Page 90 of The Woman

A second later, all of them look up at me with serious expressions.

“Can I help you with something?” I ask, my tone neutral and face blank, though my insides are clashing together with worry.

“Miss Avery,” one of them says. “You need to come with us.”

The floor feels like it’s sinking beneath me while the walls are caving in. My biggest fear is being realized; I’ve been found out, and they’re going to either get rid of me or try and change me.

No, no, no, no.

My body is heavy as I step toward them, but I force it to move and keep my expression the same, not wanting to give any indication that I’m not normal voluntarily.

Maybe there is a chance I can fool them into believing it to be true, that I’m simply a normal woman. Surely there must be times when they’ve been wrong and returned the woman unharmed?

I don’t ask questions. I don’t behave concerned or worried. I swallow it all down and act, almost choking on the panic as I let them lead me downstairs to a black car with blacked-out windows.

No one says a thing until they’re directing me to get into the back seat, and then two of the men sit on either side of me. I feel so small and out of place, so alone. It’s hard not to fidget with my hands or start crying. But if there is any chance at all of getting out of this, I need to keep up the act.

Black glass blocks where the driver is sitting and the side windows, making it so that I can’t see outside. So, I just stare at a white spec of dust on the glass, not moving my sights from it and barely breathing as we drive. Each turn we make has the dread in my stomach growing substantially until it almost forces its way up my throat.

Finally, we come to a stop. I’m not even sure how long we were driving for. When you’re faced with the end of your life, as you know it, time seems to do funny things.

As I wait for my next orders, an image of Phoenix flashes before my eyes, and then I’m doused with another layer of fear and worry. What if they figure out he knew, and he gets into trouble for keeping me secret? What will happen to him?

The back door opens, and the man to my right gets out, then I’m being pushed to get out by the man on my left. I slide along the seat until I’m on my feet, making sure to keep a blank smile on my face.

“You’re not fooling anyone. We know you’re a defect,” one of them mutters.

My stomach tumbles to the ground, but I refuse to give in. The smile stays in place, and I continue staring ahead.

I can’t tell where we are without looking around, but there are tall buildings surrounding us, so we must still be in the city.

Both my arms are gripped, and then I’m pulled toward the door of the building we’re standing in front of.

A sign that reads ‘Emerald Trust Bank’ is written above the door.

Phoenix had some books in the desk drawer in his office that I used to sneakily read throughout the day when he was at work before he found out about me. One of those books had information on banking and investments, so I’m somewhat familiar with what a bank is.

I have no idea why they would be bringing me to one, but as we get closer, I’m able to make out the smaller sentence written underneath.

‘We Offer Unique Networking.’

WOUN.

They must be pretending to be a bank. But what happens if men actually come here to do their banking?

The answer to my question is provided the next moment when we walk through the doors. Everything is set up exactly as a normal bank would be, and there are, in fact, customers inside. They’re not pretending to be a bank in here. They are a bank. Or at least this part of the building is.

We turn to the elevators off to the side and step inside once the door opens. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the man who doesn’t have a grip on me wave a card over a black panel on the wall, causing a little compartment to open with a bunch of buttons on it.

That’s all I’m able to see without it being obvious that I’m paying attention to it. When the elevator starts moving, it feels like we’re going down instead of up, so where they’re taking me must be hidden below the building.

Anxiety starts taking over. At this point, my body feels almost numb. I want to close my eyes and take a deep breath, but that would give too much away. So, I find a tiny dot on the door that is completely out of place to focus on and start counting in my head.

“I know I’ve said it before, but they should just sell these defects to the circus or something. Have some kind of freak show. I’m sure plenty of men would be lining up to pay to see em’.”

That comes from the man on my left who wears the glasses. The man with the crooked nose on my right doesn’t seem impressed and simply grunts in response. Being sold to a circus would probably be better than what’s about to happen to me.

The elevator comes to a stop, and the door opens to reveal a long hallway lined with several doors. The grips they have on my arms tighten as if they think I’ll try to run, and I’m pulled through the door. Have others before me tried to escape?

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