I have everything I ever sought after but I never thought it would look like this. I live in a paradise of Hell. My house, husband and children are beautiful but I fear for my life. My name is Bella and this is my story.

My summer as a chalet girl was the fulcrum of my career. Like all the girls I knew, we worked our buns off, because we really needed the money. In fact, no matter how many hours I waited on the rich and famous, no matter how I scrimped and cut corners, I just couldn’t seem to erase my college debt. Sure, I dreamed of meeting a rich, handsome prince who would kiss me to wake me from this life and whisk me away from my drudgery. Honestly though, the notion was as cartoonish as the movies that put those dreams in my head.

Serving the elite, at a chalet in the French Alps, was a dream come true. Not only did I make twice an hour what I could back in Virginia, but the French know how to party, and for girls who are attractive enough, we got our drinks (and occasionally ski lift passes) for free.

My job, serving a filthy rich family, was clear. Breakfast was to be on the table at 8:00am. Dinner was to be piping hot and properly served at 6:00pm. Both the house and I had to be groomed and ready at a moments notice to render service at impromptu events, as clients were wooed. Of course, dressing up nice and being paid large bonuses was a fantastic perk of the job. I was not allowed to bring friends up to the three-story mansion. Also, there were certain rooms the client would keep as out of bounds.

Chet was a handsome stock-broker from London. His muscles were as fat as his wallet. His clear eyes made me feel like he was telling me the truth when he told me neither of his other two exes made him feel as appreciated as I did. He said they had no concept of how to please a man. He showed me pictures of two exceptionally gorgeous models and I felt flattered to be considered in their league. He was charming and took me to the finest restaurants, places that cost what I earned in a fortnight.

When he proposed, I didn’t hesitate. It was later, I learned he served his second wife divorce papers after this proposal. But, what did that matter if he didn’t love her. A divorce with an expensive settlement would be in her best interest anyway.

The first months of marriage were blissful as other girls served me for a change. Gradually, Chet began to change. He took me for granted. His business trips began to take him away from our London home for longer each time. At home, he expected me to function exactly as I did as a Chalet girl, except now, I also had to provide sex whenever he wanted, usually, late at night upon his return from business deals in other countries.

Breakfast at 8:00am, dinner at 6:00pm, sex at 2:00am and the house and I always looking perfect. Also, no friends were allowed to visit me and then there was the secret room.

Even after bearing him two gorgeous children, he would never allow me entry into the third floor attic. A steel door with a giant padlock guarded entry to his most precious secret.

One day, I’d had enough of his secrets. Chet was in Hong Kong, the kids were in school and the maid had the day off. I purchased large bolt cutters and a new padlock that looked identical to the one on the door. Once snapped off, I knew I could determine the old code and reset the new lock to those numbers. Snapping the metal and opening the door was easy, but I will never recover from what I found inside. I slowly climbed the musty staircase. Dust had recently shifted from the steps, revealing he had been here recently.

A spacious carpeted, air-conditioned room held a secret that would change the rest of my life. Three glass coffins were arranged, funeral-home style, along the walls. Three girls, two I recognized as his exes, were embalmed in youthful perfection. I didn’t even know they had been missing. That was probably why I wasn’t allowed an Internet connection. So, this was what happened to a woman who could not comply with his expectation of perfection. He would seal her in glass to ensure her eternal physical perfection.

The first thing I noticed, there was no stench and I wondered how he had achieved that. Each girl looked like the fairy tale story of Sleeping Beauty. Pink cheeked, they each looked like they were asleep and about to wake up. I wondered for a moment if they were vampires, as my husband had sometimes accused them, but even vampires needed to breathe, right?

My path is clear. If I tell the police, Chet will spend our fortune on the finest lawyers and it would hurt our family’s reputation. If our family reputation were ever smeared, it would kill him. If I pretend I’ve never been in here, he might somehow figure it out. Even if he doesn’t figure out my secret, he might still choose to enclose me before my body deteriorates with age. I don’t want to run and hide. He would somehow find me. Secretly, I harbour the desire to put him in his own glass coffin to gaze at his beauty for the next sixty years. That poses too many risks; the worst would be my children discovering their parent’s sins.

I refuse to fear for my life and an accident will be simple. I will insist on an overseas vacation, somewhere remote and dangerous with boats and sharks. It won’t be hard to poison him and feed him to his own kind. The kids will barely notice, as he was never around anyway. My life is about to begin for real.