In the aftermath of a $15 million dollar auction, Alex Bélanger navigates the gilded cage of Marc Ricci’s ancestral home, where morning eggs are served with warmth and threats of public degradation arrive by nightfall, where the collar at his throat marks him as property but his composure remains an unbreachable fortress. As Marc swings violently between clumsy tenderness and performative cruelty, the cracks in his fourteen-year obsession begin to show, while outside the house, old enemies circle and a decades-long conspiracy quietly tightens its grip. His world has narrowed to a taut, psychosexual chess match where both players are learning the rules as they break them and neither man is quite what the other expected.
I apologize for the delay in releasing this. It’s been 106F here and my allergies have been on the warpath. I have been quite hoarse. I waited for it to clear up a bit, but I am still quite hoarse in the recording. Whether I sound better or worse than the Substack robo-voice is up for debate.
In any case, enjoy listening to chapter six!
