I sighed in despair. How am I supposed to keep traveling down this path without making mistakes?
Thankfully, my bones and arteries were unharmed and I began to feel like myself again only after a few days, though it hurt when I occasionally touched it. It was a gunshot wound, after all. It will leave a mark.
But it wasn’t unbearable.
Abe kept his word as well. On the day of my discharge, Danny was there to pick me up to return to the villa.
Before I could say anything, Dante initiated. “Ms. Stanhope, aren’t you planning on visiting your friends?”
I did, of course. “It’s time that they went home,” I said with a nod.
As we made our way through the long operating theatre, I saw Nora through the glass room. After days of being locked away from sunlight, she looked haggardly and frail. Her mass of hair was shockingly white as well.
Nora and the rest seemed indifferent to see me. Being used to the life in the theatre, they barely glanced up at me before closing their eyes again, as if they’d never known me.
My heart ached when I saw that. “What happened to them?” I asked Dante.
Dante cast an eye over them. “All the women who come here will become this way; this isn’t unusual.”
I was unable to breathe. “Didn’t you say that you would take good care of them?” I asked in a low voice.
“Hah!” Dante laughed coldly. “We are taking care of them by letting them live. If you hadn’t bargained for their lives, you would be looking at a pile of corpses now.”
I was at a loss for words, despite the rage in my heart.
“Release them!” I ordered.
Dante didn’t speak but raised his hand in a gesture toward the man guarding their door.
He opened the door and helped the lifeless women to their feet.
I rushed forwards to grab Nora as she collapsed against me. “Leave us behind, Sienna,” she said hoarsely. “It’s no use. This is our fate!”
I shook my head and held back tears. The strain of her weight against my delicate arm was immense.
Dante had arranged for four bedrooms to be prepared in the villa. As the women occupied the bedrooms, he ordered for them to be cared for.
That’s them settling in.
When they were finally asleep, I went down to the living room where Dante and Danny were having some tea.
They looked up when I emerged. “Is there anything wrong?” Dante frowned.
“I will keep my promise. I’m going in!”
They stared at me for a moment before Dante laughed. “Ms. Stanhope,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “Do you know what will happen to you when you enter the operating theatre?”
“I do.”
“I’ve never met anyone who’s as desperate for death as you,” he chuckled.
I said nothing and waited for him to elaborate.
After a slight pause, he said, “You needn’t go in anymore. It’s a waste of your talents for you to be delivering goods. Mr. Abe has plans for you. Have a good rest!”
I was stunned to hear that. The men had returned their attention to their tea, and I didn’t bother asking them further.
Now that Abe knew about me and Anthony, it wouldn’t pay off to use me to transport their product.
Business is all about profit maximization, after all. I was destined for more lucrative operations.
I went back to my bedroom and stood on the balcony. The villa was heavily guarded; escape is nigh impossible.
Besides, it was located in the middle of a dense banana plantation. Without an experienced guide, this villa was as unlocatable as it was impenetrable.
On second thought, Anthony would be searching for me around the city for a couple of days. He wouldn’t be departing Venria just yet.
I saw Armond again the following morning. He came with Abe.
Nora and the rest were very frail and spent most of their time in bed. I went to them a couple of times, but they did not want to see me.
Soon, I gave up the endeavor.
Armond was in the living room having tea with Abe when I emerged from my bedroom.
“How’s your arm?” Armond asked when he saw me.
“Much better,” I replied after a brief pause.
Armond laughed humorlessly. “Can I have a few words with her in private?” he asked Abe.
Abe scowled but nodded.
Everybody left, leaving me and Armond at the table.
He appeared calm and cold, but he poured me a glass of tea politely.
“Would you like to go home?” Armond asked.
I was caught off guard and spilled some tea on myself as my hands trembled.
“Yes,” I said after a pause and a sip.
Armond nodded and laughed in his easy-going manner. He refilled my glass and said. “I’m flying to Epea tomorrow. You can come with me if you like.”
“It’s not so easy to leave now,” I said without thinking.
“Don’t worry,” Armond said. “Abe owes me a favor. He won’t do you any harm.”
Things weren’t that simple. My value to Abe in his grudge against Anthony was large. Abe won’t relinquish me that easily.
Armond would have to ask for a whole lot more to compensate for the loss that he had caused Abe.
“Sienna, you just need to tell me if you’re willing to get away from here. If you are, I will think of something with Abe.”
“I want freedom for my friends as well,” I said with some hesitation.
Armond looked conflicted at that.
I was aware that he had a way of taking me away, but to take five women with him was another story altogether. It wasn’t just an inconvenience for him, it was dangerous too.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
Leave a Reply