Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Jing’s face scrunched up, and Arden crossed her arms tightly, as though to protect herself from the rest of the story. Dante’s face was impassive. He had his handler face on, the one he used to give his assets to keep them calm.
“What they were auctioning off, of course, was my virginity,” he explained, taking a breath. “It was the same for all the kids. Apparently, it was a quarterly event, and they promoted the hell out of it.”
“This is disgusting,” Jing said. “And I know it still happens, but…” She glanced at Owen. “Sorry, sorry… Go on.”
“I saw lots of kids, girls and boys, go through the same curtain I did, and heard yelling, which, as I found out when it was my turn, was bidding. After the auction, the kids would come back, and were taken down a hall to one of the bedrooms. Whoever bought each child would then go in and basically… I mean, it was a ‘buy it and try it’ situation. I still remember the screaming.”
Jing wiped her eyes roughly, turning her head away. Arden looked up at the ceiling, and Dante just listened.
“Most of the kids were like me, abducted and taken there. Others had been kidnapped, but ransom hadn’t been paid or something had gone wrong, and so that’s why they were there. The worst were the kids sold by their parents or relatives. I just… I can’t even imagine that.”
No one said a word.
“So I went out, they had me bend over, turn around, and then everyone started shouting. It didn’t take long, and then I was led back to the curtain I went through. I passed my friend Mei, who was crying, and then they took me to a bedroom.” He was quiet a moment, and breathed in through his nose. “I was in the room alone for a bit, and I remember hearing Mei outside, sobbing as she walked by the door, and then a second later, a man came in. He was dressed in a tuxedo and had a walking cane. He shoved me down on the bed, and I remember thinking he was going to hit me just like everyone else had.”
“I think I’m gonna throw up,” Arden said, standing abruptly.
“No, no,” Dante soothed her. “We’re about to get to the good part.”
She nodded quickly, staring at Owen, then sat down again.
“I started screaming, loudly, like I was dying, just shrieking, and then the door, which I was sure had been locked, was kicked open, and there he was.” The awe in his voice as he looked at me was unmistakable. “I mean, I know, logically, there wasn’t a spotlight on him, but to this day, I tell you, I could’ve sworn there was.”
Arden exhaled sharply.
“The man yelled, and Jared ordered me to close my eyes, and the guy…he made a noise, but then, that was it.” Owen’s gaze was on me. “Did you shoot him? I’ve never asked.”
“It was a knife,” Dante answered.
Owen turned to Dante. “Were you there?”
He shook his head. “No. I was detained at that time, but I heard this part firsthand from Jared and Darius.”
Owen was back to looking at me. “Darius was with you? I didn’t see him.”
“Yeah. I got you and your friend Mei and all the other kids, and Darius took care of the crowd.”
“Took care of?” Jing asked me.
“Yep.”
“Okay.” She shrugged. “If you’re there to bid on children that you’re going to place into sexual servitude…I mean, you reap what you sow.”
“You do,” I agreed darkly. Darius had scanned the crowd earlier, made sure there were no other children there, and then locked all the doors before releasing VX gas. Everyone in the casino was unaffected. Everyone in the theater died. What was interesting was that there was no mention of it on the news. Not a word. It had all been swept under the rug.
Owen continued, “I remember opening my eyes when Jared said I could, and I wanted to see where the man was, but Jared said to just look at him, and I did. He cut the rope tying my hands, had me put on clothes, and then had me stand, face to the wall in the hallway, as he went from room to room and got all the other kids I knew, starting with Mei.”
We were all silent.
“Like me, Mei wasn’t raped. It turned out, her uncle had found her, and he was in with her, getting her dressed and trying to figure out how to get her out of there without the people he bought her from wanting their money, which he didn’t have.”
“Holy shit,” Jing gasped. “That was ballsy.”
“Yeah. He’d been looking for her since her parents were murdered by the Yakuza. Her father was a developer who was resisting them trying to take over his business, and he and her mother were assassinated. Her uncle was a policeman in Tokyo and was sure that Mei wasn’t killed when they were, and he was right.”