“They need check-ups.” His voice is hard and to the point.
The girls’ eyes are wide, but no one dares move.
“Sexual health check-ups?”
“Yes. I want to make sure none of them have diseases.”
Oh, good God, my stomach is rolling around in disgust. This is everything I have been fighting against. This asshole is someone I’m trying to eradicate from this world.
He must see something in me change because he leans down close to my ear and whispers, “I promised you no harm will come to you if you do as you’re told. Stray from that, and there’s a spare bed waiting for you.” Ice runs through my veins upon hearing his words, and I know he will. He has nothing to lose. No one knows where I am, and if they do, he can easily move me to anywhere in the world with a single click of his fingers.
“Is that all you need from me?”
The asshole shakes his head. “Follow me.” He opens the door again and takes me down another long corridor. This time he opens a metal door, and I’m greeted with a makeshift maternity ward.
Holy fucking shit! There must be twenty babies in here with very frail, young women beside them. Some of them are playing with their babies, others are lying lifeless, staring at the ceiling.
These poor women.
“I need you to check the babies and the women over. I need to know how long till they are able to work again.”
My stomach turns. I’ve seen the aftermath of women forced back into work after giving birth.
“The minimum time is six weeks for a vaginal birth, longer if it’s caesarean,” I explain to him. Dear God, I hope none of the girls have had to have a caesarean, this room does not look like it’s equipped for that type of surgery.
“Six weeks?” His voice raises.
Turning to him, I reiterate, “Yes. Six weeks. Maybe if you made the men wear protection, or the women go on birth control, then you wouldn’t have this problem.”
His blue eyes widen, his nostrils flare, and I sink a little inside myself at his stare. Fuck him! I’m doing him a favor, and he can damn-well listen to me. Straightening my back, he’s not going to intimidate me. If I can’t save these girls, I sure as hell am going to make sure I can at least stop any long-term damage happening to them. “If you treated the women better, then you would have fewer problems.”
“Women are easy to find,” he raises a defiant brow in my direction.
“Yes, but then you have to train them all over again. How many women do you lose because they’re new?”
Play this right, Lilly.
“Depends. But I’d say around thirty percent of the new women are lost,” he replies so casually.
I’ve never wanted to murder someone before until now, but this asshole standing in front of me, I could easily slit his throat. Fuck the Hippocratic Oath and all its righteous bullshit!
“How much does it cost to acquire a girl?”
Easy does it now, Lilly.
“About one thousand American dollars.”
Is human life worth so little?
“Did you know implanting a contraceptive only costs around one hundred dollars.” Those blue eyes narrow at me. “Seems like a savings, doesn’t it? Especially if women are out for six weeks giving birth, if not more.”
“I’m not sure what you’re playing at, doc.” His words turn like ice, and his face goes blank.
“I can’t stop what you’re doing here…” I wave my hand through the air, “… but I can, at least, help these women live a better life.”
“You care that much about these whores?”
Stay calm, Lilly. Stay calm.
“I’m sure most of them didn’t have dreams about becoming whores.”
The asshole bursts out laughing. “It must be nice to live in that gilded cage you occupy, doc. Looking down from your high-in-the-sky perch while thinking that people like me are the scum of the earth.”
Stay strong, Lilly. Don’t say anything.
“What these women are doing is helping their families. The money they earn goes back to them, helping them keep a roof over their heads, food on the table, siblings in school. They have sacrificed their life for their families.”
Hold the tears in, Lilly.
“Can’t you make the sacrifice worth it, then?” My comment surprises him, his tattooed finger taps his chin as he thinks over my words.
“Why should I care?” His voice is now deep and demanding information.
“Why should a farmer care about his flock when they are just going to be slaughtered?”
A small smile falls across his face. “You…” he points his finger at me, “… you have balls, doc.” He chuckles. “You’re right. The better the condition of my flock, the better price I can get.”
I may not be able to save them yet, but as long as the girls are healthy, that’s the best I can hope for.
“I’ll get you what you need, doc. Anything to make these girls better. You have my word.”
30
Luca
“You better let me in, so help me,” a woman screeches at the front of my apartment building. I have just been for a run and still as I watch the commotion unfold.
“Signora, you aren’t allowed in here. If you do not step away, I’ll call the police.”
“Then, I will go to the media and tell the world that your beloved prince killed my sister.”
Security stills at the woman’s words.
What the hell is she talking about?
“Lauren, come on, babe… we’ll find Lilly another way. You can’t end up in jail.” A blond man tries to pull her away.
Oh my God, that’s Lilly’s sister.
I rush toward the entrance and call out, “Lauren?”
“Where is she?” Lauren screams, her blue eyes are
