[Warning: Violent images of physical and sexual abuse.]

"Because he had her gagged and she was choking!" she screamed as if it was the most natural thing to say. In the world of crime, the questions asked were normal, procedure even, but for a victim or bystander, even if they were part of the world of crime, these questions would seem blasphemous to them. Here, neither Anthony nor I was the victim.

From somewhere behind us, we heard a breathy voice whispering. "She was badly bruised and half-dead when I found her, and she was still tied to the bed. I don't think she'd eaten in days, probably was dehydrated." And that was what had made him snap. The look on his face said it all. The condition that the girl was in was very similar to what he had been through and being a victim himself, it would be natural for him to tell us that what Cienna had assumed was true.

"Thank you," Cienna mumbled, appreciating the voice of reason in the room. She waited for a few minutes, trying to regain her bearings and then proceeded to tell us the story. By some miracle, no one stopped her and she didn't stop herself. "I tried to fight him off of her, but he had at least fifty pounds on me. He got off her and overpowered me. My plan failed and I ended up tied by my feet and hands on the floor. He continued to assault her in front of me. I don't remember much, but somewhere down the line I snapped and begged him to let me go. He wouldn't until I had told him everything about my employer. I didn't open my mouth, Anthony. I swear. He used Samantha to blackmail me. She's just a kid. Her mom was a colleague of mine and got pregnant while she was working. Eventually, her mom took her away from the area when she turned ten... She's barely grown into her adulthood and he's destroyed her. She wasn't even in the business. He must have kidnapped her. He knows I had a soft spot for that girl. FUCK!" and she breathed deeply.

"Things got out of hand and I convinced him to let me go. He was reluctant at first, but then I promised to give him information and he let me go. He stopped tormenting the poor girl. He didn't keep his hands off, though. He offered me some Ecstasy: both the kinds and I couldn't refuse one of them. I was repulsed by the idea of having him anywhere near me, so I took rounds and got high over and over until I didn't remember feeling any repulsion. I just wanted to protect the girl. I don't know if I did a good job. I don't know..." she whispered.

"I'm not sure if I gave in, but I don't think I slept with him. I hope I didn't." She gave out a humorless laugh. "There was a time when I would've jumped his bones at any given moment. He was a sexy bastard, but he couldn't see me go away. He was toxic for me. He didn't want me leaving him with his business. He's wanted to sell all the proof he has about my past life to the media. It would be bad business. With the number of connections he'd accumulated in the past few years, I didn't think even Tanya could have stopped him from ruining me. I did what I could. I tried to shut him up with money. Every month I send him a fat cheque to keep his mouth shut. Recently, he's been acting up and demanding more. He's been threatening me to give me out to the media even if I did pay him. I was so desperate that I didn't have enough money to pay him this month that I... he asked me to meet him to settle the deal. I didn't think much of it, but... you know how it turned out.

"I think I was there for two or three days, I'm not sure. But he had good drugs. I hadn't had a taste in a while. I lapsed. You know how that works. Eventually, he started threatening me and pressurizing me into spilling things. We got into a fight. I hit him with a vase, I think. He was too high to get out of the way, I think. I took the opportunity to run. I regret it, now, but I couldn't think of anything better at that moment. I went straight to where I knew Samantha's mom lived. I couldn't find her there. She lived in a shitty apartment and from what the landlord said she'd been behind on rent. I asked the neighbors and they told me that they hadn't seen her. So, I called up a few old timers who kept contact with her. There was no trace of her. I spent days trying to find her out. Nothing. One day while I was trying to find her, James surprised me. He took me up to his own apartment and got me high; offered me some alcohol and I was so scared that I couldn't do anything. I just went with the flow. I don't know where I ended up, but he got me on the cab and threatened me that there were some dangerous people trying to get their claws on me. I didn't believe him, at first. But... I'm scared."