by Liliana Hart
“My loyalty is to my husband,” she said. “As I said, he saved me. I barely remember you. And because of him, I hardly think of the horrors that were done to me before we married. He healed me in every way possible.”
Liv knew the others could hear their conversation, but she didn’t care. “You were a child,” she insisted.
“I stopped being a child the first time one of those monsters touched me,” Elizabeth said, her voice rising in volume. “I was one of the lucky ones. Raj bought me to be the bride of his son. Shiv was seventeen at the time, and I was thirteen. Their culture is different than ours. I was considered a woman of marriageable age.
“After I was taken that day at Harrods, I spent the next seven years with a groomer, until I was old enough to go on the market. He was very careful to make sure I remained a virgin so he got the best possible price for me. But he’d made sure I was trained in all things sexual. It was my duty to please my future owner. It was my sole purpose in life. The things he made me do …” Elizabeth said, her voice breaking.
Liv barely realized the tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her whole body was numb.
“I was very fortunate,” Elizabeth continued. “Shiv and I have been married for seventeen years. He’s a good husband, and I love him. I’ll never leave him.”
“I’m not trying to take you away from him,” Liv assured her, trying to wrap her brain around what she’d been told. “But I’ve spent almost my entire life searching for you. You’re my sister. You’re my twin. We’ll always be connected.”
“And now you’ve found me,” she said. “But I don’t wish to be found. We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure that I stay hidden.”
“I’ve noticed,” Liv said wryly. “Seeing you here face-to-face was somewhat of a shock.”
“And now that you’ve seen me, I’ll ask that you go.”
“I can’t do that,” Liv said, moving to block her way again. “You’ve got to listen to me. Raj Mittal is a bad man. He’s just like the monsters who sold you to him.”
“It’s true that he and my husband are not close, and we do not spend time together other than at events like this, but I would know if he was a monster.”
Frustration built inside her. “Think about it, Yasmin,” Liv said, emphasizing her name. “He bought you for his son. Who do you think does that kind of thing? How do you think he has the connections? A week and a half ago I tracked down a group of twelve Russian girls that Mittal had sold to a prominent man in London. The youngest was six, the oldest twelve. Your father-in-law was the one who’d had them taken from their families.”
“No,” Elizabeth said, shaking her head. But she didn’t seem too sure.
“Yes,” Liv insisted. “Did you know he uses your home to hide the girls he’s selling to the highest bidder? If you do know and have done nothing about it, you’re just as much of a monster as he is.”
Her anger was getting the best of her, but she couldn’t seem to help it. Twenty-four years of searching and worrying and grieving—all for nothing.
“I don’t believe you,” Elizabeth said, her own anger showing.
“Raj uses your home in case he’s caught. Interpol has been after him for forty years, and he knows that if the girls are discovered on your husband’s property then he can be blamed for Raj’s crime. Who wouldn’t know there were little girls being held captive inside their own home? In fact, I’m not convinced your husband doesn’t know exactly what’s going on. Have you ever been in his vault? There’s a room set up for them. Blankets on the floor and buckets in the corners for waste. There are bowls on the floor so they can be fed like the dogs they’re not treated as well as.”
Elizabeth was shaking her head vehemently, her skin ghostly pale.
“We have the proof now,” Liv said angrily. “I was there. I saw the space in the vault. But your father-in-law didn’t plan to unload the rest of the girls until this week for his birthday. He brought them to the island, and today three girls were sold to the highest bidder. You’ll be glad to know they’ve already been extracted and will be home to their families soon. But there are still seven other girls waiting to be sold. Where are they?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Elizabeth said. “I’m going to be sick.”
“Good,” she said. “You deserve to be, if you’ve been complicit all this time.”
“No, I haven’t—I didn’t know… . How can I believe you?”
Liv took her phone from her purse and opened up the pictures, and then she handed it to her sister. “Just start scrolling.”
She’d taken pictures once Axel had brought the girl he’d purchased back to their bungalow. And she’d taken pictures of the two Deacon and Levi had bought as well. Deacon had waited with them until nightfall and then led them to where Elias and Miller were waiting with the ferry to take them from the island.
“I didn’t know,” Elizabeth said. “And Shiv doesn’t know either. He and his father don’t speak. We’re required to come to things like this to present a united front, but the two of them have never seen eye to eye. Shiv says the men he does business with are not good men.”
“They’re not,” Liv said, “and most of them are here on this island. The auction for the girls isn’t the only thing your father-in-law is mixed up in.”
“Careful, Liv,” she heard Dante say through her earpiece.
But she ignored him. She could tell by looking at her sister that she was speaking the truth. And she had to trust that Elizabeth would do the right thing and help if she could. It was a complete and total leap of faith.
“What are you talking about?” Elizabeth demanded.
“Your father-in-law has recently come into possession of Russian nuclear launch codes. And he’s decided to sell them to the highest bidder. That’s why he’s gathered all these particular men for his birthday. He’s looking for a big payday as his gift.”
“Who are you?” Elizabeth asked, narrowing her eyes.
