Chapter 208 Sold
>>Riona
Darkness clung to me like a heavy blanket, the fog in my mind lifting slowly, too slowly.
My body felt heavy, my limbs stiff, and my head throbbed as I struggled to make sense of where I was. A faint murmur reached my ears, a distant voice, growing clearer by the second.
"...our last item at the auction."
What? My heart skipped a beat as the words echoed in my head.
Auction?
The haze clouding my vision started to fade, and I blinked, trying to clear the blackness in front of me. I squinted against the bright lights—so many lights—blinding and harsh, all focused on me.
???
What is happening here? Why is it so bright? And why is it only where I am so bright? I tried to look ahead, but beyond that, everything else was a blur. I couldn't see what was in front of me, the shadows too thick.
No… the thing was, there was no light being pointed ahead of me that’s why I couldn’t see.
I tried to move…
But a cold realization swept over me. My wrists... I tugged lightly, and panic surged through me as I felt the tight bite of metal digging into my skin. My hands were tied behind my back, and my ankles—bound tightly together—refused to budge.
?!?!?
What?!?!? What is this?!?!? I pulled harder, but the dull rattle of chains stopped me. Chains? I was chained to the ground.
Fear settled deep in my bones, paralyzing me as my breathing quickened. What was happening? Where was I?
The voice that spoke earlier returned, clearer now, as if amplified by some kind of speaker.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, we present our final and most exquisite offering of the evening. A rare gem... a young woman, a virgin. We've verified it ourselves, so you can rest assured." I turned to look at the man. He had a rabbit mask on, a white one as he talked into the mike.
He was looking into the darkness ahead.
A wave of nausea rolled over me. My chest tightened, and my breath caught in my throat as the words sunk in. Virgin? Verified?
I shook my head
This can’t be happening. This has to be a nightmare, right?
"Not only that," The voice continued, with a sickeningly pleased tone, "But this young lady is a convicted criminal. She died during transport,” He paused, “Well, as you can see, she’s not really dead, but it was reported that she died and so to the rest of the world, she’s dead.” He chuckled, “Quite convenient, ain’t it?” He then glanced at me while I stared back at him in horror, “So no one will be looking for her. She's yours, completely and utterly yours, with no strings attached."
The panic hit me like a tidal wave. I jerked in place, trying desperately to free myself, but the chains held firm. The cold metal bit into my skin, and the more I fought, the more it hurt. But I didn’t care. I had to get out, I had to escape.
No one’s going to look for me? They think I’m dead??
Is that what it was? They attacked the police car during my transportation and kidnapped me, but the media reported I died.
So now no one cares!?!?
My heart hammered in my chest, so loud that it drowned out the rising murmurs. I turned my face to look ahead, into the darkness. The crowd was now barely visible through the haze of lights. I could see black figures sitting on cinema seats, I couldn’t tell for sure but it looked like all of them were rearing bunny masks
Black ones…
So no one could tell who it was. My eyes widened, searching for a way out, for anything or anyone, but all I saw were shadowy figures beyond the lights, their eyes trained on me like predators.
It was at that moment I looked down at my body, initially because I was scared, but then I saw myself.
A fresh wave of horror washed over me as I became aware of something else—my skin. The cold air against my body. I glanced down in disbelief, realizing that I was nearly naked.
I just had my bra and underwear on
No... no, no, no.
This can not be happening! I looked ahead in fear. I am not being treated like some animal on display!!!
I shook my head. I could never have imagined that things would get this bad. First, I became a murderer, accused and scorned all over the country, then my death was faked and now I’m being sold?
The information refused to settle down in my head.
The auctioneer’s voice rang out, cutting through the buzzing crowd.
“Shall we start the bidding at two hundred thousand dollars?” He seemed excited and he wasn’t worried in the slightest that I would do something now that I was awake.
“Huh,” I scoffed. Two hundred thousand dollars?
My heart sank further as the numbers left his lips, my ears ringing in disbelief. How could this be real? How could this be happening to me? But the sound of the first bid snapped me back into the horrifying reality.
"Two hundred thousand," A gruff voice called out from the shadows.
"Two-fifty!" Another voice quickly followed.
!?!?!
I looked at the dark audience in disbelief. People are bidding on me?
Why?
As if by instinct, I got my answer.
