Chapter 6

"I'm so sorry, Claude. I didn't know she was your sister. I saw you referring to her as 'Princess' and transferring money to her. So, I thought she was your mistress," Julia explained meekly.

As she watched her relatives being handcuffed and loaded into police cars, Julia grew desperate. She ignored her scraped and bleeding ankle as she ran over to us.

"How is that supposed to justify the pain my sister went through? Whatever you have to say, you can tell it to the police," Claude responded dismissively.

He turned and walked away, holding me in his arms. Julia tried to follow us, but two police officers grabbed her by the arms. The crowd around us ignored the police's attempts to maintain order and snapped pictures of Julia with their phones.

Claude bought me new clothes and took me to the hospital to have my injuries examined. When he saw the bruises and swelling on my body from being kicked, he was livid.

"It doesn't hurt anymore," I said.

Claude pulled me into a hug, his voice