Chapter 38

Tiara was awoken by a hard kick to her midriff that knocked the wind out of her. She groaned in pain and coughed to clear her lungs. Her head was pounding with a terrible headache, her shoulders were sore because her hands were still tied behind her. Every part of her body ached, and her legs felt numb due to lack of movement for several hours. Her ankles were still tied together, and the spot burned from the tightness of the cord.

“Sit up!” The mean kidnapper barked at her. From the sound of his voice, Tiara could tell that he wasn’t the one that threatened her earlier. This was the second guy.

Tiara struggled to get herself into a sitting position and the movement caused pain to shoot through her body like sharp daggers. The kidnapper had put a white plastic chair in the middle of the room, but he didn’t sit on it.

“Your vendor will be here in a few minutes to address you. Whatever you have to say, you can say it then but after the vendor leaves and the sale is concluded, you are to keep your mouth shut and only speak when asked to. Is that clear?”

Tiara nodded and regretted it because it seemed as if her brain had shifted forward with that brief action. She didn’t understand what the guy was talking about, but she hoped that when the supposed vendor showed up, she might figure out what was going on and why she had been brought here. This was probably a case of mistaken identity, if not, why would this person be telling her about a vendor and a sale? What were they buying and selling?

Satisfied with her response, the kidnapper left the room, shutting the door behind him. Tiara couldn’t tell what time it was, but she suspected that they were in the early hours of another day. The day before had been Thursday, which meant today was Friday. She’d probably been asleep for about two hours or so, which meant the time could be around 1 a.m. or thereabout.

The door swung open suddenly to reveal the vendor. Tiara had to blink a few times to be sure she was not hallucinating.

“Surprise!” Mama J laughed as she glided into the room towards the empty chair at the center. Her long silk dress swished on the dirt floor as moved regally before settling down on the chair.

“Mama J?” Tiara gasped in shock.

“Yes, darling. It is me,” she said with a victorious grin. “Didn’t I tell you not to mess with me? Didn’t I warn you?”

Tiara’s eyes watered. “Mama J, please. I’m sorry for whatever I have done to you. Please, let me go. Please.”

Mama J threw back her head and laughed heartily. “You stupid little girl. Do you know how many years I’ve been in the pimping business? Do you know how hard I worked to get to where I am now, with the kind of client base I have? Do you?

“You showed up from nowhere, trying to reap where you did not sow. Do you think that’s how it works? No, my dear, it doesn’t work like that. There is due process to follow, and you skipped that part and tried to turn Dare against me. You tried to ruin my reputation!”

“No, Mama J. I didn’t mean to do that. I am very, very sorry.”

“Do you know how many escorts have been girlfriends and wives to the rich and famous through me? Countless! But you know what they all have in common? My dues! They pay me my dues until I tell them to stop. But you… greedy little street rat like you, you tried to swindle me.”

“No, Mama J, that was an error and I am sorry,” Tiara apologized passionately. “I’ll pay you whatever you want, but please just let me go first. My family would be worried about me, please.”

“I don’t give a shit about your money or your family. You have come to the end of the road and there’s no going back. And as for that pompous boyfriend of yours, he will never see you again” the matron added with glee.

Tiara began to sob. “Mama J, please. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Tiara dear. You will be even more sorry by the time I get out of here. You see these people that kidnapped you, they’re professionals. This is what they do for a living, and they don’t make mistakes. They’ve been tailing you for weeks-long before you traveled to the Caribbean with your lover.”

Tiara’s eyes widened at this revelation.

“Yes, my dear Tiara. I know about that trip. I have eyes and ears everywhere, so you can’t escape from me. As long as you have joined my network before, you will always remain within my radar until I finally cut you off. There was just no way you could have gotten away with duping me.”

“But I didn’t dupe you, Mama J,” Tiara cried. “Ok, you know what, I apologize for that and for every other way that I have offended you. Please forgive me and let me go. I will pay you your dues every week for as long as I remain with Dare.”

“Are you deaf? I don’t want your money anymore. Why am I even discussing this with you?” Mama J sounded exasperated. “Look, I only came here to inform you about the next phase of your life, so that you can know what to look forward to. I already sold you to those guys out there. I only paid them 70 percent upfront, so now I’m here to pay their balance.”

Tiara couldn’t believe her ears. “You did what?”

“I sold you, Tiara,” Mama J replied with a satisfied smirk on her face. “I sold you like a piece of meat. Now it is up to them to either kill you and harvest your organs for black market organ sale or ship you off to Italy to become a sex slave to their numerous randy clients. If I were you, I’d beg them to kill you because becoming a sex slave is far worse than anything you could ever imagine. Trust me, it’s not an experience that you would never wish on your enemy. You will beg for death, but it will not come. You will suffer and die a miserable death because that is what you deserve.”

“No…” Tiara whispered as hot tears continued to pour from her eyes.

“And as for that fool, Dare, his punishment would be never having to see you again and not ever knowing where you are. He will pine for you until another woman who is more beautiful and far more intelligent than you comes along. And guess what? It won’t happen by accident. I will be waiting patiently for him to finish mourning you, and then I will introduce him to the perfect replacement for you.”

Tiara collapsed on the floor and screamed. Every word that came from Mama J’s mouth was like an arrow, piercing her heart. How could someone hate another human being this much? And all for what?

“I will advise you to keep your mouth shut because if those giants hear you making a noise like this, they might snap your neck in two. And that would probably be a good thing because it would put you out of your misery fast.”

“I don’t want to die,” Tiara moaned.

“Then shut up and accept your fate,” Mama J told her flatly. “If reincarnation is real and you ever come back to this world again, you will know not to cross someone like me again. My vengeance is brutal, and I do not forgive.”

Mama J stood up from the chair to leave. “Imagine how frustrating it would be for your dearest Dare to find out that even with all his money, he can never find you. So much for being a billionaire,” she giggled like a girl and swept out of the room without a backward glance. Her mission here was over.

As the door closed and locked behind Mama J, Tiara shut her eyes and wept bitterly. Her life was officially over!