Claimed by the Mafia (Claimed by the Mafia #1)

Chapter 17

Maggie

The next day, I woke up in a different room. I woke up in a room full of girls. First, I hate to admit that I had cried that night. It was the first time I've cried since being here, and I vow to myself to never do it again while I'm here. It made me feel weak and pathetic.

This morning when I woke up, all of the girls were looking at me. Some were sad. Some had tears in their eyes. Somehow, that reassured me because I knew that I wasn't the only one who thinks that what we're doing is wrong. In this new room, I was trained to dress up, put on make-up and dance. People described prostitution as being something glamorous and elegant, like that film Pretty Woman, but from what I've heard from the girls, it doesn't come close to it. I was told that a prostitute might sleep with at least four strangers a day. I was also told that a man could walk in the room we're held in at any time. They could come during the day, the evening and even the night.

One girl said to me that every day, men would come to her room, sometimes five men, sometimes ten. She told me the only escape she found was in her mind. Days, weeks, months passed, it never stopped. Another girl shares that some of her previous clients were violent. She had been shot twice and stabbed five times. What baffled me was that she didn't know why the men attacked her. She had an inclination that perhaps society made it comfortable for them to do it. Not once did she go to the cops because she didn't think she would've been taken seriously, but she counts herself pretty lucky. You see, when her and her best friend were working on the streets, her best friend was brutally murdered by one of the clients. Never again did she work on the streets. She mentioned that working under Li Wei saved her life. Personally, I think she's gone crazy.

All through the afternoon, I had done nothing. Throughout the day, all I've done is stare into nothingness. My first day as a prostitute has been boring and uneventful, but how exactly did I expect being a prostitute would be? Every second of every hour was mostly spent thinking about my mother and wondering how she's doing. That's a lie, I know exactly what she's doing. She's definitely freaking out right now. I am too, but I'd rather not show it. Not in front of the girls. I'm a tough girl and I know I can get myself out of this if I just patiently wait. The right moment will come and when it does, I'm going to fuck this place up and the people inside it. One thing you should know about me is to never underestimate me. I know it looks like that I'm getting accustomed to this new life that's been given to me, but I'm always planning something. Always.

"Maggie?"

I finish applying my mascara and look at one of the girls who's leaning her curvaceous hip against the door.

"Yes?"

She smiles. "You've got your first customer."

I fake a smile back. "I have?"

"Yes, and I just want to say, lucky you."

I put my hand on my chest and gasp. "Why? Who is it?"

She winks. "You'll see, babe.".

Immediately after, I change out of my blue silk robe and get dressed. I dress in a floral design black lace seductive halter-neck bodysuit with a very low neckline. The second I put it on and look at myself in the mirror, I already feel uncomfortable. How the fuck am I supposed to sell my body when I'm looking like this? I've never worn lingerie before and said to myself that I never would because it's not me and simply because I don't want to. Well, I said that before I was kidnapped. Now, I guess I had to dress in things I didn't want to wear.

Great.

I leave the room and the girls behind and follow another guard through the worn-down house. How long are we staying here for because it looks like it's going to collapse at any minute? The guard takes me aback a little because I was expecting to see the young guard with the jagged nose. Maybe it's his day off or something?