by Ella Miles
“It was my decision to make!” Nacio says.
“No, it wasn’t!” Granddad stands, his anger overtaking him.
All I can think is, if he keeps this up, he will have another heart attack, but I don’t say anything.
“We need to change locations,” Granddad says.
“Oh, not this again. We have been in this location for years. It is perfectly safe here. There is no need to move to a different location,” Nacio says.
“No! It is not safe here. I’ve already looked into more suitable locations south of here.”
Nacio shakes his head. “Maybe it’s time I buy you out. You’ve lost your mind, old man. We can’t shut down our two main locations, not at the same time. We would never recover.”
“This is ridiculous! You don’t have the power here. I have the final say, and you know it.”
“No, you don’t. That’s where you are wrong. You don’t have any more power than I do. Not now that Robert is gone.”
Granddad glares at Nacio. “Perhaps it’s time we go our separate ways then.”
“Indeed, it is time. It is time for you to go since that is what you want so much. The Marlows will continue running things here.”
Granddad snarls at Nacio while Nacio leans back in his chair with a smug grin on his face.
“What are you doing here?” my mother’s shrill voice says from behind me.
I turn slowly in my chair and watch as she glances from me to Nacio and then to Granddad.
“I’m here to run the Felton empire. To gain money and power, same as you.”
“You…” She walks to me. “You shouldn’t be here. You ruin everything.”
“You must not be running a very good business here if one woman could bring down everything,” I say.
Her cheeks turn bright red, and I can see the alcohol lingering in her bloodshot eyes. She should be in rehab, not here.
“You’ll see, Nacio. You should have killed her when she showed up at your door in Mexico,” Mother says before walking back out of the office with a bottle in her hand.
I should cry at my mother’s words. I should feel sad or hurt or some sort of pain. I don’t though.
I feel free, knowing that I had every right to hate my mother all these years. I’m not her daughter, and she is not my mother. I feel a release at knowing that I no longer have to feel anything for my mother because I never had a mother.
Nacio glances down at his watch. “I need to go see that the new shipment gets settled.” He stands and then turns to me. “Sweetheart?” Nacio waits for me at the door.
“I need to speak with my grandfather.”
“You sure? I wouldn’t waste your time with him if I were you.”
“I’m sure.”
I look at Granddad, who is still standing behind his desk, pretending like I’m not even here.
“I’ll come find you when we are finished,” I say.
I watch Granddad keep his eyes glued on Nacio behind me. When Granddad looks back down at his desk, I assume Nacio has gone.
“I think we have a lot to talk about.”
Granddad takes a seat in his desk chair before and then leans back in the chair with his arms crossed in front of his body. His nostrils are flared, and his face is still red with anger. He finally looks up at me. “We have nothing to talk about. You shouldn’t be here. You should leave before you get yourself killed.”
I frown even though he’s right. I probably will get myself killed. He should be protecting me though. He should be telling me he wouldn’t let that happen. I don’t have a mother, and it seems I never really had a grandfather. Or a father. I never had a family.
“No. I have to be here. I’m here because my family does horrible things. My family kills and rapes and tortures. And I want to be a part of it.
“I no longer have a life at home. You ruined it. If I go home, I’ll be thrown in jail. My only hope for a real life is here, ensuring the family legacy lives on.”
Granddad laughs. “You won’t survive here. You would have more of a life in jail than here. Leave before you are too far in to be able to leave.”
I raise my eyebrows. “No. You won’t let me anyway. I already know too much to be able to leave. I want to do this. I want to understand my father. I want to work with the only family I have left.”
Granddad runs his hand through his hair. “You can’t do this work. You aren’t suited for it. It will kill you if you try.”
“It will kill me if I don’t.” I tuck my hair behind my ear. “I want to know the truth. And I want to be given a chance to be a part of the organization.”
Granddad laughs again. “What makes you think I would let you help run this organization when I wouldn’t even let you run the legal part of the Felton Corporation?”
“Because I don’t think it’s up to you to decide.”
He frowns. “You think it’s up to Nacio?” He laughs. “That boy isn’t much better than you are. No, the decision is mine to make.” He stands from his desk and walks to me. “You are right about one thing. You are in too deep now for us to simply let you go. You want to be a part of this organization? Then, prove it.”
My eyes widen. I’m afraid I’ve woken a sleeping giant. I’m afraid he will take me to Killian right away to put a bullet in his head. I shouldn’t have provoked Granddad.
I just want to understand why my family does this. I just want to find out the truth of what they do and how. As soon as I do, I’ll make the call to the police, and this will be over.
I stand and follow Granddad out of the office. He walks to the elevator and presses the button. I should stand and wait and let him tell me whatever it is he wants to tell me, but I can’t. I’m done waiting.
“I want answers. I want to know why. How? I think I deserve to know after everything you have put me through.”
Granddad doesn’t seem fazed by my questions. Instead, he walks into the elevator and presses the button for the second floor. “Why is simple. We needed money to start the casinos.”
The doors open to the second floor, and Granddad steps out and stops just outside of the elevator.
I follow him. “Why did it continue though after you got the money for the casinos?”
