Chapter Two: Missing Memories

Rose’s POV

“You’ll be a good little sex slave,”

His words struck me with surprise and the tone in which he said them made my skin crawl. A cold shiver traveled down my spine in disgust as the meaning registered in my head.

He was trading me off for sex. Was that enough to replace the life I’d stolen from his son? Didn't he feel the loss or even care about his son? These thoughts filled my head but I mentally pushed them aside, knowing it couldn’t be the case. If he had no care for his son then I wouldn’t be here. Whatever he meant by these words, there must be a secret motive behind them. Even though his earliest assurances had sounded forgiving, I was no fool. I wasn’t delusional enough to believe that this man would let me go just like that. If there was something else I’d heard about him, it's that he was also a ruthless and greedy businessman.

Maybe he had plans of using me as a call girl in one of his underground brothels before draining whatever would remain of my miserable life.

I shuddered at the thoughts, my eyes becoming watery once again. From all angles, it was obvious I wasn’t free of my crime. He may not have sentenced me to instant death now but it was coming.

“P-please…” I whimpered, unsure of what more to say at this point.

I wanted his mercy. Was this it? Was this decision better than the instant death I was awaiting? Being his slave for a lifetime of misery?

“Enough of this, pet,” he shunned me in a clipped tone with an edge to it that held a dark warning and I knew one more word from me could set him off.

Like an obedient little lamb, I sat still on the table as he worked the rope binding my legs. Thereafter, he pulled me to my feet and wrapped his fingers firmly around my arm, leading me towards the door he came from.

My heart slammed hard against my chest as I followed behind him, knowing my duties in my new world were about to begin. Wordlessly, he led me out of the room into a hallway illuminated by bright fluorescent bulbs. His hold on me remained firm as he locked the door and pocketed the key before proceeding down the hallway until we came across a set of spiral stairs.

Without hesitation, he led me down the stairs, to a door beside them and we got in to see a large extravagantly furnished home office. But my attention was instantly drawn to the petite woman with porcelain skin and delicate Asian features, dressed in a crisp business suit, sitting on the plush leather chair opposite a huge oak desk.

The woman rose to her feet with a smile on her face at the sight of the man.

“Good morning, Mr. Zhang,” those were her first words, spoken in a sweet feminine voice but that wasn’t what had my heart slowing down with a frown of confusion slipping into my face. It was the name she called him, Mr. Zhang.

That name was obviously of Asian descent and not the Italian name of the Don. My frown deepened as I took that moment to glance at my captor and the reality that I’d missed the obvious Asian facial features crashed into me. In my anxiety and fear of death, I’d mistook this man for the Don.

But who was he and how did I end up here? Most importantly, why didn’t he correct me, when I’d been pleading for my life? Or could he be another man that works for Don Torelli just like the men that captured me? These questions and many more swarmed my head but I couldn't figure out an answer to them.

It was obvious something wasn’t adding up.

“Is she a new one?” the woman asked, giving me a look over and the man nodded in response before releasing me and reaching for the suitcase I hadn’t noticed on the desk.

He glanced at the watch adorning his wrist and glanced at me.

“Transform her, the usual way,” and just like that, he turned on his heels and left, leaving me with the stranger, still stark naked.

“Come on,” the woman motioned to me, smiling softly as she moved towards the door. “Welcome to the Zhang mansion. Just as your master has requested, I’m about to give you a new look to match his tastes, and trust me, he has excellent and exquisite tastes. You’ll love it,” she clapped excitedly like a kid who’s just been offered candy as she led me outside the office in another direction. “You can call me Huan, what's your name?” she turned to me but I remained silent, still too confused to speak.

The only thing my brain was trying to comprehend was that her name was also of Asian descent which meant I had to have left America. Where was I and how long was I unconscious?

“Oh, I’m sorry, he's yet to name you,” My silence must have made her jump to that conclusion. “We’ll just call you New Friend, for now,” She reached for my arm. “Come,”

At that moment, a door opened behind us and we both turned to see another woman, slightly older than Huan, dressed in a maid uniform coming out. To my surprise, Huan spoke to her in a language I concluded must be Chinese from how it sounded and the woman nodded curtly, after stealing a glance at me. Thereafter, she walked past us and Huan returned her attention to me.

“I assume you don’t understand Chinese,” at this point, I noticed the accent that accompanied her words. It seemed my anxiety had made me lose focus on a lot of things earlier but gradually, my senses were returning and I was beginning to pick on all the details I’d missed. “That's Mr. Zhang’s housekeeper, Greta. I told her you’re the master’s new lover, and will be here until he decides otherwise,”

Her words made me feel like I was in an alternate universe or even in a dream and needed to be woken up immediately. She must know what her so-called master wants from me but she’d sugar-coated it as a lover to make it sound less derogatory.

I stared at her, still trying to connect the dots of how everything had suddenly come to this. I felt lost and it was even more terrifying that I couldn’t recall ever meeting this master or ever hearing the men that had been conveying me to the Don, speak of him.

Was I missing something? How did I get here?

The more I thought about it, the more the answers eluded me and the more it felt like reality and my memory was playing games on me.

Huan led me into another room and ordered me to take a bath, while she watched me the entire time to make sure I didn't get out of sight. Thereafter, she sat me down and got to work on my makeover.

“You’re lucky the master loves long hair, else, it’d have been a shame to cut off these healthy long, glossy brown tresses,” she spoke again, breaking through my train of thoughts as I was still struggling to recall if I was missing anything.

Feeling hopeless and helpless, I decided to ask her, hoping she’d know something about it and luckily for me, she was more than ready to fill me in on the missing details.

“Oh, you can’t remember?” she asked, frowning a bit but it slipped from her face and was replaced with a neutral expression as she went to work on my hair. “Well, I guess it's normal considering the heavy sedatives I heard are used to repressed girls that get into the program,”

I frowned, wondering where she was headed but did not attempt to interrupt her.

“Mr. Zhang is one of the men that attends the auction you signed up for, to find you a new master. I mean, Dom, if you’re familiar with the language. Or is this your first time?”

“Y-yes,” I responded without hesitation.

“That must be why you seem a little lost,” she continued working on my hair. “You see, after you join the program, you’re drugged with heavy sedatives while the auction takes place so you don’t recognize the esteemed socialites that are in attendance. But the sedatives wear off within 24 hours after you’re successfully purchased by a new dom. But don’t worry, your new master is nice and he’ll take care of you and from what I know, he’ll let you leave in a year depending on how good of a submissive you are,”

My mouth fell open in utter shock and disbelief. From all she's said, my deductions were right. Some parts of my memories were missing and that must be as a result of the sedatives I must have been drugged with. But how did I land in the hands of human traffickers and what program was she talking about? Or was this Don Torelli’s doing? But it didn't sound right that the man whom I killed his son would let me go just like that.

How did I get away from the confined truck and end up in a bdsm auction?