Page 10

CHAPTER NINE

Begrudgingly, Kandi took the blonde wig off. A realization hit me as I ran my fingers through the natural texture and waves.

“Was this…” Chills grew on my arms.

“The hair belonged to the woman you replaced. “Most of the hair that is turned into wigs come from…” Kandi gripped her stomach as her cheeks flushed red and her entire body language shifted. “No. Never mind, I can’t be any part of this, Demi. You’re going to get killed, and I don’t want to be killed. I have…”

“You have what?” I asked as I slipped into the black tulle dress I had taken from Marcie.

“I have a daughter waiting for me.” Kandi wiped away a tear. “Taylor, Jamie, and Suzanne do, too.”

“Demi, you don’t have a reason to live, but we do. It was either we work here and never leak any secrets of La Gabbia, or our daughters would get trafficked into becoming a nightingale. You have no idea what it’s like to have no options.”

Grief and sadness plagued me as I realized how sick it was that Alister preyed on a mother’s love for a child. But Kandi didn’t realize that my life was one I had to live to save all the others; I was the only one who could try to end them all. I knew I’d find out what was on the bottom floor of this posh resort tonight. I knew I’d find out why those girls were called nightingales.

I quickly put darker eye makeup on and swiped bright red lipstick onto my lips. “You’re going to need someone to get you there. Let me see what I can do.” Kandi shuddered as she lifted the phone and made a very confusing request.

“Hello, this is Kandi calling from upstairs. I was requesting a nightingale to come to the doves’ residential floor to collect a box of black gowns we found.” She ended the conversation before hesitating and finishing my hair.

“Wow.” A voice startled me a few moments later. A woman wearing a black gown stared at me.

“You’re going to need someone to sneak you in.” She tilted my chin up and swiped the lipstick that smudged.

“I’m Anu, a nightingale. Say goodbye to life as you know it, my dear. Once you go down into the pits of hell, you’ll never be the same.”

I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. “I’m already dead. I don’t think you understand what kind of hell I’m coming from.”

Anu smiled at me. “The Ivory estate back in America, where there are actual laws, is nothing compared to what you’re about to witness. The women down there are only living because they are scared of what will happen to their bodies if they die. And the women up here are only living so their loved ones don’t die.”

“What happens to their bodies when they die?” I asked as I slipped the black heels on.

“Hopefully, you’ll never have to know.”

* * *

Opening the door, Anu waved me over to the cart she had outside the door. “Get under.”

I looked at the cart and nodded. Sliding my leg in first, I glanced at Kandi, who was shaking her head.

“You’re really going to do this?”

Shrugging, I cracked a small smile. “No one else is. Remember, you all have something worth living for. I’m living for this.”

Anu tugged the black sheet over the cart and began rolling it down the hall. There was a pull in my chest where I knew this may be the last time I’d ever see Kandi or this floor of La Gabbia. I knew that once I ascended into the darkness, there was no hope in ever finding the light. This time, it would kill me.

“What are you doing up here?” a masculine voice called out. I clutched my knees to my chest and bit my lower lip.

It sounded like Bradley. There was a long pause from Anu, and I could see a sliver of the white platform shoes making its way around toward me.

I sucked in a breath before Anu’s black ballet flats quickly slid in front of his. “Sir, I’m going back to the cag?—”

“Stupid woman.” Bradley hushed her immediately. “If I ever catch you up here again, I’ll slit your throat and drink your blood.”

I was trembling as his footsteps wavered away and Anu quickly pushed the cart until we got to the elevator. I knew the elevator could take you to any floor in the resort, but there were different badges. My badge only allowed me access to specific places in La Gabbia. Peeling the sheet back a bit, I looked and watched as Anu bent forward and had her eyes in front of the panel.

It pinged before the doors shut and swiftly slammed downward. “Anu,” I hissed.

She kept looking forward with her arms crossed as she nervously tapped her foot.

The doors opened and I sat back, hiding myself under the cart. Her shoes clicked against the black marble floor as she pushed me into the darkness.

What was I thinking? This was too soon for me to come down here and do this. I didn’t even know what I was going to do yet.

“Get out,” Anu whispered as she parked the cart in a corner. I sat for an extra minute before dipping my leg out first and then sliding toward the edge.

As soon as I pushed upward, my jaw dropped.

It was all dark. Complete darkness besides one thing…

A giant gilded cage in the center of a stage with black brick walls surrounding it.

One small light shined at the cage in which the door was open. Squinting, I could make out the theater-style chairs that were crafted into a semi-circle around the stage.

“Anu…” My voice shook. “What is this?”

“Welcome to hell, Demi. I guess you’re a nightingale now.”