Page 47 of Stolen Vows

This place is grim enough that her reaction would make sense even without all the baggage she happens to be carrying. This is the first time she has seen any of her father’s brothels up-close and personal.

Though we have already found new accommodations for most of the women, there are a few who remain as they wait for family or friends to come pick them up, and we’re stopping by to check onthem and see if they have any more information to share with us about what remains of the Leone empire.

"Thought you guys were never going to make it," Maya remarks as she looks between us.

Cara stiffens at once, and I shoot my sister a look. It’s not that I don’t understand where she is coming from with all of this, having her doubts about Cara, but the last thing we need is for her to feel unwelcome. This is a big moment for her, coming here, contending face-to-face with everything that her father has done, and I am not going to let my sister’s second-guessing get in the way of that.

"Yeah, sorry, I held us up leaving," I tell Maya firmly, before Cara can jump in and make an excuse for it. I don’t want to give Maya anything else to blame Cara for, and God knows that she is looking for it right now.

"Mhm," Maya replies, as she steps aside to let us in. "Anyway. One of the girls wanted to talk with you, Max. Said she had information about one of the other brothels in the city..."

I nod to her, and Cara hangs back for a moment. I glance over at her, confused.

"I— I don’t think I should be here for that," she mutters.

I can tell she is freaking out at the thought of it. She might have a point, but that doesn’t mean that I am just going to leave her standing here, wondering if she should even have come at all.

"I think you should be," I reply, slipping my hand into hers. "Might make her feel more comfortable, knowing that there’s another woman there. Someone she can relate to."

Cara hesitates for another second, but then, with a nod, she agrees to come with me. We head through the long, gray corridors that lead to the room we have turned into a hub for the women still staying here.

None of them will even set foot in the rooms they worked in upstairs, and I can’t say I blame them. I checked them out myself to ensure there was no remaining evidence, and they were filthy, almost as though Lucio was intent on degrading them in any way he could.

A woman is sitting on the edge of a long bench, her hands clasped in her lap, her eyes downcast. She glances up as soon as she hears me drawing closer. I go to sit beside her, but she recoils at once, almost on instinct.

"I’m— I’m sorry," she blurts out. I shake my head.

"You have nothing to apologize for," I promise her. "My sister said you had some information you wanted to share with us?”

"Right, yes," she replies, fiddling with her long, bleached-out hair.

She looks to be around my age, but there is something both so vulnerable and so heavy about the way she holds herself—as though she has lived a million years and none at the same time.

"I was... I was speaking with one of the other girls. Millie," she continues. "And she told me about this place on the other side of the city that was attached to a casino... I’m not sure what it was called, but a few of my regulars mentioned it to me. I think there might still be girls there, and I just couldn’t stand the thought of…"

Her words catch in her throat abruptly, and her hand flies to her mouth. I grimace. I wish there was more I could do, but I feel like any move I make will just throw her back into that dark place again.

And then, to my surprise, Cara pushes past me. She sinks down on her heels in front of the woman—not speaking, not moving to touch her, just being there with her. When the woman finally lifts her head again, she looks at Cara, and something in her seems to settle.

"What’s your name?" Cara asks her softly. The woman takes a deep, shuddering breath before she replies.

"Rose. Rosie."

"Rosie," Cara repeats. "You have to understand, you’re not responsible for anything that’s happened to any of the other women who were trapped here, or anywhere, for that matter. What you’re doing is amazing, telling us everything you know, but you don’t have to carry that weight. It’s not yours to carry."

She pauses for a moment, her jaw tightening. I can see a flash of realization crossing her face, but she quickly focuses back on Rosie.

"Trust me, I know how hard it is to believe that," she murmurs to her. "But it’s true."

Rosie sniffles slightly, still staring at Cara, as though she is trying to figure out just where this leaves her.

"You went through something similar?"

Cara hesitates for a moment. I know that she doesn’t want to equate what happened to her to the living hell these women were put through, but she does understand it, on some level,what it’s like to be pushed and pulled and forced to do what was demanded of you. And besides, Rosie is looking for a thread of connection right now, anything to drag her out of that place she currently finds herself in. She needs to know that there are other people out there who have been through something like her ordeal, and come out the other side alive.

"Yeah," she replies, with a nod. "Yeah, I did."

The two women smile at each other for a moment, and Cara reaches for her hands. She gives them a squeeze, and then rises wordlessly to her feet. Rosie takes another breath, then turns her attention to me.

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