The others froze as well. After wandering around without a roof over our heads, we had known that we were human trafficked, but we never had the slightest idea on why we were brought here.
Now that we finally got the answer from him, we were shocked beyond words.
If we did not run away at that time, we would be mules by now. I could not help but feel relieved at the thought. I said to the man, “I can only tell you that I came here by accident. So, can you please let us go? I can give you whatever you want.”
It was an earnest request from me.
He hesitated for a while and went to discuss with the driver.
The driver glanced at me with a flicker of doubt in his eyes. He then said something to the man and went back to driving.
After they finished discussing, the man looked over to me and said, “We will consider sending you to Marsingfill but not the others.”
As soon as he spoke, the car came to a stop. Before we could say anything, several people tape our mouths shut and dragged us out of the car.
We were then brought into a beachfront villa. It was heavily guarded.
Initially, I thought that the five of us would be locked up together, but we were immediately separated after entering the villa.
I was brought into a clean room on the second floor.
Closing the door, the man motioned the driver just now to untie the rope on me. Then, he looked at me and said, “Ms. Stovall, rest for a few days here and we will ask people to come and send you to Marsingfill.”
It took me a second to understand what had said. “How about my friends?”
He gave me a shrug and frowned. “Ms. Stovall, you should stop thinking about them. Save yourself first. Their fate is not in your hand.”
At that, he turned and left.
For the next few days, I was locked in my room, and a middle-aged woman would come and bring me food every day. To my dismay, I did not get any information from her due to the language barrier.
My room had a balcony. Standing on the balcony, I could see the vast ocean nearby and the scenery outside the villa.
However, every night in the wee hours, I could hear ear-splitting screams rang out in the villa as the waves rolled and crashed against the rocks. I was not sure if it was just my illusion.
And whenever I woke up to check on those voices, they would vanish again.
One night, I was once again awakened by the screams, so I went to the balcony to find the source of those screams. Suddenly, I saw a few black luxury cars parked in front of the villa.
In the front yard stood a row of men in black. They seemed to be bodyguards. The man and the driver who brought us to the villa that day were now standing by the cars. The woman who brought me food daily said that the name of the driver was Danny while the man who spoke to us was Dante.
The people in Venria normally did not have last names. Besides, I was not fluent in their language, so I was not sure if those were their real names.
Then, a man with a comb-over hairstyle came out from one of the cars. He looked grim in his white suit.
Danny stepped forward and said something to the man in white. Then, the man in white looked at Dante.
Dante reported something to him and pointed towards the villa.
Only then did I realize that Dante was pointing at my room.
Before I could react, the man had turned his head over and looked towards me.
Although we were far apart, I could see that he had striking facial features. Currently, he was glancing at me coldly with his thin lips pressed together.
Our eyes met. I tensed up and stared at him, wide-eyed.
After a few seconds, he finally retracted his gaze and entered the villa. It was only then I could move my legs and went into my room.
Slumped onto the bed, I raised my hand and placed it against my beating heart. My heart almost stopped just now. What a scary man.
Just then, someone knocked on the door and a female voice came from the door. “Ms. Stovall, I’m coming in.” It was the woman who delivered my meal every day.
From my observation these past few days, it seemed like she only knew how to speak this sentence.
The woman opened the door and bowed respectfully at me. “Ms. Stovall, please freshen up and go downstairs.”
Finally, she said something different.
I pursed my lips and looked at her. “You want me to go downstairs?”
She nodded. “Mr. Abe is waiting for you. Please be quick.”
I frowned. Abe? Is he the man in white suit?
The woman walked over and put a set of clothes and jewelry on the table at the side. Then, she went to the bathroom and filled the bathtub with hot water. It was obvious that she wanted me to prepare myself quickly.
When she saw that I was still dawdling, she turned sullen, clearly unhappy with my attitude.
“Ms. Stovall, can you please hurry up?” She walked to my side and looked desperately at me. I had a feeling that If I did not do what she said now, she would drag me into the bathroom and bathe me.
Sighing, I went into the bathroom reluctantly and took my own sweet time bathing.
