Chapter 139: Champions, Part 1

James

"I killed a man."

Charlotte's voice is barely above a whisper, but her words ricochet inside my head.

Reflexively, my chair grating backwards over the expensive flooring, I stand, staring down at her, thunderstruck.

Richard's eyes follow me, solemn and giving no clue to his thoughts. His voice impassive, "Go on."

She doesn't look at me, or at him. Her eyes are wide and staring, seeing other times, other places perhaps. And her skin has a pallor beyond her usual paleness.

"I was fourteen. It was at the home. There was a man…" Her words stumble, and she swallows hard, licking her lips. Richard reaches for a jug and pours water. "As the girls got older, and sometimes the boys.... they would take them away...."

Richard slides a glass of water across his desktop to her, and she gulps it down, spluttering between swallows.

"He took me out, tried to get me into his car. He was telling me that I was being taken to a party where.... He was enjoying telling me what they we