Valerie's husband and son arrive.

Twenty minutes later Lucy had finished her meal and was putting on a brave face as her mistress tugged a brush through her hair. She'd been through a lot since her shower that morning, and her hair was messy with knots. The brush going through them pulled at her scalp no matter how gentle the woman tried to be, but she was determined not to provoke another punishment so she bit her lip and waited for it to be done.

It took a while, but eventually the brush was able to glide through her hair without getting stuck. The woman gave it a few more goes to make sure she had eliminated every knot, then paused.

"You have such lovely long fur," she remarked. "I bet it'd look nice with a braid. But my family will be home any minute so we'll leave it natural today. You be a good girl for them now Lucy, you don't know them yet but they're your owners too. If I'm your mistress, they're your masters."

Lucy's eyes widened. She didn't know Valerie had a family, and 'master' sounded worse than 'mistress' to her. She was about to be trapped, naked and helpless, in a house with men who saw themselves as her owners!

Valerie stroked her hair comfortingly. "Don't look so scared, sweetie. They're nice owners like me. Just be a good girl for them and you'll have nothing to worry about."

She stood up, taking Lucy's leash in her hand. "Now come along, I think I hear Dan's car already."

Sure enough, the front door was unlocked with a loud click just as they reached the entrance hall. The door opened and in walked a bearded man in a suit and tie, followed by a clean-shaven guy around Lucy's age. He was wearing a black hoodie, jeans, and sneakers, and his jaw dropped when he noticed Lucy. "Dude, is that...!"

Dan clapped his hand on the boy's shoulder. "That's right, son. She's not the pet we've been talking about, but your mother got approval for us to take in Lucy Carpenter and help her adjust to the life of a pet properly. The most famous pet on Earth is better than a dog, isn't it?"

Lucy was completely frozen, her eyes on the ground while the two men looked down at her. "Way better! Except..."

"What is it, Henry?" Valerie asked.

The boy, Henry, laughed. "All those names we brainstormed are useless now. Imagine calling her Rex or Scrappy!"

Valerie chuckled. "I vetoed those names anyway! They're not good, even for a dog. But we can still give her another name from the list, we don't have to stick with Lucy."

"Actually, I like Lucy," Dan said.

Henry nodded. "Me too. It suits her."

"If you say so. Lucy it is."

Lucy breathed out in relief. Everything else had been taken from her, but at least they were leaving her her name. As long as she had that she could feel like she was still herself, and someday, somehow, she would escape to a place where she could feel safe and live as a person again.