Chapter 2
Harlow
FIVE YEARS AND SEVEN MONTHS AGO
“I’m getting out of here, sweet girl,” Lizzy said with determination in her voice.
“NO! Don’t leave me here alone. My mama already left me.”
“I want you to come with me. We can escape together.”
Escape…be free. No. Vincenzo would know. He would come for me, even if we made it out of here alive. “H-he won’t let me go.”
Lizzy grabbed my hands. “His men stay in the rooms instead of standing guard. We can do it, Harlow. I don’t want to leave you.”
She was only a few years older than me, but she’d been my salvation in this hell. Vincenzo assigned her to me when I first arrived. She was my handler in a way and made sure I looked perfect for Vincenzo, even if it made her sick. Just like my mama, she protected me.
“Come on. We can do this,” she said with hopefulness in her voice. I wanted a life outside of these walls where my life wasn’t in the hands of a monster. I wanted to live. I just hoped we could actually do it.
Lizzy took my hand as she quietly opened the door, peeking her head out.
She brought her fingers to her lips, signaling me to be quiet.
It was dark. Vincenzo only had clocks in the club, but not in the area he kept us in.
It was another form of psychological torment.
Time was odd down here, and sometimes the perception of day and night was altered.
I knew it was late because Vincenzo brought me back close to midnight, and not long after Lizzy came into my room with this plan.
I was scared.
She took my hand and we scurried to the door.
Shadows were looming, and I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.
There was a click, and we were almost outside.
This felt easy though…it shouldn’t be this easy.
What if this was what he was waiting for?
She pulled my arm, but I froze in place. What if this was a mistake?
Lizzy grabbed my face, mouthing, We can do this.
I swallowed hard and nodded. For a moment, I thought about staying.
I knew what happened to the girls who tried to escape.
It would be easier to stay…safer, but it would make me a coward.
My chest was tight as panic set in my bones.
We could do it. I could do it. The place he kept us at was secluded.
His club was closer to the city, but he didn’t want people to know where he tormented his women.
The road wasn’t that far away from us. I needed to be strong so we can escape, but my fear was palpable.
We made it outside, and the nighttime bitter air swallowed us.
Lizzy pulled me, but I stumbled, tripping on my feet and crashing to the ground.
A scream fell from my lips as the rocky gravel dug into my knees and palms. I just ruined it.
We’re going to get caught. Lizzy tried to help me up, but I pulled my arm away from her.
“Go. Please. I’ll be okay, you won’t.”
She hesitated as an alarm sounded, but she ran. “I’ll save you, Harlow, I promise.”
The doors slammed open as men shuffled out, screaming orders. I never should have done this. She could have escaped without me. Please let her get away.
Pain radiated through my scalp as Xavier grabbed me by my hair and pulled me back inside. The gravel and dirt scraping my bare legs left me with superficial cuts, but he didn’t care. They never cared. Pain and misery were the only things they did.
Xavier threw me into Vincenzo’s office and slammed the door.
He wouldn’t kill me, but he would make me wish I was dead.
I pulled myself to the corner and curled into the fetal position, wincing as pain erupted in my legs from the cuts.
The dam broke, and I sobbed. I never should have tried to escape with her.
My fear ruined it, and now—no. I had to believe she escaped.
It was the only way I could keep myself sane.
I didn’t know how much time had passed before Vincenzo came into his office raging like an inferno.
He was angry, and now that anger would be directed towards me.
He stood in the middle of the room, unbuttoning the middle button of his Tom Ford suit before casually walking towards me.
I scurried against the wall, as if I could get farther away, but I was a mouse trapped with the predator about to devour me.
“You’re lucky you’re mine, Harlow, or you’d be in that whorehouse making me a lot more fucking money.” He stepped closer to me, grabbing a fistful of my hair and jerking me to the center of the office.
Before I could breathe, his foot connected with my stomach.
The pain was excruciating, but he didn’t stop until I tasted blood.
I was certain my ribs were broken. He would let his doctor see me, but he wouldn’t care about the recovery process.
Suddenly my foot was crushed under his shoes, and I heard my bones crack.
I screamed, but he kicked me again, more pain radiating though me.
“S-stop, p-please. I’m s-sorry.”
“You’re mine!” He shredded what little clothes I had on. “You’ll regret trying to leave me. I own you. Every part of you.” He removed his belt, and I knew I was done for. “Your friend is going to die. She was worthless, anyway.”
“N-no!”
He crushed me with his body, wrapping his hand around my throat. “No one escapes. The only way out is death, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen to her. And it’s your fault.”
My fault.
He was right. I ruined her plan because she wanted to save me.
I vanished into the quiet spot in the back of my mind when he forced himself inside me.
I’d never see Lizzy again. She would never hold me as I cried.
Just like my mother, she would be a ghost, but at least she was no longer a part of this hell hole.
I wished she would have a peaceful death, though.
They were going to destroy her in the worst possible ways.
There was no escape from this cruel reality. I was trapped in a prison with the devil himself. I wished he would kill me and end my suffering, but his sick version of love meant I was trapped until he got tired of me.
The sting was instant, and then the radiating pain in my shoulder forced me out of my sanctuary.
He stabbed me. It wasn’t deadly, but it was enough to bring me back to this savage existence.
I dissociated as everything happened to me and my mind went to Lizzy.
My best friend was gone because of me. I squeezed my eyes shut, but he smacked my face.
“I own you. You’re mine, forever.”
I woke to the rattling of an engine and a sharp pain in my head. It felt like someone put loose pebbles in my skull and they were on a rampage. I groaned, pulling my arms only to realize they were bound and my eyes snapped open. Everything barreled into me like a semi-truck.
Frantically, I looked around to see Lizzy unconscious and bleeding from her head. “No! Lizzy.” I awkwardly crawled to her, thankful that they at least bound my hands in front of me instead of behind my back.
Xavier’s cruel face flashed through my mind before the memories flooded through me with Vito and Raul’s lifeless bodies.
They died in vain, and now Lizzy was trapped with these monsters again.
Vincenzo would kill her this time, and knowing him, he’d make me watch as the cruelest punishment.
I never should have got comfortable. I knew he was still out there waiting for the perfect opportunity, and now he had me back in his possession.
I spread my legs and pulled Lizzy’s unconscious body into my body.
It was difficult holding her with my hands bound the way they were, but I needed to know she was okay.
This was my fault. If I would have suffered, this wouldn’t have happened to her.
Lizzy was free, and now she was in the hands of the people who almost destroyed her.
Fuck. I ruined every good thing in my life.
Maybe that was why Vincenzo came into the picture.
When the adrenaline slowly wore off, I realized I was injured as pain radiated in my hip.
The bastard shot me. He knew I would fight.
I was no longer the meek child he tormented before, or the woman he abused for his own sick pleasure.
When we got to wherever he was taking us, I was going to fight.
I was going to save Lizzy, even if it meant dying myself.
Lizzy was my best friend. She saved me first, now it was my turn.
“Lizzy,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Wake up. Please.” I was doing my best not to panic because I knew head wounds bled worse, and her blonde hair was soaked red. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed to whatever God actually cared about me.