Page 83 of Ruthless God

She shakes her head violently, muttering something…a language I don’t recognize. Her voice is wet and desperate. And I don’t understand a damn word. My pulse kicks up. How the hell am I supposed to help her if I don’t even know what she’s saying?

“I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

“She said she wants to go home.”

An unfamiliar voice.

I spin.

Another girl of the same age, same clothes, same haunted look. She stands just beyond the threshold, hovering like a ghost.

“I’ve told her that there is no home,” she continues, voice flat, resigned, in a thick accent that I still can’t place. “All we have is Agnes and this new home.”

An icy chill snakes down my spine.

I focus on her. “You understand her?”

She dips her head. “Yes. We are from the same town.”

“Where are you from?”

Her gaze flicks down the hallway, like she’s checking for watchful eyes. I step back, motioning for her to come inside. She hesitates and then crosses into the room. I shut the door softly.For a moment, I just look at them. These two girls. Terrified. Alone. Hidden away.

I swallow hard. “Where?”

Her fingers twist together. “I am from Mary. It’s in Turkmenistan.”

My mind spins, trying to pin the location on a map in my head, coming up empty.

“What’s your name?”

“Leyla. And she is Polina.”

I nod, keeping my voice steady. “How long have you been here, Leyla?”

She thinks, brows knitting together.

“A while.”

She lifts her wrists. Scarred. Healed, but barely.

My stomach plummets.

“Did Claudius do this?” I ask, my voice low.

For the first time, Leyla flinches. And I brace myself for whatever answer is about to come next.

“Mr. Irons is the one who saved me from the man who did this.” Leyla’s chin lifts, defiant. “He bought me and Polina, saving us.”

My stomach twists.

“Bought you?” The words taste like poison on my tongue.

She doesn’t flinch.

“Leyla, you know what he did is wrong.”

She shrugs. Like it doesn’t matter. Like it changes nothing.

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