2:Escaped

Layla tumbled down the stairs and landed at the bottom with a loud thud. Her body ached terribly and her head felt like it would split in two.

It turned worse as the door to the study was yanked open and Madame Parker marched out. She took one look at Layla and knew instantly what she had been up to.

"You worthless girl! What have you been doing? Eavesdropping on us? Spying?", she snapped angrily.

Layla struggled to her feet and shook her head in fear as Madam Parker lifted her dress and marched down the stairs towards her. She fell to her knees, tears spilling down her eyes. She had been caught and there was no escaping it.

"You stupid girl. You have such guts to listen in on my conversation when you should be doing your chores!",Madam Parker spat angrily and raised her hand high up, delivering a harsh slap on Layla's face.

Layla fell, blinded momentarily by the pain on her face. She tried to crawl away from the wrath of the furious woman and was dragged back viciously.

"Where do you think you're going? I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget",Madam Parker snapped and was about to kick Layla on the head when a hard voice ordered her to stop.

"Don't touch the girl",Rufus' voice rang out from the top of the stairs.

Madam Parker turned to glare at him, angry at the interruption. She was filled with so much hatred for Layla and wanted every opportunity to make her suffer.

"Rufus..."

"No Maria",Rufus cut her short and began to descend the stairs while Uncle Parker remained at the top, uncaring as usual. Rufus' eyes were intent on the girl who was whimpering on the ground, trembling violently. He stopped and squatted in front of her.

"What's your name?",he asked softly.

But Layla only cowered further away from him, hiding her reddened face underneath her hair. She flinched as Madam Parker's voice came out sharply.

"She's mute Rufus. She can't speak",Madame Parker said behind him in an angry voice.

"And I wonder why",Rufus remarked drily and turned towards her. "What is her name?",he asked again.

"She is called Layla",Madame Parker said grudgingly. Her eyes were filled with venom as she glared at Layla and they snapped up when Rufus began speaking.

"I don't think Lord Brandon will take it lightly if he sees a fresh scar on her. He is paying for her after all".

"Of course Rufus. I was only going to teach her a lesson for eavesdropping",Madame Parker said, properly chastised.

"I understand. But since she's already aware, I'm sure there's no need to hide it from her. I will be back at dusk to take her",Rufus said and turned towards the door. He placed a hand on the knob and turned around.

"And Maria",he said to Madame Parker. "Don't make Lord Brandon regret doing business with you. Clean her up and make sure she's available when I return". And with that he walked out, slamming the door behind him.

"That's his way of saying he won't hear any excuses if she suddenly goes missing",Uncle Parker said from the top of the stairs.

"She wouldn't dare run. Where does she have to go?",Madame Parker said with assurance.

She yanked Layla by the hair with force and pulled her towards the basement. "I'll lock her up if that's what I have to do", she muttered and Layla could do nothing but follow along.

Down in the basement, Madame Parker shoved Layla into the room and stood at the door, glaring at her with a frightening expression.

"Since you've grown so bold to spy on the visitors I bring, I'll tell you why he was here",she said and smiled viciously at her.

"You're to be sold to the highest bidder. You hear that? You're going to be his sex slave and he will use you the way he wants. You will never be free from him. He will make you feel so much pain that you will wish for death".

Layla's breaths bust out of her mouth in harsh pants, her entire body trembling violently from terror. She believed what Madame Parker told her and she dreaded the pain she would go through in the hands of her buyer. She watched with terrified eyes as Madame Parker moved closer to her with glittering eyes.

"You're terrified right? You should be. Because what you went through in my hands is nothing compared to what you will experience in the hands of your buyer. And when he has broken you entirely, he will throw your lifeless body away and that will be the end of your worthless life".

Having successfully instilled fear in Layla's mind, she turned around and slammed the door behind her. The sound of the lock turning told Layla that she had been locked inside. A cry escaped her lips and she curled into a ball, shivering and terrified.

It was all over for her. She had hopes that maybe one day when she was older, Madame Parker would come to love her. Now that hope had been dashed on the ground. She was going to be sold to to a stranger like some used good. Fresh tears poured down her eyes and she cursed the day she was brought into the world. She cursed her father for raping her mother. She cursed death for claiming her mother's life prematurely. She cursed Madame Parker and her husband for all the abuse she had been subjected to.

But not once did she curse her mother. Her mother had been a victim, just like she was. She lay on the cold ground for hours. Hungry and thirsty. Tired and fed up with life. She resigned herself to fate, waiting for the time she would be sold.

And then she suddenly sat up. She got off the ground and moved towards a broken mirror in the corner of the basement. Her reflection stared back at her. Midnight dark hair looking disheveled on her head. Grey eyes that looked so anguished. Pale chaffed lips. Reddened cheek from the slap she received from Madame Parker. She looked down at the dress she wore. A sack of materials that was supposed to be worn by slaves. The dress covered her arms and stopped around her ankles so the scars on her body was hidden. She looked down at her bare feet, the toes discoloured with recent wounds.

Her heart sank further. She wasn't even fit to be sold to a stranger. What was the point of living when all she would ever get was pain and anguish? There was no point living. It was better to end it all. It was better to be free from the sorrows of life. Maybe when she was dead, her soul would reunite with her mother. And she would be free.

Layla turned away from the mirror with a deadpan expression. Her eyes were determined as she looked towards the door. She wouldn't give Madame Parker the satisfaction of seeing her dead body.

She needed to escape from the basement.

...

The day dragged on and Madame Parker returned from her little trip to the local dress shop. She had purchased some cheap clothes and shoes for Layla and a new brush to tame her wild hair.

It irked her so much to do all these for the girl but the payment she was promised from Lord Brandon made up for it. The bag of gold she would receive was for the stress she had gone through to raise the girl and she couldn't be more happier to be rid of her.

She rushed into the house just as a heavy downpour began. She was lucky to be back in time before the rain drenched her. Her husband was in the living room reading the evening paper when she dropped on the couch beside him.

"Took you long enough",he said as a way of welcoming her back.

"The clothes were just too costly. I had to find a cheaper dress shop". Madame Parker complained and fanned her face with her palm.

"Rufus will be here soon. Prepare the girl before he arrives",her husband said and turned back to reading his papers.

Madame Parker grabbed the bag she brought and headed to the basement. She only had to stand by and watch Layla wash up and put on one of the new dresses. She would have to comb her hair herself. She sighed as she got closer to the door.

And then she froze.

All the colour seemed to drain from her face as she saw the basement door opened a crack. She moved slowly towards the door and pushed it open.

The bag she held dropped from her hand. The basement was empty. Layla was nowhere to be found. She looked back at the door and lodged in the keyhole were two black pins. It slowly dawned on her.

The lock on the door had been picked.

"Gary!",Madame Parker screamed as she rushed out of the basement. Her husband met her halfway.

"What is...?"

"She's gone. She's fucking gone!",Madame Parker screamed into his face.

"What do you mean she's gone?",he roared and rushed into the basement to confirm. He came back out immediately.

"What do we do?",Madame Parker's voice was shrill with fear and panic.

"Find her. Now!"