CHAPTER 5 - BOUGHT

Kara Baxter did not know how she ended up here.

She did not think for a second that the modeling job she secured earlier this week, the one she perceived as "manna from heaven," would turn out to be a hoax. 

“Why was I going to be auctioned for a charity event? I never signed up for this!  I am going to sue you!” Kara angrily lashed out at Kate despite the mounting panic in her heart. 

Can’t anyone see that what they were doing is illegal? They lure women with a promise of a lucrative career and high pay, only to be sold to the highest bidder. 

“You signed the contract dear.  Didn’t you read its contents? Besides, all our top models undergo a sort of baptism of fire, and this is yours.”  Kate Ash, her recruiter, reminded her. 

“To become a prostitute?” Kara scoffed.  Her face flushed red in anger. 

Kate looked affronted. 

“The Night of the Virgins was a charity event. You make it sound ghastly, dear." 

 “A charity event that sells off their models to the highest bidder?” Kara countered. 

“It’s charity, dear.  And the upper class loves it.”  Kate enthused.

Kara rolled her eyes. 

“You use charity as a guise to sanitize your prostitution activities.”  She lashed out, not bothering to conceal the scorn from her tone.  This was the height of hypocrisy. 

Kate reacted quickly and slapped her.  “Do not think so high and mighty of yourself.  In life, we all have to trade in something to gain something.  Do not be so naive.”  Kate hissed. 

Kara was stunned at her audacity to lay a finger on her.  No one lay a hand on her!

Kara spit, and there was blood.  It left a ghastly sight on her satin white lingerie.  

“See what you have made me do.”  Kate tutted like she did not slap her just now and proceeded to fuss over her.  Kate inspected her lips and dabbed them with cotton. 

“What have you done? Don’t you know that the boss would get angry if he sees anything wrong with our girls?” A man said harshly, shoving Kate aside. Her hip hit the side table when she lost her balance. 

Kate was contrite.  “Gordon..” Her voice trailed off as fear flashed before her eyes. 

“Cover it up and change her clothes.”  The man Kate called Gordon ordered before he slammed the door shut. The sound rang in their ears. 

Kate took a paper cup and went to the dispenser for some water.  When she got back, the other woman was changing Kara's lingerie. 

Seeing how shaken Kate was, Kara grabbed that chance to argue her case, hoping she could convince her recruiter to let her go. 

“Kate, my virginity is not for sale.  It will be my pride and honor to give this to my husband-to-be on our wedding night.”

But her pleas fall on deaf ears.  

Kate seemed preoccupied with something. 

Kara's panic rose.   She could not believe she turned down her boss, Nico Bernardi’s proposal,  for this. Nico’s offer to be his mistress is way more acceptable compared to this - a much lesser of two evils.

At least, she knew Nico, and he was attractive. But what if her buyer turns out to be a dirty old man, or worse, a pot-bellied and bald man? Kara cringed at the thought. 

Kate’s response did not help to allay her fears.  Her mocking tone made Kara feel worse. Her laugh grated on her nerves. 

“I thought you needed money? This auction will pay you handsomely.  It is actually a very good deal.” 

“But I do not want to be a w*ore!” She cut out. “I am desperate, but not so desperate as to sell my virginity out.” She cried. 

Kara clenched her hands into fists.  It was the only thing she could do since she was strapped into a chair.  

“I will pull all your hair out when I get away from this.”  She threatened. 

The expression on Kate’s face became serious. 

“Kara, listen to me.  You already signed the contract, and there is no way the organizers will let you off the hook. You have to do this.  Otherwise, your life will be in danger.” 

Fear crawled up Kara’s skin at the seriousness in Kate's tone.  

“W-what do you mean?” She breathed out.  Tears stung her eyes. 

“No one gets out of this place unharmed. So, for your own good, do as the contract states.” 

“Why?  Are they going to kill me if I backed out?"  Her skin prickled, but she ignored it.  

Kara puts up a brave front despite her growing fright.  

"This is intimidation, Kate.  You can not threaten me and get away with it.” She countered. She was sounding hysterical, which predisposed Kate to call someone for help. 

A staff member came in. He holds a syringe between his thumb and forefinger. The needle gleamed in the light, and Kara cried out in fear. She wanted to evade it, but it was no use. Being tied to a chair would not let her get away with it. 

She felt its point pricking her skin, and instantly, she felt groggy. 

Kara had no recollection of what happened after that. 

When she came to, she felt a rolling motion around her.  Her brain was still fuzzy.  Kara‘s blurry vision took in the metal bars surrounding her, noting the sensation that she was moving. Later, she realized she was inside a cage, moving along a narrow hallway. 

Kara shivered. 

She looked down on herself and noticed the flimsy negligee she wore had been replaced with clean ones.  Goosebumps formed on her skin. Whether from the cold or fright, she was not so sure anymore. 