“I can’t tell you that,” Liv said. “But I have two priorities. I want those launch codes to keep whoever plans to bid on them from starting World War III. And I want those girls off this island and back with their families.”
“I haven’t seen any children on the island,” Elizabeth said.
“I believe they might be underground. Do you know if any of the bungalows have a trapdoor? Or if there’s an underground weather shelter somewhere on the island?”
“I don’t know. But I can try to find out. Despite what you think of me, I’d never want what happened to me to happen to other girls. My story ended happily. I know most do not.”
“Raj is auctioning off more girls tomorrow afternoon. The sooner we can find them, the better.”
“I’ll make sure to let you know if I find out anything.”
Elizabeth moved to walk by her again, but Liv didn’t budge “There’s a safe inside his bungalow,” she said. “It’s where he’s keeping the launch codes.”
“I heard him mention the safe at dinner last night,” Elizabeth said. “I did not know what was in the safe, but he seemed very proud of whatever it was. And …”
“And what?” Liv asked, after she’d paused for several moments.
“The conversation about the safe upset my husband. He was very angry about it, and Raj kept looking at Shiv as if he was bragging.”
Liv decided it wasn’t worth bringing up the fact that Shiv had had the codes to begin with. Her sister had obviously put her husband on a pedestal, and no amount of fact would topple him.
“The safe is somewhere in his bungalow,” Liv told her.
“I don’t know how I can help you with that,” she said. “I will do my best with the girls. But I really must leave. There’s a cart waiting to take me back to the bungalow. I’ve never been a fan of these parties either.”
“But your husband stays?” Liv asked, unable to help herself.
“Shiv has always been faithful to me, and I trust him. But he has a reputa
tion to uphold. No one knows I am his wife. There is too much at stake. So it is best if things stay as they are.”
“What is at stake?” she asked. “If he had a wife and an heir, you’d think it would provide protection as far as his money.”
“That’s the problem,” Elizabeth said, her voice soft and sad. “He has no heirs. Will never have them. Part of the grooming process was to sterilize me.” She pointed to a tiny scar along her belly button, no wider than a thumbprint. But it was there. “No one knowing about me is the best way for me to stay alive. If the word got out, there are plenty of women who wouldn’t mind seeing me dead if they had the opportunity to provide him with an heir.”
With that parting statement, Elizabeth moved past her and back down the dock. As far as reunions went, it left a lot to be desired.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
She needed time alone.
Liv wasn’t sure how long she’d stood on the dock gazing after her sister, but she finally shook herself out of it and made her way back along the beach to where the golf carts were waiting.
She noticed Axel was now involved in a card game in the center tent, a cigar clamped between his teeth as he studied his cards. The tent where the food and never-ending supply of alcohol was located only had a smattering of people, mostly women, and they were gathered around the tables in conversation.
As she walked farther down the beach, she realized something was different about the third tent. Curtains had been pulled across the sides, giving a semblance of privacy, but they billowed and flapped as the wind coming off the water picked up.
The occasional moan wafted on the breeze, and she caught glimpses of bare flesh as she walked by. The party had definitely gotten more risqué.
“I’m going back to the bungalow,” she said. “And I’m going offline.”
She motioned to one of the golf cart drivers, dressed in the same uniform Dante had been wearing earlier, and he hopped out and helped her into the back of the cart. By the time the driver pulled in front of the bungalow she shared with Axel, she’d already replayed the entire scene with Elizabeth in her head.
Elizabeth was alive. But Liv had lost her forever.
Lights were on inside the bungalow, and she let herself in, enjoying the cool breeze of the overhead fans. There was no air-conditioning. There was none needed with the doors and windows open, and the cool ocean breeze blowing in.
The bungalow had been decorated in white. White carpet runners and rugs broke up the smooth expanse of the bamboo floors. The white sectional sofa was surrounded by glass coffee and end tables, and even the candlesticks and other knickknacks on the shelves were white. The kitchen, naturally, was white, the appliances stainless steel. Liv walked to a small box sitting on the bar and pressed the button. It looked like a modernist cube—a piece of art: it was anything but.
There were several beeps, and then Elaine’s voice came on. “There has been no new activity on the premises since nineteen fourteen hours when Agent Tucker and three minor subjects passed the established perimeter.”
“Thank you, Elaine,” Liv said, removing the undetectable comm unit from her ear and laying it on the counter.
“You’re quite welcome, Agent Rothschild. Did you have a good time at the party?”
“Not especially, no. I wasn’t aware that it would eventually turn into an orgy.”
“I’ve read of those,” Elaine said. “It seems like a great deal of work. And I’m still unsure about body fluids. It seems that orgies would produce copious amounts. I believe when my human form is rendered, I won’t at all like body fluids touching me. It seems quite unsanitary.”
“It’s probably best to stay away from orgies,” Liv agreed. “I’d love to meet your human form, Elaine.”
“You are not the first person to tell me that,” she said. “Dante would also like to meet me. I believe I am quite the catch. I have a soft spot for Dante, so I believe it’s best if I try to catch him first.”
