Saving Sarah (Mafia's Gem)

Chapter Eight

Sarah lay still on her side facing the window and staring at the moon. Everywhere was quiet except for Florence's soft snoring. Ever since Mother Felicia had spoken to her, she had learned to mostly lay low. On several occasions, she had caught Armo watching her but she had tried her possible best to ignore him and since it had been made clear to her that there was no getting out of here, she had partially resigned to her fate.

The fate that had made her stupid fiancé cheat on her in the first place with her bitchy slut of a friend. The fate that had made her make all the wrong choices and had brought her here. In order to prevent her father from coming to look for her, she had hired a particular driver her father had no knowledge of to bring her here so should in case her father change his mind about letting his only child and daughter go, he would never be able to find her and now she felt very stupid.

When her father had protested against such a decision, she had told him not to worry about her and had promised she would reach him on phone whenever she deemed fit, but now it seemed like that was never going to happen. Now that she was plunged into this helpless situation, she regretted every single decision she had made.

She felt like a grain of sand on a shore. Very insignificant! She was in dire need to get out of this place but how would she achieve that when they were always confined far away from any exits to the outside world and Armo's armed men prowled the environment every night like it was a maximum prison.

Just a few nights ago, she had heard several screaming and the hushed but harsh voices of the men as they hauled several women from their beds to God knows where. While having breakfast in the dining hall the next morning, she had heard gossips from different sources that one of the women who must have broken one of the rules by trying to mail out letters was discovered and brutally tortured then raped. Armo dealt the women with an iron fist and Sarah discovered that he was although really a priest but the women secretly called him the devil in a holy garment. Sarah knew the women feared him more than they feared the Abbess. Armo never smiled.

He just watched keenly and gave orders in low voices to his henchmen. Some of the guards secretly molested or assaulted some of the women just for the fun of it and Sarah was grateful that she had never been in such a situation before. She just couldn't imagine what she would if any of them tried to force himself on her.

The more she came to live in the convent and dwell among the women, the more she began to feel like she was a part of these helpless girls and women who couldn't do anything to protect themselves against these men who trampled on their rights incessantly. More women went missing every day and all that the others could do was to idly but dreadfully wait for when their turns would come.

No one knew exactly what became of these women who seemed to vanish without a trace or where they were taken to but Sarah suspected that the women were not granted freedom like some of the other women hoped. Sarah suspected these women were being trafficked. She had hoped to get Gladys alone to ask about the strange disappearances but had never really had the opportunity to get Gladys alone, she was always with Mother and she never dined with them.

Now here she still was a month later, helpless like the rest of the women, and most nights, her sleep was still being interrupted by a series of screaming, struggling and cries for help. Perhaps, Mother and Gladys were right after all, if she really didn't want to end up like all the other missing women, it was best to just go along with all of these.

"We are gonna be auctioned in a fortnight." She heard Florence quietly say. Her voice was slightly muffled by her pillow.

Sarah turned on her back to look at Florence who was lying in her own bunk across the room. "You aren't asleep?" She asked softly, trying not to wake the others.