Prologue

"Sabiana!" A harsh voice startled me while I was scraping the last grains of rice from our container.

It was strange, considering I had just bought rice yesterday, after working a side job at the Montebello mansion. I put up with Senorita Claudia's rough attitude just to put food on the table for my two younger siblings, but how bitter it is to have nothing to cook once again? How am I supposed to feed my siblings? Where did the rice go? Was it stolen? By whom? My salary is gone. Papa took the little money had saved for our basic needs, like the food we eat. I was hoping he wouldn't touch the food meant for my siblings, but here I am, left with barely a fourth of a cup of rice in our storage.

I looked over at the canned goods. As far as I remember, I also bought eggs and sardines. It's all I could regularly afford to feed Bambi and Bamba, and now it’s gone, too.

How frustrating!

"Sabiana!" Papa shouted.

I looked toward the kitchen door, which was only covered by a green curtain. His face was angry, and he was drenched in sweat. He must've walked back here to our shanty from the gambling den. That place is practically his home now. He doesn't even care to think about us, not even for the sake of my two younger siblings. I'd be content if he just left enough food for them. They're only twelve, and unlike me, they're too young to find odd jobs to survive our living.

"Fix yourself, Sabiana," Papa said, grabbing my arm and pulling me.

"W-Wait, Pa. W-What? I'm about to cook for my siblings."

"What are you going to cook, the pot itself?" he mocked.

Anger boiled inside me, and tears began to gather in my eyes as I noticed my siblings watching, scared and huddled together. Even though I know Papa favors them more than he does to me, I love them dearly. I am not jealous of them. I am even happy that they don't have to suffer like I do.

"If you hadn't taken the rice, I would have something to cook for Bamba and Bambi!" I snapped back, only for him to turn and slap me.

His face was doomed, dark in anger.

The twins began crying, and I felt dizzy, almost deafened. I bit back a sob as half of my face went numb.

"You have no right to complain. Remember, I could leave you all any day. Your mother left us when she cheated on me, and I'm the one who stuck around with you," he yelled.

"Now come with me. I have a debt to Miss Villagracia that you need to pay off! Serve her, and I’ll handle feeding those little brats."

"Sabby!" my two siblings sobbed, and I began to cry, too.

I turned to them, "I’ll be back. Sabby just has to work for a bit. When I return, I'll have food," I said, smiling at them with tears in my eyes.

That was all that mattered to us, poorer than mice — to be able to eat at least twice a day. I work hard so I can finish school because I want to pull us out of poverty. I want my siblings not to suffer this hardship that I am suffering right now. What could I expect from their mother? Digna is a prostitute who left the twins long ago. She abandoned them when they were just babies. She left without a second thought, as though she didn’t leave children behind. I learned to care for newborn twins at a very young age. If I couldn't afford milk because Papa didn’t provide, they drank cooked rice water, even if it was the cheapest kind. I can’t even fathom what kind of life we have, or why we were dealt such an unlucky hand.

"I’ll be back. Don't cry," I told Bamba and Bambi again.

They nodded, and only then did I feel some relief.

It was a promise to them that I couldn't keep...

...

Papa and I got into a van, sleek and black, brand new. Inside, I saw a woman with very short red hair. She wore a leather mini skirt and a black cropped top.

I just stared at her.

"Did your daughter even bathe?" she asked Papa with disgust.

"She was busy, Miss V, so she hasn't freshened up. You can make her clean up at your house," he replied.

I kept looking at the two of them. If I judged her by her appearance, she looked like a woman in the nightlife, but I didn't want to assume. Maybe that’s just how she dresses.

"What else would I expect?" Miss V sneered.

"Do a good job, Sabiana," Papa barked at me. "I owe Miss V a lot. If you want your siblings to eat, you better work well! Understand?"

I nodded. I know how to clean a house. Even if our own home is shabby, I know how to handle a mansion since I clean at the Montebello mansion.

I THOUGHT I was going to be a housemaid, but I was wrong. Tonight, I found myself in a casa. They made me wear a white bra and white panties. They said this casa is on an island, so there’s no escape. They brought us here by a yatch, and though I was nearly dying from fear, I had no choice. Every time I resisted, they would cover my nose with a cloth. I’d black out, and when I woke up, I’d barely remember a thing. They did this to me so many times that I eventually gave up. Fighting back only made things worse. They transformed me over days or maybe even weeks. They fed me fruits and changed everything about me. My bitten-down nails were covered with artificial ones that wouldn’t come off, painted white-tipped and clear-coated. My hair was dyed reddish brown. They scrubbed me down daily and applied all sorts of products. They took care of me meticulously. I should be grateful, but I’m not, because I don’t even know why they’re doing all this.

I have my suspicions, but I can't confirm them. They’re turning me into someone they can sell. I try to stay strong, not to cry, but silent tears fall, especially when I see the other women also crying because they thought they were being hired as maids. At least they were wrong; I was sold by my own father.

I looked down at myself. My outfit made me feel uncomfortable. The men guarding us stared at me. I heard them say that I would bring in the most money for their boss. I didn’t understand why they said that until a doctor came recently, made me undress, and examined me. Among the fifteen women in the room, I was the only virgin.

Now, they’re putting me up for bidding. I thought I’d only see this on TV, but it happens in real life, too. I never expected this, not even in my worst nightmares. I hope I can escape this hell and fulfill my promise to my siblings — that I would come back for them...