Page 40 of Auctioned Innocence
When they finally lead me off the platform, my legs are shaking from the effort of standing still instead of launching myself at Madame Rouge’s throat.
In the preparation room, I sink onto a velvet settee, fighting for composure.
“You did well,” Maisie whispers, squeezing my hand as she’s led out for her own display. “Very…floating.”
I watch her go, guilt churning in my stomach.
I could leave now, knowing rescue is coming.
It would be easier to focus solely on my own survival, on getting back to my family.
But Maisie…the others…they don’t have a Dante coming for them.
They don’t have family mobilizing to save them.
No one deserves this.
Not Maisie with her quiet strength.
Not Jessica with her tears.
Not Ava with her bruises.
Not even Kira with her cold calculations.
No one.
“Two more viewings tonight,” the guard announces from his post by the door. “Then the individual appointments begin tomorrow.”
My blood runs cold.
Of course.
Private viewings for serious buyers.
More intimate examinations.
The thought makes bile rise in my throat.
One by one, the others are paraded out.
One by one, they return.
Jessica is crying again, silently now, tears tracking through her careful makeup.
Natalie still hasn’t spoken, moving like a programmable doll.
Kira returns looking thoughtful.
Ava comes back with her jaw clenched so tight I worry for her teeth.
Zoe is the last.
When she returns, there’s something wild in her eyes. “They’re discussing me like I’m not there,” she hisses, just loud enough for us to hear. “Like I’m a fucking racehorse.”
“Zoe,” Ava warns, glancing at the guard.
But Zoe isn’t listening.
