Dubai

3 Weeks Later
Dubai, UAE

The elevator doors opened directly into the ultra luxury climate-controlled gallery on the 72nd floor of the Burj Khalifa’s exclusive residential tower.

Osman Begum, a 42-year-old Emirati billionaire and passionate collector of rare and beautiful things, watched with quiet intensity as two large, reinforced crates were carefully unboxed by his trusted attendants.

The first to be lifted out was Tyler Brooks. The tall, athletic teen was placed on a black marble pedestal under soft, dramatic lighting. His cocky, confident smile was perfectly preserved, shoulders squared, legs slightly apart in a strong, masculine stance. The second crate revealed Natalie Brooks — Tyler’s cousin. The athletic girl’s brown hair had been kept in a neat ponytail and was positioned beside her cousin by his attendant’s.

Natalie had a fit, toned softball-player’s body and a bright, friendly expression frozen on her face.

Osman stepped forward slowly, circling the two frozen teenagers with the careful eye of a connoisseur.

“Family,” he said softly in English, a faint smile on his lips. “How rare. How perfect.”

He spent several minutes adjusting their poses with gentle but possessive hands. Adjusting a limb here, turning a head there. When he was done, Tyler was positioned standing tall and proud, one arm slightly extended as though he were protectively gesturing toward his cousin. Natalie was placed close beside him, turned slightly inward so they appeared to be looking at each other.

Osman carefully arranged her ponytail over one shoulder and positioned her hands so one rested lightly on Tyler’s arm — creating an intimate, almost protective sibling/cousin dynamic, even if both of them were naked.

He stepped back and studied the composition under the gallery lights. “Excellent,” he murmured. “You will stand here together every day. A reminder of youth, strength, and blood ties. Forever preserved. Forever mine.”

Osman ran his hand slowly down Tyler’s muscular chest, then over Natalie’s athletic shoulder and down her side, appreciating the contrast and similarity in their athletic builds.

“You traveled very far to be here,” he told the two motionless figures. “From a small American high school to the top of the world. You two should feel honored.” Osman raised a glass of rare cognac toward his two newest acquisitions. “Welcome to Dubai, Tyler and Natalie Brooks. You will be the crown jewels of this gallery.”

The city lights of Dubai sparkled far below through the floor-to-ceiling windows. High above the desert, two American teenagers stood frozen forever.

They would never grow older.

They would stand together in this apartment for as long as their new owner desired. To be played with, to be used whenever he desired. They had no complaints about their situation.