Chapter 57: Chapter Fifty Seven.

"Yes, you might be curious, but it’s the truth." Zoya said, her voice gentle yet firm as she watched Xena’s expression shift between disbelief and shock.

Alina nodded, a soft but knowing smile on her lips. "Don might be dangerous… and yes, he can be terrifying, but thanks to him, we’re safe."

Xena’s brows furrowed, her mind struggling to reconcile their words with the Viktor she knew—the ruthless, cold-blooded man who had taken *her* without a second thought.

Before she could voice her skepticism, Alina’s gaze lowered, her fingers lightly gripping the fabric of her dress as if grounding herself.

When she spoke again, her voice carried a weight that sent chills down Xena’s spine.

"I was sixteen when Sir saved me from human traffickers."

Xena felt a lump form in her throat as she caught the distant, haunted look in Alina’s eyes. The usual warmth in her voice had vanished, replaced with something dark, something heavy—memories she had clearly buried deep but could never truly forget.

"It was hell.." Alina continued, her voice quieter now, as if the pain of the past still lingered on her tongue.

"Not just for me, but for all the girls there." She inhaled sharply before pressing on.

"The first time Don stepped into that place—the place where we were kept, I thought I was hallucinating. We had been taken from different cities, different states… some even from different countries. But the one thing we all had in common was that we were *young*." She swallowed hard. "The oldest among us was sixteen. Can you imagine that?"

Xena’s stomach churned, a sickening feeling settling in her gut.

She had heard about human trafficking before, but hearing it from someone who had lived through it—someone who had *barely* escaped—made it horrifyingly real.

Alina exhaled shakily. "I don’t know what deal Don had with the men who took us. All I know is that they pissed him off, and when Viktor gets pissed off…" She trailed off, shaking her head.

Xena didn’t need her to finish that sentence. She could already picture it—Viktor walking into that hellhole with the same unreadable expression he always wore, except this time, instead of his suffocating possessiveness, there was rage. A controlled, lethal rage.

"He came with his men." Alina finally continued, her eyes flickering with something close to admiration.

"They didn’t just *attack* the place. They *obliterated* it. The men who had taken us didn’t stand a chance. He destroyed everything—the transport trucks they were using, the hideouts, the entire operation. It was like watching a nightmare burn to the ground… except for the first time, I wasn’t afraid."

Xena sat frozen, her fingers digging into the wooden swing beneath her.

"That day, Don didn’t just save me," Alina whispered. "He saved all of us."

"But at first… we didn’t know what to expect." Alina admitted, her voice dropping slightly. "When he gathered us all together after the attack, we thought we were just being handed off from one monster to another. We had no reason to trust him. No reason to believe we were actually being *saved*." She let out a shaky breath, her fingers twisting in her lap.

"But instead of keeping us, Don took us to different borders, setting us free one by one. He made sure we were safe, gave us new identities, and even offered us a choice—something none of us had before." Her lips curved into a small, distant smile.

"Some girls left to start fresh, going back to their homes if they could. Others took up work elsewhere, trying to rebuild their lives. But a few of us… we stayed."

Xena's brows knitted together. "Stayed?"

Alina nodded. "He gave us an option—to work here, to have a place where we could earn money, be protected, and never have to fear being taken again." She exhaled, shaking her head lightly. "I was one of the lucky ones. I accepted his offer, and for the first time in my life, I *chose* my own path."

Xena listened, utterly stunned. The weight of Alina’s words settled deep in her chest, making her heart pound against her ribs.

Viktor *gave them a choice*?

She felt a strange, uncomfortable shift in her mind as a memory resurfaced—back at *New York city*, the exclusive club her best friend had gone to was raided by Viktor.

She had been convinced Viktor was involved in something illegal, that he was orchestrating some kind of underground operation. But now… she was starting to see it differently.

Her breath hitched. *Had he been rescuing those girls?*

Maybe the club wasn’t just about luxury and entertainment. Maybe the *real* business was getting women away from those who meant to traffic them.

Xena's eyes widened as realization slammed into her like a wave.

"A… are you serious?" she breathed, barely recognizing her own voice.

"Yes, she is." Zoya answered softly, her expression unreadable.

Xena turned to her, but the usual teasing spark in Zoya’s eyes was gone, replaced by something raw and painful.

"I was Thirteen." Zoya continued, her tone quiet but steady. "I was taken by a man who promised me a better life. Instead, he sold me to someone who *owned* women. I was nothing more than property to them." She hesitated, looking down as if trying to push back the memories. "I… I don’t want to talk about it."

Xena felt her throat tighten. She didn’t push for details. She didn’t *need* them. The pain in Zoya’s voice said enough.

"I understand." Xena whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat.

And she *did* understand. Maybe not entirely, but enough to know that whatever they had been through… whatever horrors they had escaped from…

Viktor *was* the reason they were here now. Alive. Free.

Her mind reeled, struggling to process this new image of him—the man she had thought of as a monster was the very reason these women were safe.

Her gaze drifted back to the garden, but her thoughts were far, far away.