“We were hooked. The money was better and easier than anything the casinos could provide. We were good at it. The casinos were just a front and a means to find what we needed.”
I scrunch my nose.
“What did you need?”
Granddad smiles. “You already know the answer to that.”
“People to smuggle.”
He nods. “People, drugs, diamonds. Anything of value, we learned to smuggle and make a profit. The casinos simply provided us with a large group of people to choose from to smuggle and sell.”
I think back to a conversation I had with the executives at the Felton Grand casino after Granddad left. I remember something about employees not showing up to work. My eyes widen as I realize how they find the people. “You smuggled people from our casinos. That’s why employees didn’t show up to work. That’s why guests disappeared unexpectedly. You were taking them.”
“Just the ones without family. Just the ones who wouldn’t be missed.”
“Then, how are you going to find people to smuggle now?”
He smiles. “The same way we always have. Just because I’m not there in person doesn’t mean that we can’t continue to find people and drugs from the casinos. But those aren’t the only places we find them. We have our hands in various corporations who are involved in helping us find and sell them.”
Them. I hate how casually he says the word. I hate how casually he speaks of ruining people’s lives.
“Who do we sell the drugs and…people to?” I force the words out of my mouth.
“Mainly men with money. Men who want to party and have a good time without having to deal with the laws of everyday society.”
“So, for sex? You sell the women to men for sex.”
He nods. “Usually.”
Granddad begins walking again, and I follow a step behind. He walks purposefully down the hallway and then turns right into a large room that most likely used to be a recreation room of some sort when the building was an apartment building.
There aren’t any furniture or decorations in this room. The room is empty with scuffed white walls, except for a pole in the center that I can’t keep my eyes off of. The pole has bloodstains dripping off of it, bearing the pain of who knows how many men, women, and children over the years. I don’t know what it is for, but I have an idea.
I don’t know why Granddad has brought me to the empty room. To show me what they do to those who disobey? Or is he planning on tying me to the pole and beating me himself?
I don’t ask. I can be patient. I can wait. Because I don’t like any of the answers he might tell me. I can’t come up with one single answer that would bring me any peace.
I look up at Granddad, who is typing something on his phone.
“I should go find Nacio,” I say as I begin to walk out of the room that scares me half to death.
“No. Nacio will be joining us shortly.”
“Why?” I ask the question that I have been avoiding.
“If you are going to stay here, I need to know which side you are on. You can’t be on the Marlows’ side. You are a Felton. You must be loyal to the Feltons.”
“Why should I when all the Feltons ever did to me was lie?”
“Because, like it or not, you are a Felton, not a Marlow.”
“What if I became a Marlow?”
Granddad raises his eyebrows at me. “I don’t think you will.”
“I might. The Marlows have treated me better than my own family ever has.”
“Even if you married one of them, it wouldn’t change anything. You were born a Felton. You don’t have a choice.”
“Here’s the man who raped the woman,” Nacio says suddenly from behind us without any warning.
I turn my attention from Granddad to Nacio. My mouth drops when I see Karp standing in front of him. I didn’t think he had even made the trip. I thought he was dead in Mexico.
“Good. Make an example of him,” Granddad says.
“My pleasure,” Nacio says, smiling.
He begins walking Karp over to the pole in the center of the room. He locks eyes with me, silently begging me to help him. I look back at him but don’t tell him anything. I don’t know why he thinks I will be able to help him. He’s the one who chose to work for these terrible men, even knowing the consequences. He was the one who raped a woman, despite knowing he wasn’t allowed to.
I watch as Nacio makes quick work of tying Karp’s arms above his head, attaching the rope to a loop at the top of the pole. Karp doesn’t even fight him. I think he knows it will be worse if he does, but I can see the fear forming in his eyes.
I look back to the door when I hear more people filing into the room. Woman after woman comes into the room, each with a man who works for Nacio and Granddad. Each man holds on to a woman’s arm that is tied up as they enter the room. Each woman looks different yet the same. Most are wearing business-casual clothing, as if they just got off work. Some are wearing workout clothing. Some are just in casual clothes. But all show fear. All look to the man tied up in the center of the room with sympathy in their eyes. All look to me with hope, like I’m the one who is strong enough to help them. They don’t understand that I am just as much a prisoner as they are. That my life is just as much at risk.
One woman in particular catches my eye. She looks so normal in her black pants and business jacket. Her hair is dark brown and curled, landing halfway down her back. She doesn’t look much older than I am. The only unusual things about her are that her arms are tied tightly together in front of her body and her eyes. Her eyes are wild with anger and fear. She was the one Karp raped without permission.
I don’t know what the future holds for this woman. I don’t know where they plan to ship her off to or if they will rape or beat her first. But, now that I’ve seen her, I know I can’t let them do it. I can’t let them hurt her. I won’t be able to live with myself if I do.
I turn back to the door when I see the children walk in next, and my heart stops. They can’t be more than seven, eight, or maybe nine years old. All of their arms are also tied. Each has a man holding on to their arm. Each wears a look of fear. Some have tears falling fast down their faces.
The children are what kill me. Seeing them here, knowing that my family has ripped them from theirs and plans to sell them to someone who only sees them as a sex object, it’s too much to bear.
