Page 80 of Tainted Truth

Mom’s arms wave around wildly at her outrage. “That’s not important. I want to know why you’re ignoring me! I did everything you asked. I got you her number, I gave you information about where she might be. Hell! I delivered her to you on a silver platter, and you couldn’t even keep her in line!”

Who is “she”?

Anthony doesn’t answer her but looks to the man closest to him and snaps his fingers then points at Mom. “Time to go, Mariana.” The man grips Mom’s upper arm.

“What are you doing? Get your dirty hands off me! Anthony, tell him to let me go.”

“Mom!” I plead again.

She finally turns to me. “Oh my God! Shut up! You insufferable idiot! I needed you to do one thing. One damn thing! You couldn’t give me this? You couldn’t just marry him?”

“What are you talking about?”

Looking around the room, I notice how everyone is looking at me with varying expressions ranging from pity to glee.

My voice turns timid. “Mom? What’s going on?”

“Spencer.” Asher’s voice is sympathetic.

“Don’t ‘Spencer’ me! I need to keep my mom safe. I’ve worked hard to keep everyone safe,” I snap at Asher.

Anthony speaks slowly as if speaking to a child. “The night we met, there was an auction.”

I shake my head. “No, it wasn’t an auction. It was an art show. My first art show.”

Half of Anthony’s mouth lifts. “No, Flower. It was an auction.”

My mind is spinning. It was definitely an art show.

Am I going crazy?

“Where was the auction? Was it in a different room? What was being sold?”

Anthony’s gaze turns possessive as he looks me right in the eye. “You.”

“Me?” My hands tremble.

“I bought you and your sweet virgin blood. By right, you are mine. You were bought and paid for.”

I was . . . sold?

“Mom?”

The click of her heels echo in the room as she walks right up to me. Her hands cover my wrists and tighten like a vice. “Why did you have to make this so hard? You’ve always been such a stupid fucking brat.”

My heart shatters right there on the bitter concrete floor. My muscles go weak. It’s like an anesthetic is injected into every vein in my body as numbness takes over my limbs. But Mom doesn’t wait for me to adjust.

“Your father didn’t want anything to do with you, but at least he paid up. Then you were about to turn eighteen, and the nicecash flow was going to stop. I had to think of something. I met Anthony at a gala, and when he suggested an auction, I thought it was too good to be true. If I would have known he just wanted you for himself, I would’ve handed you right over. But he got one look at you, and he wanted you for more than one night. He wanted forever, so we came up with an arrangement.”

My panting is the only sound in the room. Her face is the only thing in focus in my vision. Everything and everyone else is a blur.

The deafening sound of my brain splintering takes over my consciousness like nails on a chalkboard. The jagged pieces left behind can’t be glued back together. The shards are barbed, tearing apart each happy childhood memory. Each nurturing moment.

She. Sold. Me.

“I gave Anthony every bit of information I could while you were off whoring yourself out to those lowlifes.”

“My phone number?” My voice is empty.

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