TWENTY-EIGHT
T he main reason my family never dealt with these kinds of situations is because the Campbells always beat us to it. While my brother was alive, he was in charge of tracking down human trafficking organizations and putting a stop to them. Clearly, he wasn’t doing his job properly.
By the time Henrick or I caught the wind of it, Noelle had already handled it all. She never left any witnesses and made sure that the ringleaders met a death so torturous, cruel, and painful that they wished they’d never met her. She’s known for her brutality and ruthlessness, so I’m surprised to see her like this.
It’s not a pretty sight, nor is it something I want her to get accustomed to looking at, but it’s something she’s done many times before. What is so different about this one that it has turned her into a completely different person?
The Noelle in front of me is no different than a terrified child, and I’m uncertain how to act. She’s capable of defending herself, but she’s also overthinking, and she’s not cautious enough.
She doesn’t notice the hungry eyes that are on her. She doesn’t hear the mockery behind her. Coming in as Madam Giselle is possibly the worst decision Noelle has ever made, and I don’t want to know the consequences of that.
The muzzle is starting to get uncomfortable, but not the collar. The way she’s gripping on the thick chain makes all the intolerable sensations vanish. It’s not about me. If it makes her feel safe, then I’ll wear this collar until the day I die.
The masked man makes his announcement, and everyone waits eagerly. It makes my blood boil, but it’s not time to react yet. I need them to show every person they have in here before I make my judgment.
I know who the person behind all of this is.
All I need is concrete evidence.
And I think that Noelle knows, too. She just can’t admit it to herself. Not yet, at least. But soon, she’ll have to come to terms with the brutal, gruesome reality. I never wanted it to come to this, but she needs to have her eyes opened.
The masked man finally pulls the curtain, and it falls to the ground. No one makes a sound as he waves his hand. The cage is connected by a small hallway to the part of the building that’s located behind the curtain.
One by one, women enter the cage. They’re bound by shackles on their wrists and ankles, and the shackles look like they weigh more than the girls themselves. They’re all slim, with bones sticking out. Although their hair and makeup are done to make them presentable, I see outlines of bruises on their arms and legs. The marks are old, but not old enough to have healed by now. It probably happened last week, and, knowing these people, they don’t like their products damaged.
All the girls are between eighteen and twenty-five. Their eyes are dead; some are even sniffling. There’s no other emotion on them other than pure fear, which is slowly feeding into the crowd, and they’re enjoying it.
The powerless, helpless faces make the men in here go especially wild.
Immediately, the bidding begins. They’re offering hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some are even offering euros. I can differentiate between different accents; there are quite a few Europeans here, too.
The first two women are bought by two different couples. It’s only then that their fear kicks in, and they start thrashing and turning, screaming at the top of their lungs. Noelle starts shaking in anger but doesn’t move—not yet.
The crowd is loud enough for me to be able to speak undetected.
“Lucas.” My voice is low. “Have one of the teams intercept these two. Let them go for a mile before getting rid of them.”
“Lyla is on that.”
The masked man with the microphone hushes everyone, and the bidding resumes. The next two girls look alike. They’re probably related. One has a fierce look on her face, determined not to show them weakness. The other one is nearly falling apart, tears coating her cheeks.
One man offers two million euros for both women and immediately, the man with the microphone agrees. I only now notice the little wire sticking out of his mask. His boss is likely telling him which offers to accept and which to reject.
An argument begins because this one wasn’t done fairly. A woman jumps into the fight, saying she’ll offer double the amount. No one pays any attention to her, and the two women are escorted over to their new owner.
It’s only then that the masked man announces a little break. There are four women left in the cage and they aren’t relieved that there is a break. They’re terrified; each and every one of them is crying. They will be punished for that and if they aren’t bought, they will be tortured, sexually assaulted, and murdered before the sun rises.
The music resumes, and Noelle tugs on my chain. I stand up and take a seat next to her since the chair is now empty.
“Lucas, speak to me,” she says in a hushed tone. “What’s going on?”
He’s quiet for a moment, and all we can hear is his furious typing on the keyboard.
“Lyla caught the first two, and she had someone take the girls to safety. As for the rotten motherfuckers, she left them in a delightful state, but not before finding out everything about them. There are people right now searching through their homes, trying to see if there is anyone else in there.”
“And the two sisters?”
“Niko is on that. He’ll let me know once it’s done.”
“Alright.”
A waiter approaches us, but Noelle waves him off without sparing him a glance. He stares at her veiled face for a moment longer than necessary before going to the next person. Noelle seems to have calmed down, and it’s either a relief or a disaster waiting to happen.
“Hudson.” She turns to look at me. Her voice is cold, and it’s finally the woman I used to fear. It’s both disturbing and admirable how she can flip a switch and get herself in check. “You stay here. I need to check something.”
“That’s not happening.”
