Page 105 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

“What are you doing?”

“Trying . . . to get . . . my box.”

“Your box?” Alex pulled her out from under the bed. “Move. I’ll get it.”

Anna moved out of the way and he looked under the bed. After a moment, he pulled out a blue cardboard box with a matching lid. It was about six inches high and a foot square.

“Thank you.” Anna gave him a grateful smile and she hugged it to her chest.

He nodded and glanced at the girls. “Who are they?”

Anna pressed her lips together. “Jack’s new trainees. Sex slaves that were born in the Manor, I guess.” She jumped to her feet and fled from the room.

Alex stood and stared at the girls once more. What the hell kind of training was this? He hurried to catch up to Anna, who was sucking in deep breaths outside the garage and shaking. She still hugged the box to her chest.

Alex closed the door behind him. “Anna, does your guardian train Red girls?”

“I don’t know.”

He thought back to the horror stories Anna had told him about her training. Knowing some poor young girls were being tortured in the same way was just too much to accept. Alex glared at the doorway as anger bubbled up inside his chest, clenching his jaw and his hands.

Anna stepped away, but he hardly noticed as he pulled out his phone. Seth answered a moment later. “Seth,” he said in German. “There are two girls in Jack’s basement. I want them out of the house within the hour. Take them to my father’s Schloss.” He hung up without waiting for an answer. Seth would make it happen.

He sucked in a deep breath, knowing the girls would be safe soon, then walked back to his car. Anna hurried behind him. As soon as she was buckled, he spun his wheels backing out of the driveway and sped away, wanting to get her as far away from that hell-hole as fast as humanly possible.

Anna sat trembling in the passenger seat, terrified of moving and Alex’s rage erupting onto her. He glanced over and sighed, and the rage settled into a dull anger.

He reached for her hand. “I’m not upset with you, Anna. At all. I hadn’t realized...” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Seeing it just brought to life what you went through.” He gently squeezed her hand. “You’re such a strong woman to have survived all that.”

Anna wondered at the emotion in his voice. She didn’t know how to respond and stared out the window. “Yes, Alex.”

The ride back to the apartment was silent. She could feel Alex’s anger subsiding, and by the time he parked in the garage, he was calm again. His phone buzzed as he got out of the car and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He held her hand as they made their way to the twenty-sixth-floor apartment. After Anna unlocked the door, she handed Alex her license and went to put her memories box under the bed in the master bedroom.

When she returned to the living room, Alex handed her an envelope. “These are for you.”

She opened the envelope and saw three plastic cards inside. “What are these?”

“So you have money,” Alex said. “The black one is a credit card. Use that one when you can. It’s American Express and sometimes not taken, so use the Visa if you can’t use the other. The silver one is a bank card. Your PIN is your birthday, 0512. Use it to get cash at an ATM.”

Anna stared at the cards and nodded. “Should I ask you before I buy something?”

“That’s unnecessary.” He laughed. “Well, I suppose ask before you buy a car or a house. If something costs over four or five thousand dollars, call me, but other than that, don’t worry about it.”

Four or five thousand dollars? Anna stared at him, her mouth opened in shock.

“Anna, you need clothes. You need food and other things to live.”

She looked away and nodded again. “I suppose I hadn’t considered how I would pay for that sort of thing.” She glanced at him. “Jenna and I are supposed to go shopping this afternoon.”

Alex chuckled. “Well, now you don’t have to worry about it. Buy whatever you need.”

Anna looked up again and gave a small smile. He sincerely meant it when he said he wanted her to have freedom and that he would take care of her. “Thank you.”

Chapter 43

Anna called Jenna after Alex left.

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