"Every one," Malachi says.
Anna drags her fingers along the wall. "So you never know when you're being watched."
"Exactly."
Knox's grip tightens on my hip. "You're shaking."
I hadn't noticed. My hands are trembling, a fine vibration running through my fingers. "I'm aware. That's different."
He nods.
Candace moves up beside me. She doesn't say anything. Just walks at my pace for a few steps, close enough that I feel her there. She drops back. It's enough.
We reach the prep room.
The door is heavier than it looks. It always was. Reinforced. Designed to muffle sound from both sides. I push it open. Empty. Fluorescent fixtures dark. Mirrors unlit. The racks are gone. The counter where they used to lay out dresses is bare, a thin layer of dust on the laminate.
Anna stops just inside. Her shoulders square. Her breath goes measured and even. It's the kind of breathing you do whenyou're telling your body to stay in the present. Knox stays behind me. Close. Sure.
Frankie walks the perimeter of the room, one hand hovering an inch from the wall. She pauses at the far corner, fingers curling. Her expression hardens. She shakes her head once and keeps moving.
"This is where they told me I was lucky," Anna says.
I let the silence exist. The hum of the building fills it. Somewhere a pipe clicks.
"They used to line the girls up here," I say, gesturing along the wall. "I saw it when I worked the events. Shoes off. Jewelry off. Names taken last."
"Why last?" Ruby asks from the doorway. Her voice is quieter than I've ever heard it.
"Because names make it harder to forget you're a person."
Ruby's jaw sets. She writes something on her tablet. Her hand isn't steady.
Anna walks deeper, stops where the mirrors used to be. She stares at the blank wall as if she can see her reflection in it.
"They told me I was chosen. That I was special. That the men who bid on me should be considered an honor."
"I heard them say it," I say. "To you. To the others. I was in the room. I was supposed to be there to check vitals and make sure nobody collapsed before they went on stage. And I heard every word they said to those girls."
She turns to me. "You heard."
"I heard. And I couldn't stop it. It's the thing I hear most when I can't sleep."
Anna laughs once. Short. Sharp. Real. "Funny how generous they all were."
Malachi's voice cuts low from the doorway. "How many could they hold in here?"
"Twelve," I say. "Sometimes fifteen."
His mouth flattens. Candace's hand finds his forearm and stays. We leave the prep room and move deeper.
"This door doesn't open from the inside," I say, tapping a plain metal exit. "It's locked electronically during events."
Knox studies it, running his palm along the frame. "Fire code violation."
I snort. "They pay for exemptions."
"Not this time."
