JADE

JADE POV.

PAST.

"Where is this place," I asked, my stomach hurting as my mother dragged me Into a house that looked like a fortress. There were huge men all around holding guns and for a moment I wondered if mother was finally going to sell me to the whore house.

"Shut it, Jade. Not another word or I'll carve out your eyes" she yelled at me, her finger digging into my flesh.

I pressed my mouth shut, whimpering in pain at the pressure of her grip. Two men were suddenly beside us as we stepped through the huge door.

Gasping in awe, I stared at my surroundings and the grandeur of it. It was as if I had been transported to another dimension. Everything was beautiful and almost unreal.

My gaze slipped to my tattered clothes and my bare feet that were caked in dirt. I glanced at the floor and saw that I'd stained the rug I stood on. The contrast between my filthiness and the room was jarring and all I wanted to do was crawl Into a hole somewhere and never come out.

"Halt" the man beside us