All Chapters of Switched at the Mafia Auction: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

~ Avelyn ~ I stepped out as if gravity and a hundred pairs of eyes had conspired to make my legs sticky. The mirrors doubled me and made my face look small and ridiculous.Nora stood there like a goddess who’d chosen to be cruel for sport. I couldn’t stop looking at her hair that was pulled into a slick knot that matched the precision of her moves, the way she held herself like she owned every second in the room. Behind her the girls shifted, the air was thick with expectation and curiosity like the prelude to a storm.She crossed the floor in feline steps and stopped an arm’s length from me. “Watch closely to the form I show you.” she said. “and make sure to imitate it perfectly. Or else face the punishment.”I heard her the first time, was she a robot or those were the only words she knew. Tsk!But I couldn’t deny that the word ‘Punishment’ suddenly grabbed my attention. In this place punishment could be humiliation lit on a stage for everyone to watch, it could be demotion, it co

~ Avelyn ~“Show me what you’ve learned,” Ms. Freda said.My throat was dry. “Now?”“Now.”So I climbed back on the pole. My limbs protested, but I pushed anyway and spun, hooked, drop and hold. Not in a graceful way, not even close to professional, but steady.Ms. Freda watched in silence, arms crossed. When I stumbled on landing, she finally said, “Your center of balance is wrong. You’re fighting the pole, not using it.”“Maybe it hates me,” I muttered under my breath.Her brow lifted. “Then earn its respect.”That shut me up.She came forward, surprisingly patient, adjusting my hands, correcting my tilt. When she spoke again, her tone had softened a fraction. “You’re not hopeless, Avelyn. Just careless with your body. Stop thinking about control and start thinking about rhythm.”Rhythm. Easy for her to say. My rhythm lately was a mix of anxiety and panic with a side of exhaustion.Still, I tried again. I climbed, swung, felt the pull of gravity and the burn of muscle until somethin

~ Avelyn ~I forced myself to breathe. Not now. Not here. Whoever was behind this wanted a show, and I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.I stepped away from the chaos, slipped on my mask, and walked to the stage.The lights dimmed.A hush spread across the hall, the kind that always comes before impact.Then the music started.The opening notes of “I See Red” rolled through the speakers. A sultry beat, slow at first, then sharp and commanding. I took my first step onto the stage, the spotlight slicing across my body in streaks of scarlet and gold.The floor gleamed like glass as my heels clicked against the tiles. I wasn’t just Avelyn anymore. I was the seductress they’d paid to see.Each move was as deliberate as a promise and a threat woven into rhythm. I twisted around the pole, my reflection glinting back from the mirrored floor. My heartbeat synced with the drum’s pulse.The crowd leaned forward.Somewhere, deep inside, I could feel the room shift. Their energy, the hunger

~ Avelyn ~My eyes darted to the men. They were already closing in, one hand going to his earpiece, another reaching for me.“We’ll take her to the Master,” the girl added smugly.The Master.My blood went cold instantly. Xander was here.Every nerve in my body screamed run. I didn’t know these people. This wasn’t Mona Lisa. There were no familiar faces, no Alice to whisper quick advice. And I wasn’t about to wait around and be “taken” anywhere.I made my choice and I made it fast. If anyone was going to hand me over to Xander, it was going to be me. Not them! I needed to clear my name before things get even more messier. “I have to find him first,” I whispered under my breath. Then I ran.My heels clacking and heart pounding against my ribcage while air tore through my throat. The corridor blurred into a tunnel of light and shadow. Ariana shouted my name behind me, but her voice drowned beneath the pounding bass and the chaos of bodies as I burst back into the main hall.“Stop her

~ Avelyn ~Then he spoke again, “Under the bed now. Unless you want to lose your feet when this is over.”For a full second, I just stared at him. Surely I’d misheard. Xander? Helping me?But his tone wasn’t one that invited second-guessing. I dove under the bed before the thought even finished forming. The floor smelled faintly of wine and cedarwood. From the sliver of light between the rug and the frame, I saw his bare feet move farther towards his arm chair. His steps were ever so calm and deliberate. A complete contrast to my hammering heart. Next, I saw the sight of boots. Three pairs and heels belonging to that woman.“Master,” one of the men said, his voice too respectful to hide the tremor. “We’ve come with a report. It concerns a girl named Avelyn.”My heart dropped to my stomach.Xander’s voice came lazy, indulgent. “I’m listening.”The woman spoke next, I recognized those soprano voice that yelled at me earlier in the crowd. Her tone was sharp with self-righteous venom. “S