Chapter 3

Emilia Jones

I stared at the business card in her hands for what felt like.hours. Dad didn't even step in to shut this whole thing down.

I took the card with shaky hands and turned it over twice like the other side might suddenly explain everything. It didn’t.

Mom only nodded like this was the answer she had been waiting for all along.

“This is the only way left, and he will hand you a contract to sign...Don't refuse. Save this family,” she said. “You will make thousands. That’s what they pay for the full arrangement. Enough to clear everything and keep the house in a year.”

My stomach dropped. “And I should do what exactly?”

She wouldn’t look at me. “You already know. Don’t make me say it out loud.”

I did know. The second the words left her mouth I knew. This wasn’t some office job or modeling gig. This was dirty work.

“No,” I said. The word came out sharp. “I’m not doing that. There has to be another way.”

Dad’s voice came from the doorway. “There isn’t. You already know we went bankrupt three years ago, the Jones fortune shrunk leaving us in debts and never ending loans. You want your mother dead over pride? Do you want to completely drop out?”

I turned on him. “Pride? I am twenty years old, and I still came home to lectures about being ungrateful. Now suddenly I’m the solution?”

He didn’t flinch. “You’re the one who can fix it. Mandy is fragile and she can't handle this much stress."

We all knew our family was no longer part of the elite map. All it took was one bad investment to wipe us all out of the map. People laughed at us and bullied me for years, While Mandy was spared because a pretty face won't be bullied.

Mandy stood a few steps behind him, phone already in her hand, looking every bit the golden princess they had always treated her.

Mom pulled me toward the bedroom before I could answer. She opened the small closet and dragged out a dress I had never seen before. It was black and tiny The kind of fabric that clung and barely covered anything.... with a headband that looked like bunny ears.

“Put this on,” she said.

I stepped back. “I’m not wearing that.” My eyes widened in shock.

“You are. The man expects you looking a certain way. You don’t get to argue anymore. Besides, i heard he's old.. so Just take a few shots of vodka so that you find it easy to please him.”

She forced the dress into my hands. I held it like it might burn me. The material felt cheap and thin. I hated every second of standing there while she watched me change.

The dress stopped mid-thigh and dipped low in the front. I tugged at the hem like it could somehow grow longer. It didn’t.

Dad’s voice carried from the hall again. “Hurry up. You’re already late. Don’t embarrass us more than you already have.”

Mandy’s soft laugh floated in after his words. I glanced through the open door and saw her leaning against the wall, phone pressed to her ear. Her voice was light. Easy. Like nothing in this house was falling apart.

“Hey Mike, ” she said into the phone. “Yeah, I’m fine. Miss you already.” A pause. Then a quiet, almost sweet sound. “I know. Later, okay? Love you.”

Mike. She was calling Mike like the afternoon never happened.

Like my heart wasn’t still cracked open on that apartment floor. Like she hadn’t been underneath him while I stood there watching.

She ended the call and caught me staring. She didn’t even look guilty. She just slipped the phone into her pocket and walked past me like I was furniture.

I had no options left. The Augusta’s face stayed burned behind my eyes.

~~~~~~

Mom and Dad dropped me off in front of a tall hotel that looked too expensive for any of us.

Mom didn’t get out of the car. Dad kept his eyes forward. Mandy stayed silent in the back seat. I stepped onto the sidewalk in the tiny black dress and heels that pinched my toes. The night air felt cold against all the skin the dress left exposed.

“Room 1900,” Mom said through the open window. “Don’t mess this up.”

The car pulled away. I stood there alone with the business card and a stomach full of dread.

Every step toward the entrance felt like walking deeper into something I could never take back. I was still a virgin and now, it was going to be taken away.

Maybe I should have run away and never returned, But what if Augusta kills my parents? And everyone in the city knew that the police would never help.

I cursed under my breath the whole way across the lobby. This was wrong. This was dirty. This was the last thing I ever wanted. But the image of those men standing over my mother kept my feet moving.

The elevator ride up felt endless. Floor fourteen opened onto a quiet hallway, I had already took six shots of Vodka in the car to help me get this over with.

I saw the room number with blurry eyes.

I stared at the room numbers, barely able to remember which one I should enter into. My legs felt like jelly with the high heels I always hated and a heavy layer of make up on my face.

"Room 1600 or is it 1900? Whatever this should be it."

I said as soon as I found the door. My hand shook when I raised it to knock. No one answered right away. I tried the handle. It turned then I stepped inside.

The lights were dim. Soft yellow lamps threw long shadows across the carpet.

The bed was massive. And on the low table beside it, spread out like someone had prepared for a long night, were so many sex toy items, I felt my face heat with shame and anger at the same time. There were red cuffs. A silk blindfold. Things I only recognized from late-night internet mistakes. My throat closed.

I swallowed hard. Pride tasted like ash going down, but I forced it. I had come this far. I closed the door behind me and stood there in the middle of the room, tiny dress clinging to my skin, heart slamming against my ribs.

A deep velvet voice came from the shadowed corner near the window. It made my a cold chill run down my spine.

“First time? Little bunny?”