Liv’s brows rose, and she felt a strong impulse to tell Elaine she wouldn’t be sharing any body fluids with Dante. Of course, that was ridiculous. First of all, because she didn’t care what Dante did or with whom. And second of all, because Elaine was a computer, for God’s sake, and she wasn’t even real.
“He’s a slippery one,” Liv said.
“Oh, no, I believe he wants to be caught,” Elaine corrected. “I think he’s quite lonely. It’s why we spend so much time talking. When he isn’t searching for substitutes for you, of course.”
“I beg your pardon?” Liv asked.
“He’s always dating women who look like you,” she said. “Before you colored your hair, of course. He loved your hair. I must say, though, I’m enjoying the red. It’s feisty.”
Liv was going to have to think about that for a moment. The idea of Dante with a bevy of other women who looked like her didn’t sit well. “Why would he date women who look like me?”
“When I calculate the data,” Elaine said, “it would appear that it’s because he’s experiencing the emotion of love. He sometimes says your name in his sleep.”
She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. Elaine was a computer. She didn’t know anything about human emotions.
“I’m going to take a walk on the beach,” Liv said. “I’ll exit and enter through the master bedroom. I’m sure Axel will be in much later, once the party is through.”
“You don’t have to worry about Axel,” Elaine said. “He’s always been faithful to his wife. Did you know my voice is hers? I don’t always understand emotions like a human would, but Dante once explained it must be terribly hard for Axel to listen to me speak, knowing he’ll never see his wife again. I can infer that the connection to her through my voice either keeps him sane or is a punishment of sorts. Dante told me not to ask him.”
“Really?” Liv asked, surprised Dante would be that in touch with someone else’s emotions.
“Do you think I should?” Elaine asked, perking up. “I’m very curious to know the answer. The situation reminds me very much of Gloria and Stefan on my favorite soap opera. It’s very tragic.”
“I’m sure it is,” Liv said amused. “But in this case, Dante is right. It’s best not to ask.”
Entering the master suite, Liv closed and locked the door behind her. The bed was a four-poster with white netting draped over the top, the white comforter and pillows soft as clouds. The French doors that led straight out to the beach were open, and the white sheers billowed in and out.
She stripped out of her dress and threw it across the bench at the end of the bed, then removed the panties and tossed them in the hamper and put her shoes back on the shelf in the closet. Liv found a soft jersey sundress in blue, and put it on, not bothering with underwear. Releasing her hair from the tight ponytail it had been in all night, she put it back up in a loose bun, then dug a pale blue pashmina from the drawer. The nights could get cool.
She left through the French doors, wrapping the pashmina around her, and made her way down the beach. The white sand was soft beneath her feet, and the moon was bright enough to light the way. She walked just a little way, careful not to venture near any other bungalows in case she ran across someone unsavory, then turned and headed back the way she’d come.
“You look like a ghost walking beside the water,” Dante said from the shadows. “I had to look twice to make sure you were real.”
She couldn’t see him until he emerged from the cover of the palm trees. He was dressed all in black after his nighttime foray to Mittal’s bungalow, and she recognized how smooth and practiced his movements were. Not one stick crackled beneath his feet, and not one leaf rustled as he walked through the foliage.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m finished at Mittal’s,” he said. “I was just heading back and wanted to make sure you made it okay. There’s a lot going on tonight.”
“No kidding,” she said dryly. “That’s an understatement.”
“Men who deal
in sex trades, weapons, and drugs are always going to push things to the limit. It’s like a drug in itself. Wait and watch. Someone will go missing before the weekend is out. It’s survival of the fittest around here. Any weak links will be destroyed.”
“We just need to make sure it’s not one of us,” she said.
Dante slowly brought his hand up and brushed the side of her cheek. “Why are you crying?”
She hadn’t realized she had been. But her cheeks were wet.
“I wasn’t expecting the meet with Elizabeth to hurt quite so much,” Liv confessed. “I don’t know what I expected. All these years, I’ve dreamed of passing her on the street and having a heartfelt reunion. Or I dreamed that I’d track her down and rescue her from whatever hell she’d been living in, and then I’d do whatever I needed to help her.”
“I’m sorry it wasn’t like that,” he said, dropping his hand down to take hers and squeezing it gently.
“I just didn’t expect for there to be nothing between us,” she said. “We’re twins. When she was taken, I felt like part of myself had been ripped away. But when she was standing right there in front of me, I realized she was a stranger. A stranger who didn’t need saving. She said she’s happy and isn’t going anywhere. What have I been living my life for?”
“You can’t tell me you do the work you do only to find your sister,” he said. “I’ve watched you. You care about every case that comes across your desk. You care about finding those little girls as much as you cared about finding your sister. You put your heart and soul into everything you do.”
“And what do I have to show for it?” Liv asked. “No family. No children. No sister. My best friend is a middle-aged father of four with a bullet hole in his shoulder. And apparently a therapist doesn’t count as a friend at all.”
His lips twitched. “No, I’d think not. And Donner is a good friend to have. Don’t discount him.”
“I never would,” she said. “It’s just that everything I thought I was working for turns out to be a fantasy I concocted. And now I have to figure out what to do with the remaining chapters in my life.”