Hideaway

In the present, Gabriel overrules Banks’s protests and orders her to do whatever Kai wants. He then asks her if she even knows how to sexually please a man, indicating his suspicion that she and Damon are sexually involved with one another. Banks feels disgusted by her father’s insinuation and reflects that she could never love him. However, she does love her brother, Damon. She goes up to the room that Damon used to occupy and realizes how much she misses his scent. Banks finds that one of Damon’s pet snakes is still alive, and she is reminded of the day they first met.

When Banks was 12 and Damon was 13, Banks and her mother went to Gabriel’s house in search of money. Gabriel did not welcome them warmly; instead, he yelled at Banks’s mother, berating her for her drug addiction and lack of financial security. Banks ran into Damon, who pulled her up to that same bedroom and showed her his two pet snakes. Banks was afraid of snakes and of Damon, and she panicked when Damon held her against her will and shoved the snake in her face, telling her that she and him were not the same, and that he was above her. Eight days later, Damon paid Banks’s mother what money he could find, then took Banks with him back to Gabriel’s house. Since then, Banks has “belonged” to Damon, who takes care of her and keeps her apart from the world. 

Now, in the present, Banks picks up that same snake and holds it, understanding that it was never venomous or particularly dangerous.

In the past, Banks was ushered to the party at the cemetery by the same security guards who always watched over her. She was overtaken by the music, the energy, and the number of people at the party. At one point, two of the men went off to drink, and the third got distracted by an old lover, leaving Banks on her own. She wandered toward a group of people who were watching Kai win a fight against an equally matched opponent. Damon found her and grew angry to realize that she was on her own. He taunted her about Kai, telling her that he had a girlfriend much prettier and more desirable than her. Banks twisted away from Damon and ran. As she fled the party, a few unfamiliar men began taunting her. They eventually grabbed her and dropped her into an empty grave. She began screaming for help, and Kai arrived and fought the men off. He jumped into the grave with her, and they seized the opportunity to enjoy a secret kiss out of sight of everyone else.

Soon, however, Damon arrived and angrily pulled Banks out of the grave, then forced her to declare that she loved him most in all the world. Submissively, Banks hung her head and agreed to wait for Damon at home. Before leaving, Damon warned Kai away from Banks, declaring that he, Damon, was the only one allowed to touch her. Kai was confused because he did not even know until that moment that Damon and Banks knew one another at all.

Now, Banks waits with her security crew outside of Kai’s house, preparing to go to the Pope Hotel. As she approaches, she notices how unkempt and dingy his place is, and she questions whether he really lives here. She rings the bell, knocks, and yells, but nobody answers, so she goes inside. After she explores a few empty rooms, Kai appears behind her, startling her. He orders her security detail to leave and reminds her that she works for him now. They drive to the hotel together. In the car, Kai notices that Banks is wearing Damon’s old belt, which is covered in notches—one for each girl he slept with in high school. 

Banks wonders if Kai thinks there is a notch on that belt for her.

While Kai and Banks are at the hotel, Michael and Will come to scope out the property. They threaten Banks and tell her they’ll kill her if they notice anything strange. Kai disappears to the 13th floor and texts Banks, telling her to meet him up there. She jogs up the 13 flights of stairs and finds Kai out on the balcony, looking down at the seemingly inaccessible 12th floor and wondering how to get there. To prove that the 12th floor does in fact exist, Banks throws her scarf down to its balcony; she and Kai run to the 11th floor, where they look up and see the scarf. Banks daringly attempts to reach it, but fails and comes back down to safety.

Kai stares at Banks and asks her why she wears Damon’s old clothes, but she doesn’t give him an explanation. Kai starts asking Banks all sorts of questions about herself, none of which she answers. She then reclaims some measure of power back for herself when she reminds him that she knows everything about him already, including everywhere he goes and when.

Later, Banks approaches Delcour, the building where Michael Crist’s penthouse is located. She finds the penthouse filled with people, and Rika leads her to Kai, who is in a room down the hall. Banks hands Kai the contract that Gabriel wrote up, which includes demands that Kai have children with Vanessa, his new pre-determined wife, as soon as possible. Kai looks at Banks and announces to the room that she works for Gabriel; he implies that she is his hired sex worker.

Banks tries to leave but finds herself drawn in by Kai’s scent and his dark energy, and she also knows that she is obligated to fulfill his demands. He tells her to fetch towels, and along the way, she runs into a woman who attempts to seduce her. Kai intervenes and claims possession of Banks. The two grow aroused by the sounds of Will having sex with an unnamed woman in a nearby room. Banks finds herself kissing and touching Kai’s body until it occurs to her that she is doing exactly what Kai wants her to do. She therefore stops and tries to leave, but she runs into her security guards. Kai reminds them that Banks now works for her, and he only deigns to dismiss her when she admits out loud that she belongs to him. Feeling humiliated and used, Banks leaves, punching and kicking the elevator in her rage.

Later, Kai leaves the gym and finds Banks in an alley near the Pope Hotel. He picks her up and takes her to his parents’ house; they are sleeping upstairs and are unaware of Kai and Banks’s presence. Kai asks Banks about her past, asking how she is treated at home. He can tell that she is neglected, and he knows Damon and Gabriel well enough to know that Banks’s life with them must be difficult. Kai serves Banks steak; at first, she says she doesn’t like it. Kai tells her that he grew up in a small apartment with holes in the walls, and his father worked hard to build wealth. Now, Kai admits to feeling like a disappointment to his father. Hearing this confession eases Banks a little, and she tries the steak, admitting that it is her first time tasting it. Kai realizes that Banks probably isn’t being paid well, and he resolves to fix that. He also realizes that he enjoys feeding her and taking care of her.