Her cage reached the stage. Kara was temporarily blinded when the spotlight hit her face.  She blinked several times to let her eyes adjust to the light and saw darkness around her. 

Panic constricted her throat. 

She wanted to shout, but no words came out. Her throat had gone dry.  Aside from the occasional sounds from the blaring speakers, the stage was eerily silent, making her think she was alone in a cold, dark place. 

But Kara knew she was not.  She could feel eyes boring into her - judging and assessing her for her worth. She felt like merchandise sold in a flea market. 

Kara wanted to curse and blame someone but knew it was all on her. She naively trusted a stranger, blinded by the offer of instant cash.  Now, she was trapped. 

This is all her fault. She could never blame anyone for her misfortunes but herself. 

The bidding for her has started. Her head throbbed every time a bid was offered. From one million, it quickly rose to ten to twenty until her eyes almost bulged from its sockets when the auctioneer banged his gavel. 

“Going once, going twice. And, sold for 100 million dollars!”

Kara's chest constricted. 

So much money just to have her. Who in their right mind would bid for her this much?

Kara was jolted from her murky thoughts when her cage moved, and she was wheeled off the stage. 

Panic rose within her as they drifted past mazes of narrow hallways until they returned to the dressing room from earlier and found the same lady from earlier waiting for her. 

Inconspicuously, Kate was nowhere around.  Left alone with the silent woman gave Kara courage. She fought off when the woman tried to undress her, but the woman was stronger. 

Kara realized she was too weak to fight her. 

“You have been drugged, miss, so it's futile to fight me.”

Realizing that Kara sat limply on her seat while the woman fussed over her and dressed in casual clothes. 

Once fully clothed, Kara flexed her strained shoulders and hands, testing their strength. She seemed to have regained most of her strength. 

An idea formed in her head.  

Her eyes scanned the room and lit up when she found a door.  

Kara knew she had to escape this place, but before she could test her plan, the lady attending to her muttered something that dashed all hopes in her heart. 

“Do not not even try to escape, miss.  This place is a huge maze. You can not find your way out even if you try. Running away is futile. Too many had tried to escape here, but they all failed.” The warning sounded flat, and it says a lot 

Kara's stomach clenched.  

She sucked in her breath before asking, 

“Have you tried escaping, too?”

The woman shook her head no.  

“But I saw some. They did not come back.” Kara did not know why goosebumps suddenly formed on her skin. 

“W-what happened to them?” She almost choked out the words. 

The woman shrugged. “They were all dead.”

Zapped out with strength, Kara covered her face with her hands in desolation and hopelessness. 

“I do not want to be a wh*re!” 

“Well, you are in the wh*re's den. There are only two things you can do from hereon: go with the flow and survive or meet your death  the soonest possible time. You choose. Be wise of your choice, though.”

“Remember, you can always change your situation if you are alive, not dead.”

Kara nodded. The tears that brimmed her eyes earlier now ran unchecked on her face. 

“Wipe your face.  They are coming.” The woman instructed before giving her a towel.

Kara did as she was told and wiped her face.  

When the door opened, no vestige of weakness could be gleaned from her eyes or her face.  

Three men fetched her. They pushed her and slapped her wrists with handcuffs.  Then, they put a sack over her head.  Kara’s heart raced as fear spread through her. 

“Move your a*s!  Your buyer awaits you!” One of the three suited men ordered. 

She put her feet forward one after another.  She did not know where they were taking her. 

At last, they stopped.  Kara heard movements around her, but apart from the hum of an engine and the opening and closing of the door, she did not hear any talk that would clue her in as to the identity of her buyer. 

Someone pushed her down. In reflex, her arms moved to break her fall, but the cuffs impeded her.  She hissed when the metal scratched her skin. It stings. 

When the car moved, gentle hands uncuffed her to check her wrists.  Then she felt a hot breath blowing on her skin.  

Kara’s body trembled.  

“Is he going to take me here, now?” Her face blanched in fear.  

But apart from repeatedly blowing on her scraped wrists and gently pressing them with the pad of his thumb, he did nothing more, making her relaxed around here. For the first time since this whole mess started, she felt cared for.   

Kara closed her eyes. The energy drained from her. 

It must be the silence, the darkness, or the after-effects of the drug that Kara to lose consciousness once more.

She came through after the sack was pulled off her head.  

Kara gasped when the light blinded her eyes.  She covered them with her hands, surprised they were covered in bandages. 

The sight made Kara feel relieved somehow. The bandages were solid proof that her buyer was not the monster she predicted. 

She closed her eyes to thank God for that, only to open them abruptly in shock when she heard her buyer speak. 

“Hello, Ms. Baxter.” 

Kara’s body froze when she recognized that voice. 

She put her hands away to prove that her ears were not playing tricks on her, and she was astounded when her green eyes met his black ones. 

This couldn't be happening to her!

The color drained from her face when she realized her buyer was none other than the man whose offer she rejected - her former boss, Nico Bernardi.