A nervous chuckle escaping her lips, Anna's gaze alternated from Genevieve's face to Rick's.
''What? Why are you two looking at me like that?" she laughed. "Wait... it's because of what i said? Of course, I always say no to the men. But for my own safety, I always tell them I'll reach out to them if I find someone suitable.''
As soon as they heard that, Genevieve let out a huge sigh of relief while Rick smiled.
"I was scared for a moment there," she murmured.
Anna patted her on the back as if to reassure her, ''It's not a new thing in the industry. They always approach orphanage directors with deals like that, but I'd die before dabbling in something like that.''
Her expression suddenly went serious, ''If Eve is serious about infiltrating the underworld, I think that would be the best and easiest way to get in. Drugs? There's risk of getting caught and going to jail. Even if you are lucky and you don't get caught, you'll have to work as a trafficker for a while before gaining enough reputation to work with real bosses. But with this method I have, I think you'll go straight to working with bosses, at least from what the man who approached me told me about his clients.''
''Uh… so, what business does this man do? What will I be expected to do if I agree?''
Anna shook her head slightly at that.
''I can't believe I'm suggesting this to my beloved niece,'' she said, tears welling up in her eyes. ''Eve… he uhm... he will sell the girls through an auction, then they have to go with their buyer to his or her home. For the unlucky girls, they will be considered a sex slave by their buyers, while the lucky ones can be elevated to the status of a mistress by their buyers."
Genevieve's jaws slacked in stupefaction.
Anna shut her eyes tightly as if bracing herself, before continuing.
"He told me that while some of them might treat you like a human being, you won't have a choice when it comes to sex. It will be on their terms, not yours. And age won't matter... some could be much older, some younger." She swallowed hard. "He also mentioned that some of his clients operate in groups, so..." she trailed off, leaving a suffocating silence in her wake.
Rick broke the silence.
''You mean, Young Miss may need to have group sex with some of them when they buy her?" he asked tentatively, as if merely speaking the words meant it was already happening. When anna nodded, he exclaimed, ''What the hell, Miss Anna?! Even if Young Miss had been the one to bring this suggestion, you are supposed to go against it with all your strength. How come you are the one proposing it instead?''
''It's alright. Don't blame her.'' Genevieve stopped him. ''Like Aunt Anna said, I'd have gone for worse options if she didn't bring this up.'' She turned to her aunt and asked, ''You say his clients are all bosses? I won't have to waste my body?''
Anna nodded, a bit too eagerly, ''I will make him swear it. But we'll not tell him we are related, so he doesn't grow suspicious on why I'm offering my niece to him and think I want to sabotage his business or something."
Genevieve hummed thoughtfully. ''That makes sense. Can I think about this for a while, though?''
''That's what I want,'' Anna said, ''For you to think twice about this. Because if you go in, there's no coming out easily except you are already dead. Not only will there be no way for us to see each other frequently, but you'll also be risking your life with each step you take. Besides… the uh… activities you'd have to partake in, are you emotionally strong enough for it?''
Genevieve bit down on her lower lip.
''I will think about it all.''
''Don't do this, Young Miss,'' Rick tried to intervene, but she held a hand up to stop him.
''Thanks again, Mr Rick. I promise I will be fine." She paused, snickering, "Well, maybe not fine but we just have to pray I get lucky enough to be sold into a powerful family. My soul? It's nothing as long as I get to avenge my family and find out more about them. I have nothing to lose otherwise.''
Seeing that she had already made her decision and was dead set on it, Rick sighed deeply before extending his one hand, prompting Genevieve to step in for an embrace.
''I guess there's nothing I can say to stop this then. I wish you good luck.''
''It's far too late to stop anything,'' she murmured into his chest before disentangling herself from him and turning to her aunt, ''I'll come up to join you when I decide on what to do, Aunt."
"I will be waiting." Anna nodded and accompanied Rick out, leaving the younger lady alone in the basement room with her turbulent thoughts.
☆♡♡♡☆
Later that night, when the clock struck midnight and the moon hung high at the apex of the sky, Genevieve jolted awake, drenched in sweat from a nightmare. Her usually vibrant blue eyes were void of life, dull and haunted. As she lifted her gaze to the window, a single tear slipped silently down her cheek.
Even if she chose not to avenge her parents, she'd be haunted by the nightmare of the day she lost them all for the rest of her life, so why waste time?
Without hesitation, she pushed off the covers, stepped out of bed, and made her way straight to her aunt's room. She only knocked on the door twice before the door swung open, revealing her aunt standing there in a crumpled nightgown and disheveled hair.
"I agree," she said, her voice steady but hollow. "Call that man now. Tell him to promise that I'll be sold in an auction where only one person can buy me. I... I don't think I'd survive being passed around. This... this will be the end of it."
Anna didn't answer right away. Instead, she pulled her niece into a tight embrace, holding her as if she could shield her from the cruel path she had chosen.
"I'll make sure he sells you to a buyer who won't harm you," she whispered. "He said he can arrange that."
"Good," Genevieve murmured.
And so, the following night, Genevieve Stellina Armani... or rather, Valenciara was auctioned off to Roberto Visconti.