Unbreak Me

Chapter 40

Oliver Black

Sam, Russell and I sat in my office while Alissa looked after Avery.

Sam slapped a few files on my desk and slid off his denim jacket.

Russell pulled one over to himself and flicked through. "If you wanted to know this stuff I could have told you."
He sighed. "This is a waste of time."

"That's not all I found." Sam arranged his jacket on the back of a chair. "Tell me, why did she try to kill herself?"

I looked at Sam quizically.
Just what did he find.

"I don't really know." Russell pushed whisps of hair away from his face. "I thought she was having problems with bullies at school and at home with Leah and Mother. She wouldn't speak about it. Alissa and I made her promise us that she would never hurt herself again."

"Well, that's the worst thing she could have promised." Sam muttered.

"Are you saying she was better off dead?!" Russell abruptly stood from his seat nearly knocking his chair back.

Sam shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What did you find out Sam. Just get to it already." I ordered firmly.

"Right, well.. before that happened Mr. Adley had taken her to a hotel for a meeting. She wanted to learn business, so he used it as a good excuse to get her to go with him." He sat back in the chair across from my desk. "Do you know who it was?"

We both shrugged.

"Denner." He shook his head. His scruffy locks moved lazily with him. "And guess what he wanted in exchange for a deal.."

"Avery..." I breathed out.

"No!" Russell exclaimed. "I won't believe my father prostituted her out!"

"Better believe it." Sam said seriously. "I have an account of that day from a member of staff there. They were all threatened not to interfere by Adley. The man I spoke to quit the very next day. He said it was horrible. He heard her screams and pleas for help."

Russell stared at him in disbelief.

"Adley would have destroyed his life if he even stepped foot in the room." Sam continued. "He said he watched Mr. Denner stumble out. His nose was bloody and he was clutching his groin. But, even after that screams continued. Adley dragged Avery out of the room she was-"

"Beaten bloody." Alissa pushed the door open. "She was locked in her room for a month until all her injuries healed. After all, no one ought to know. A week after that she went back to school, came home and tried to over dose on her mother's medicine." Her eyes looked sadly into Russell's. "I'm sorry, Mr. Russell, but she begged us, she knew what would happen to us and we knew what would happen to her if anyone found out."

Sam nodded. "That wasn't the first time either. There were many meetings where she was groped and had someone tried to force themselves upon her.
Gotta give it to her though, every time she fought. After she became useful he stopped trying to sell her to people in exchange for business."

"Fuck!" Russell exclaimed. "How?! How could I have not seen it then!?"

"People don't see the things they don't wanna see." Sam shrugged. "Did you guys seriously never wonder why she was so reserved around people? Why she didn't like to be touched?"