Chapter 594
“What a tragedy. You’re far too young to rot in a place like this. Your whole life is ruined p>
The older man looked at her with profound pity.
“No, I refuse to accept this p>
Mara declared, her stubbornness flaring.
“Let me out! Hey, open the door! Just let me leave, and I’ll do whatever you want p>
The door crashed open. “Who’s screaming p>
Several hulking guards loomed in the doorway. Their muscles bulged beneath their shirts, and they gripped heavy iron batons, scanning the room with predatory gazes.
“Not me, it wasn’t me p>
Mara trembled violently, shrinking back into the shadows.
Seeing the entire room cowering in silence, the lead guard sneered. “The next person who makes a sound gets dragged out and fed to the dogs p>
He slammed the door shut.
They were locked in that oppressive room for a full twenty-four hours, completely deprived of food and water.
The suffocating silence shattered when a stunningly beautiful woman in the corner broke down into agonizing sobs.
She wept through her devastating story, recounting how she had been lured across the border with the promise of a lucrative acting career, only to be cast into this nightmare.
Tears and mucus streamed down her flawless face as she cried.
Her despair was contagious. Two other women joined in, their sobs echoing in the cramped space.
“I can’t stay here anymore. I just want to go home p>
Mara watched them cry. A twisted sense of validation settled over her. At least she wasn’t suffering alone; she had company.
The thought brought her a sick measure of comfort.
The guards outside heard the commotion and banged violently on the door, instantly snapping the room back into terrified silence.
A thin, dark-haired girl wiped her face, collapsing to her knees as she begged the guard in the doorway.
“Please, you must have grabbed the wrong person! Just let me go p>
Mara scoffed internally. Don’t waste your breath, she thought. Her own captors had known perfectly well they had the wrong girl, yet they still dragged her here.
Still, Mara kept her eyes peeled. Being released outright was impossible, but she needed to wait for the right opportunity.
Annoyed by the girl’s relentless begging, the guard delivered a brutal kick to her ribs.
She skidded backward across the concrete and curled into a ball, too terrified to make another sound.
Mara pressed herself tightly against the wall, making herself as invisible as possible.
The moment the door locked again,
the beaten girl began to whimper She crawled toward Mara, desperately seeking a shred of comfort, but Mara quickly recoiled, putting away.
They were given one meal a day-a stale piece of bread and a small cup of water, barely enough to keep them alive.
On the third day, the entire group was herded outside and transported to a massive, sprawling compound.
Beyond the heavy iron gates lay a
vast courtyard. A brutalist five-story building loomed in the center, flanked by several smaller
ovel
three-story blocks. Imposing
concrete walls topped with
electrified barbed wire enclosed the
entire perimeter.
It looked like an abandoned industrial park, but felt like a high-security prison.
Mara thought it was far worse than any state penitentiary. Entire chunks of plaster had rotted off the grim, decaying walls.
Spotting a brief gap in the patrol, the urge to run flared in Mara’s chest But instinct held her back. It couldn’t
be this easy. She wasn’t about to be the guinea pig.
Right then, a tall, gaunt man scanned his surroundings. His eyes gleamed with the exact same desperate thought.
“Run p>
Mara read his mind and leaned in, whispering the single command.
Emboldened by her words, a sudden surge of adrenaline seized him, and he bolted for the perimeter.
He barely made it forty feet before a deafening gunshot ripped through the air.