Page 37 of The Mafia's Vendetta

“You took a huge chance,” he said.

“I know.I had to do something, or I was going to kill myself.I was in pain every single day, and I’m not talking about having a bruise or a sliver.It was pain that no human should ever have to deal with.”

“Did he ever say why?”

“When I asked, he said he was doing the world a favor by taking girls like me off the streets.”

“There were more?”

“Yes.I have no idea how many.”

“Where are they?”

She sighed.“Dead.He said they were weak.I was the girl he had the longest, and he was so pleased to have found me.I’m surprised I stayed alive.He only gave me bread and water to eat.”

“The whole time?”Drew asked.

Nala nodded.“I was emaciated and very weak when I finally got away.”

“Tell me about that day?”

“I overheard he was going to some fancy party and would be gone for hours.He used to lock me back in the first room I woke up in, but after a while, he trusted me.He really thought I was happy to stay with him.Earlier, I found the shoes I came in and made an outfit that looked better than the sack he had me wear.I was in a rush because it was the last minute, but I was able to put some gum on one of the window sensors in a room no one used.I slipped out of it.I’d been watching the cars and who drove them.I got in the trunk of a car one of the maids owned because I knew she’d leave before the others.I felt like I would faint in fear until we got through the gate and were a few miles away.I waited until she went into the building before I climbed out.I made sure the trunk was back in place because I didn’t want her to get in trouble.”

“Did any of the staff know what was going on?”

“I’m sure they all did.He made me follow him around the house sometimes.He called me his pet.”

Drew had pictures of what she might have looked like, and his head felt like it was going to explode.

Nala sighed.“The worst part.”

“Oh, fuck.What’s worse than what he did to you?”

She nodded.“He would have one of his men kidnap a boy and bring him back to the house.Clayton would play with him for a few days and then drop him off.”

“What the fuck?Why?”

“Why the boys, or why drop them off?”she asked.

“Both?”

“He r-raped them over and over again.”She started sobbing, and he held her.She cried so hard he thought she would puke, but she finally calmed down enough to talk.

“He let them go because he wanted them to remember him for the rest of their lives.”

“Jesus Christ.How old were these kids?”

“I would have guessed six to eight years old.I couldn’t get close to them, and I have to admit I didn’t try after the first time.”

“What happened?”

“I saw the boy.He was terrified and crying.I ran to get him, and of course, that pissed Clayton off.That was the worst whipping I ever got there.I couldn’t move for days.I really thought I was going to die.”

How the hell did this little slip of a girl survive that and for so long?

“Where did you go when you escaped?”

“I went to the nearest bus stop.I followed a lady into the bathroom.I asked her if I gave her money if she could buy me a ticket because I didn’t want the person to be able to track me down.She looked suspicious at first until I showed her my back.I thought she was going to faint.”

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