The woman counted out cash from her purse and Harry snatched it up, counting it twice before shoving it in his pocket.
"She's all yours. Good riddance."
He didn't even look at Mara as he climbed back up the stairs.
The woman's expression softened slightly. "Come on, dear. Let's get you cleaned up."
Mara followed her up the stairs on shaking legs, squinting against the daylight streaming through the windows. A black town car waited in the driveway and the woman opened the back door.
"Get in. We have a long drive ahead of us."
Mara slid into the leather seat, the luxury of it foreign against her filthy clothes. The woman got in beside her and the driver pulled away from the house without a word.
"My name is Vivienne," the woman said. "You're going to stay with me for a while. We'll get you fed properly. Get you some new clothes. Medical care. You'll have your own room."
"Thank you," Mara whispered. Tears burned behind her eyes. "Thank you for saving me."
Vivienne's smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Of course, dear."
The first few weeks at Vivienne's estate were like a dream. Mara had her own bedroom with an actual bed, soft sheets, and more pillows than she knew what to do with. There was food whenever she wanted it. Hot showers. Clean clothes that fit her. A doctor who examined her and prescribed antibiotics for infections she hadn't even known she had.
Other girls lived there too. Six of them, all younger than Mara or close to her age. The oldest was maybe seventeen. They were nice enough but distant, like they knew something Mara didn't. Like they were waiting for something to happen that they couldn't warn her about.
Vivienne kept them busy with lessons on makeup application, how to style their hair, how to walk in heels.Deportment, she called it. How to be graceful. How to smile on command. How to be whatever a man wanted them to be.
For three weeks, Mara let herself believe she'd been saved.
Then came her sixteenth birthday.
Vivienne brought her a new dress. Red and fitted, with a neckline that plunged lower than anything Mara had ever worn. The fabric clung to her body in ways that made her skin crawl.
"Put this on tonight, dear. We're having a special dinner."
"What's the occasion?"
"You'll see." Vivienne's smile was warm but her eyes were calculating. "You're ready now. All healed up. Looking beautiful."
Something cold settled in Mara's stomach but she took the dress. The way Vivienne smiled reminded her of Harry right before he locked the cage. Like something bad was coming and pretending otherwise wouldn't stop it.
That evening, Mara came downstairs to find the dining room filled with men. Older men in expensive suits, drinking wine and talking in low voices. They all turned to look at her when she entered and the way their eyes moved over her body made her want to vomit.
One of the other girls, Jasmine, caught her arm in the hallway. "Just smile and don't talk back," she whispered urgently. "Do what they want. It'll be easier that way."
"What's happening?"
But Jasmine just walked away, leaving Mara standing there with her heart pounding.
Vivienne appeared at her elbow, her hand gripping Mara's arm like iron. "Gentlemen, this is Mara. Sweet sixteen today. Isn't she lovely?"
The men murmured their agreement and Mara wanted to run. Wanted to scream. But Vivienne's fingers dug into her skin and she remembered what Jasmine said. Do what they want.
That was the night Mara learned the truth. She hadn't been saved. She'd just been sold to a different kind of prison. One with nice clothes and good food and men who paid Vivienne for the privilege of using girls who had nowhere else to go. Men who wanted girls young enough, broken enough, desperate enough not to fight back.
Harry had used her for himself. Vivienne sold her to anyone with enough money.
The first man who bought her time was a lawyer. He took her to one of the upstairs bedrooms and Mara tried to disappear inside her own head the way she'd learned to do with Harry. But it didn't work the same way. This man wanted her to pretend she liked it. Wanted her to smile and act like this was a choice.
When it was over, he gave Vivienne five hundred dollars and patted Mara on the head like she was a pet.
