Page 38 of Auctioned Innocence
Who they’ve dared to take.
My fear is still there, but beneath it burns something hotter.
Something that keeps me standing when my knees want to buckle.
The doors open.
Light hits my face, momentarily blinding me after the dimmer preparation room.
Chandeliers cast a golden glow over everything, creating an atmosphere of luxury that can’t disguise the fundamental ugliness of what’s happening.
Madame Rouge’s voice cuts through the soft murmur of conversation.
“Distinguished guests, we begin tonight’s preview with a very special offering.”
The room is a blur of faces as they lead me to the platform.
All these powerful men in expensive suits, drinking champagne, and looking at me like I’m a piece of meat.
I focus on a point above their heads.
Float, like Maisie said.
Don’t let them see how much my hands want to shake.
But I can’t help cataloging details, assessing threats, looking for opportunities—just as I’ve been trained to do since childhood.
Thirty men.
Four guards visible.
Two exits beside the main doors.
One woman besides Madame Rouge—severe-looking, standing near what must be a Japanese businessman based on his entourage.
Madame Rouge circles me like a predator, her red dress a splash of blood against the cream and gold of the room.
She describes my “attributes” like I’m a show pony.
My education. My languages. My family connections.
She keeps my last name unspoken but drops enough hints that anyone with connections to New York’s elite would recognize the Renaldi in my bones.
“A rare opportunity,” she purrs to her audience. “Beauty and breeding, yes, but also exceptional intellect. Top of her class at university. Skilled with computers—something many of you might find…useful in your enterprises.”
The casual mention of my skills sends a chill through me.
They don’t just want my body. They want my mind. My abilities. Everything that makes meme.
And then—there.
A flash of something familiar.
My eyes drop automatically to the source, and my heart stops.
Because I know those eyes.
Would know them anywhere, even surrounded by a stranger’s face.