She tugs on the chain as a warning. “I’m not asking you. I’m telling you. I will go to check what I need to, and you will stay here.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Hudson.” She takes a deep breath. “Don’t force me to stay here. I need to know.”
“Your safety is more important.”
“There are things more important than me, Hudson.”
“Not to me.”
“There should be.”
“But there won’t be.”
“This is pointless.” She sighs. “And there’s no time. The break will be over soon, and that’s when I’ll sneak out.”
“Sneak out? We’re in the first row, Giselle. You’ll be seen.”
“That’s what I want, so be patient and put a little faith in me.”
“Then do it now,” I say. “Don’t draw too much attention to yourself.”
“Lucas, have the teams ready.”
“Will do,” he says.
Slowly, Noelle stands from the chair and wraps the chain around my neck. She inhales deeply and tilts her head upward. “Keep your eyes and ears open. I’ll need it.”
I nod.
I’m not comfortable with this at all. I fucking despise her going around acting like a detective on her own. It has nothing to do with a lack of skills and more to do with the fact that I’m anxious. Losing Noelle is something I will never allow to happen.
She strolls away into the dark hall, her boots echoing on the concrete floor. It’s probably the only sound I hear, my heart beating furiously against my ribcage. The less I can see of her, the more concerned I grow.
I stand up and lean against the nearest wall, feeling a lot of eyes on me. There are two women in particular that stand out because they’re dressed like this is a 1920s-themed party. They seem to be in their fifties, with masks and a fan in their hands, hiding behind them.
“Don’t you think Giselle is acting weird?” the brunette woman says, loud enough for me to hear. She wants me to hear it. Her eyes squint when she doesn’t provoke a reaction out of me, and her friend chimes in.
“I’m surprised she left her pet all alone.”
“She did say she was looking for her forever toy, so I’m guessing she found it.”
I throw her a glare. She’s garnering more attention than I want, and more eyes fall on me.
“She sure picked a dangerous one,” the blonde woman mutters. “But isn’t it suspicious? She wasn’t seen for a few years but now shows up with a new, flashy toy? Something doesn’t add up here.”
“You’ve always had keen senses, my friend,” the brunette says with a chuckle. Both are very careful not to use their real names, but I have no doubt that they know each other on a personal level.
“Doesn’t he remind you of someone?” The blonde starts fanning. “I think I’ve seen him somewhere before.”
I turn on my heel and walk into the hallway, away from their curious gazes.
“Lucas, tell Lyla and Niko to attack in ten.”
“What?” Noelle’s voice rings in my ears. “I need more time.”
“I’m not going to have us killed, or worse, discovered. You have ten minutes.”
She cusses me under her breath but eventually agrees. I don’t hear much from her or Lucas. I’m peeking through the crowded room, and it seems as if the break is nearing its end. I glance at my wristwatch, and time is passing by painfully slowly.
“Oh my goodness.” Noelle’s shocked voice fills my ears.
“What?”
“It’s… the real Madam Giselle.”
“Get out of there, now.”
“No, no,” she corrects. “She’s dead. As in, she’s laying on the floor in a pool of her own blood. And it wasn’t that recent. It reeks.”
“Is she wearing her veil?”
“Yes,” she confirms. “But the body started decomposing already, so I doubt that I’ll recognize the face. So that’s the reason she’s been MIA lately.”
“But why is the body there?” I ask. “It’s almost as if they wanted you to find it.”
Immediately, everything clicks.
“Noelle, get the fuck out of there.”
There’s a reason why all of these women, alongside the murdered ones, resemble Noelle. There’s a reason why people were whispering and all but pointing their fingers at Noelle. It’s because everyone here, except the two of us, knew that the real Giselle is long dead.
Now I know for certain.
The Silencer is none other than Noelle’s precious Dylan.
She knows it, too.
It all makes perfect sense. There’s a reason I suspected him, but I did hope, for Noelle’s sake, that it was all a biased speculation. It turns out it’s so much more than either of us originally thought.
His obsession with Noelle runs deep. He kidnapped and sold women that are nothing short of Noelle’s carbon copy. They were all either in university or had respectable, good jobs.
He was trying to find a replacement for her.
And it’s fucking sick.
I want nothing more than to twist his neck, to carve him open and watch him bleed out. However, I need to contain myself and lock the anger away for a little while longer. First, I need to find out why the fuck he did all of this.
Because my Noelle needs some sort of closure.
Somehow, I have a feeling that the closure will end up with Dylan just being a sick, twisted, disturbing human being. He’s a pathetic excuse of a human being, and I’ll have fun delivering him to Noelle, ready to be tortured.
My girl needs an outlet for all the anger, and what better than the man who caused it all?
“Noelle?”
She doesn’t respond, and even my bones feel the breeze.
She doesn’t respond because the earpiece got disconnected.