I couldn’t let any harm come to her but I couldn’t explain what was happening either, so I ran. I know everyone is worried, and I know they’re looking for me, but I can’t show my face around anyone else until this mess is dealt with. I need to do it, Goddess. Please let me go back out there. The sooner I pass these around the better.”

“That’s out of the question, slave. You’re not doing anything else for those sons of bitches while I’m around, do you understand?”

“But what I just told you... they’ll hurt her! And if they go after my mother as well, I’ll never forgive myself! Please, Goddess! You need to let me do this.”

“I already said no and my word remains the law. You agreed to that when you submitted to me but you’re not just my servant. You’re my friend too, and as your owner and your friend, I’m telling you that no harm will come to anyone close to you. I have plenty of people I can talk to and hundreds of slaves to get things done. They will be protected while we deal with the crux of the issue, namely those who dared to do something like this to you.”

“You don’t mean...?”

“Of course I do!” Maureen’s eyes twinkled. “Retribution comes swift to anyone that threatens one of my flock, and you don’t need a truth serum trigger to know that, right?”

“Goddess, no! They’re going to hurt you too! These people... they’re animals! Worse than that, they’re complete savages! Messing with them is asking for more than can you handle.”

“Let them try. Do you have so little faith in me nowadays? And remember you must speak the truth.”

“No, but... Shit! This is too much!”

“Not for long, my dear. You’re going to tell me all about these assholes so I can pay them a visit and then we’ll see who comes out on top. Hint: it will always be me.”

Boyd nodded silently, the mesmerizing power of her words filling his heart with the unbridled flow of hope. Justice was only a confession away.