My stomach churned as the numbers climbed, each voice as casual as if they were buying something trivial, not a human life. I could feel my pulse thudding in my neck, my skin crawling under the intense lights. My entire body trembled as the bids went higher and higher, voices overlapping as if competing for a prized object.
"Three hundred!"
"Three-fifty!"
I gulped. Am I going to be sold as a sex slave? This is way worse than going to prison! No, I’d take jail over this anyday!
The auctioneer, clearly thrilled by the rising numbers, chimed in, "We’re at three hundred and fifty! Who will go higher?"
The crowd's murmur rose like a wave, excitement palpable in the air. I closed my eyes, wishing for all of it to just disappear, for this nightmare to end. But it didn’t. It kept going, the voices relentless.
I am going to be sold as a sex slave… Tears stung in the corner of my eyes but they wouldn’t shed.
God…
There wasn’t a single woman’s voice in the audience. It was all men.
"Four hundred thousand," Someone else said.
"Four-fifty!" Another shouted, the tension growing.
But amidst the voices, one stood out—calm, deliberate, unwavering.
"Five hundred thousand," A man’s voice called from the darkness.
Something about his tone made the others hesitate for a moment before the bidding resumed, faster now, almost frantic.
"Six hundred!"
"Seven hundred!" Seeing how they were bidding, it made me realize how this was all just a game for them.
I felt sick, bile rising in my throat. Each bid was like a knife twisting deeper into my gut. I didn’t want to hear their voices, I didn’t want to be here, I didn’t want to be sold.
"Eight hundred thousand," The calm voice came again, cutting through the noise with precision. I noticed now that whoever this was, he kept bidding. Each time he bid, the room seemed to still for a second, like the other buyers were considering their limits, but then someone would push forward, raising the stakes.
"Eight-fifty!"
"Nine hundred!"
My mind raced, panic and fear consuming me, but that voice... I couldn’t shake it. There was something unsettling about how steady, how deliberate it was. Whoever he was, he wasn’t bidding like the others. He wasn’t frantic or excited. He was patient, like he already knew the outcome.
“Nine-fifty!"
A brief pause followed, the tension palpable now.
"One million," The same man said, his voice smooth, commanding.
The room fell into a low murmur as people shifted uncomfortably. I could sense their hesitation. The number was staggering, but the bidding still wasn’t stopping. The auctioneer glanced around, waiting for someone to challenge the bid.
“Two million,” A woman’s voice finally came.
Oh?
“Three million,” Someone else said and suddenly there was another voice.
Not a bid
But
A gunshot.
The room froze, gasps echoing from the shadows. My heart leapt into my throat, the sound reverberating in the cavernous space. I blinked, my mind scrambling to process what had just happened.
And then, amidst the stunned silence, that same voice spoke again, low and lethal.
"Ten million."
The crowd didn’t move. No one dared to speak, let alone place another bid. The air shifted, heavy with an unspoken understanding. Whoever this man was, he wasn’t to be challenged.
The auctioneer, visibly rattled but trying to maintain composure, cleared his throat. "Ten... ten million going once..." His voice wavered.
"Going twice..."
I felt the weight of his gaze, even if I couldn’t see him. My entire body was trembling, cold sweat trickling down my spine. The metal around my wrists dug painfully into my skin as I struggled not to collapse from the overwhelming terror.
"Sold! To the gentleman for ten million dollars!!!"
The gavel came down with a decisive crack, sealing my fate.
Why was this happening to me? Was this my punishment? Because I killed my parents?
But I didn’t kill them…
I- I didn’t,
I shook my head in denial
The cold, hard surface of the marble floor pressed into my knees. I couldn’t see anything because of the blindfold wrapped tightly around my eyes ensured that. My hands were still tied behind my back, making it impossible to remove the blindfold,
The silence in the room was deafening. I had no idea where I was or what was going to happen next. I didn’t want to think of the worst but my mind kept throwing it at me.
That’s when the door opened
!!
My breath caught in my throat as I heard footsteps coming towards me. I froze. The sound disappeared right in front of me and I could feel the presence an inch away from my body. The person crouched down in front of me.
I gulped as I felt his sharp gaze on me
Then, I felt the gentle touch of fingers on my chin, tilting my head upward.
!!!
I flinched, instinctively pulling back, but there was nowhere to go. His grip tightened, forcing me to hold still.
“Hello, love,” came a deep, low voice. The blood in my veins turned to ice.
I knew that voice.
It was him—the man from the auction. The one who won.