I watch as the women and children line the walls of the large room. I glance back to the door and see Killian walking in next, looking even more badly beaten than before. Seth holds on to his arm with a gun pointed at his head.
“I bet you all are wondering why you are here,” Granddad says to the room.
Some of the children nod. The women glare. The men guarding them smile, ready to enjoy the torture that is about to begin.
“You all are here because your value to us is worth more than your value to yourself. The sooner you realize that your life is no longer your own, the better,” Granddad continues.
Nacio steps forward with something black in his hand that I can barely see.
“This man,” he says, pointing to Karp, who is tied up, “he works for us. His job was to keep you safe until we sold you.” Nacio points to the woman in the crowd, who has obviously been raped. “He raped this woman. He raped a virgin, and now, her value has greatly diminished. We will no longer be able to get top dollar for her.
“You think we don’t have all of your best interests at heart, but we do. We want you in the best shape possible for your new masters. But you must know that, to keep you in the best shape possible, you have to obey us.”
Nacio turns back to Karp. “This man was one of our own but didn’t obey us. Now, he must pay.”
I stand uncomfortably against the wall. I don’t know why they have brought us all into this room. I glance around the room and see several scared women and children lining the walls. Every person is still fresh with fear. None of them have accepted their new lives yet.
I try to keep my eyes off of Kinsley, but they automatically go there. Her eyes aren’t on me though. They are on the children who are shaking in the men’s hands. She doesn’t show her fear though. She stands strong in the center of the room with her granddad. She is wearing tight jeans and a jacket that is covering most of her bare stomach, but when she moves, I get a glimpse of it and her lace bra.
I watch as Nacio holds a whip in his hand as he walks toward the man in the center of the room. I look closely at it, thinking it is the same whip that was used on me. The same one Kinsley used on me when she fucked me earlier. But, on closer inspection, I realize that it is not the same whip. This whip has small spikes at the end. This whip is meant to inflict the most pain possible.
“You cost us a couple hundred grand when you raped her, Karp,” Nacio says as he walks closer to Karp, firmly gripping the whip. “We could have easily gotten that much for the virgin. Now, we will get less than half for her initial purchase. We should make you pay with that many lashes, but I don’t think you would survive, and unfortunately, we don’t have the time to break in a new man yet.”
Nacio thinks for a minute as he steps forward. “The last man we whipped only lasted thirty lashes before he begged for mercy. We gladly put a bullet between his eyes, releasing him from the pain.”
I glance at Karp, the man tied tightly to the pole. Nacio rips his shirt open, exposing his back. I can’t see Karp’s face as Nacio lifts the whip, but I know it must read fear.
“If you can survive to thirty-five, your debt will be paid.”
Nacio brings the whip down hard on the man’s flesh. I hear him scream when the metal spikes dig into his skin. I watch as the kids begin hiding their eyes, as one of the women has told them to do. Like that is going to block out the
pain and torture. The sight of the blood dripping down the man’s back is bad, but his screams are worse. His screams reveal how bad the pain really is.
Nacio brings the whip down three times in quick succession, and Karp’s screams become deafening. I close my eyes, just like the children, but instead, it amplifies his screams.
I hear the children crying. The women shriek with each whip. This is what they want. This is why they have brought us here—to torture us as well. To make sure that we know what they will do to us if we disobey.
I open my eyes and look at Kinsley, who is staring at Nacio. She doesn’t look away. Instead, she watches intently as the man is whipped. Occasionally, I watch her eyes drift to the woman he raped. I wonder if the woman is going to face a similar fate. Is Nacio going to beat her as well?
I try watching the woman’s face, like Kinsley is doing. I hope the woman is feeling some comfort from knowing that her rapist is being beaten. I can’t see the woman though from where I’m standing. So, instead, I look at Kinsley.
After fifteen lashes, Nacio stops. I glance at the man’s back that is covered in blood. I don’t think he will last much longer. I think he will ask for death rather than more lashes. Nacio walks away from him. Karp will only survive if Nacio decides he has had enough lashes.
Nacio stops in front of Kinsley. “Want a try?” he asks, holding the whip up to Kinsley.
I watch Kinsley’s eyes widen as she looks at the handle of the whip Nacio is holding out to her. She doesn’t react. She just looks at the whip, almost studying it.
“You are going to have to finish yourself, Nacio. Kinsley doesn’t have it in her to beat a man, even a man who is as guilty as Karp is,” Lee says.
Kinsley immediately grabs the whip from Nacio’s hand. Nacio grins wildly while Granddad frowns. I wonder if her granddad was egging her on because he wants her to join him or because he wants her to prove him right, so he can get rid of her. From the look of disappointment on his face, I would guess it was the latter.
Kinsley walks up to the same place where Nacio was just standing. She turns back to Nacio, and I think she is going to change her mind. She can’t beat another man, even a man as horrible and vile as Karp. She can’t do it. And, if she does, she is going to regret it. So, as much as I know it will help her standing with these men, I don’t want her to do it. Whipping me was one thing. Whipping another man, drawing blood from a man who is getting no pleasure from it, is something entirely different.
