Chapter 2: Back To The Start

Bella sat in front of the mirror assessing the injury done to her face, it stung whenever she tried to apply powder to conceal it.

"Monsters and psychopaths now walk freely like it's normal huh?" she said to her reflection.

"Ouch! Fuck, fuck, fuck son of a bitch" she cursed trying to apply her makeup. Hugo was a monster, he was a necrophilia, knocking her out and having sex with her motionless body; she had barely managed to return home that morning after waking up in so much pain.

"How could he do this horrible thing to this pretty face, what a piece of shit."

She felt weak and in pain so she sat there feeling terrible and violated.

"I would have played dead if he wanted me to, he didn't have to knock me senseless, I should report him for this" she kept talking to herself.

"I ought to kill Lorenzo too for this"

Her father would turn in his grave seeing the kind of life she's been living, he had always been a proud man of his two daughters, saying they had the brightest future there is in his family.

"So much for a bright future" Bella murmured under her breath, tears stinging her eyes.

"I'm sorry papa, I'm so sorry it turned out this way" she said, letting the tears fall.

Ten and half years ago, she had been diagnosed with a severe kidney problem that left her in the hospital. She'd wished she would just die, seeing the pain and suffering it caused her family who were barely getting by.

Her father had tried everything, sold his tractor and even his little farm back in Mississippi State where home was, but it wasn't enough to get her to surgery, her younger sister who was fourteen at the time was a perfect match and had agreed to be her donor.

"Was all the sacrifice for nothing," She asked her reflection. Her father had gone to Drago in frustration against her mother's warning, the mafia lord had agreed to loan her father the money on the condition that he pay the money with its interest in three months, her father had agreed out of desperation not minding the forty per cent monthly interest.

They had done the surgery and everything went well, but her father couldn't raise the money to pay back even after four months and Drago refused to take instalments.

After the fourth month, Drago had come for his money, but when he got nothing he'd ordered they take Bella in replacement, she would work for him till the debt was paid. Her father had pleaded for more time, but Drago wouldn't hear of it, he had begged Drago to take him instead, but Drago saw no use of him, and he began to fight the men that held her, dragging her away, but Drago had pulled a gun on her father just like that, she'd frozen, her mother screaming and running to her father's side was the last she saw of her family.

" Could have ended differently, but you chose to kill him in the presence of his family Drago" she murmured staring at her reflection, she didn't even get to see her younger sister who was safely hidden at the back of the house, and she'd blamed herself for everything that happened so far, she was the genesis of it all, if she hadn't gotten sick, if she'd just died instead... The scene of that day was stuck in her head, as well as the face of Drago.

"Funny how it all changes in the blink of an eye," she thought. She was sold off to Italy a week later, to a place called 'the wild house' where she was always locked in a building with other girls and forced to sleep with different men who abused her, beating her to a pulp, doing weird and bizarre things to girls.

At seventeen they had on a few occasions pumped her system with drugs at night to loosen her up for the men that came, she'd forced herself to loosen up before she became an addict.

After four years of living in such horror, she became used to it, but then they brought in newer girls so they sold them (the old girls) to a man called BigDog who ran a brothel and a strip club in New York. For another three years, she was a stripper, Big Dog wasn't the best of people but he wasn't too greedy, although every client paid to him before spending a night with any of his girls he'd allowed them to keep whatever money they made while stripping and equally gave them a little stipend monthly, and that was when Bella began to save her money for school, she wanted to do one thing her father could be proud of despite living a Godforsaken life. She'd begged BigDog to let her go to school within her first year with him and he did. Two years after her admission into NYU, Captain had come to the strip club and after taking a liking to her saying she was smart and good for business, he had bought her from BigDog.

"God bless the man, amen," she said with a smile.

Not able to touch the bruises she wore a big sun glass and wrapped a shawl around her head covering her face, then she stepped out onto the road and headed for the Captain's office.

Entering Captain's office she saw Lorenzo and in impulsive anger, she charged at him.

"Ella, Ella, Ella let me explain" Lorenzo begged, backing away from angry Bella.

"Ella!" It was the captain's voice and Bella stopped in her chase. She took off her shawl and sunglasses in anger revealing the damage done to her.

"This looks really bad Lorenzo" Captain said, turning to look at Lorenzo who stood at the far side, his hands clapped together in a plea.

"Bad? The man almost killed me, he knocked the living daylight out of me" Bella explained feeling anger build up in her as yesterday's incident came into play.

"He paid well" Lorenzo defended in a high-pitched voice.

"Yeah he paid to kill me you moron" Bella snapped.

"How much? " Captain asked, looking at Lorenzo.

"Five thousand..." Lorenzo replied in good defence.

"Bella takes seventy percent, she needs to go to the hospital, and this should be the last time Lorenzo" Captain ordered before turning to Bella.

If it wasn't the nature of the business Bella swore she would have had Hugo arrested.

"Update Ella, " Captain urged her.

"Package moves 11 pm tonight, package code 55517, they're using the Manhattan route, their disguise is the cold gold trailer " Bella said, going over to sit down and putting her glasses back on.

"Lorenzo" captain called and the other man nodded and then exited the room. Bella observed Captain through her glasses as he searched his drawer for God knows what…

For ten years she hadn't spoken to her family, she was too ashamed of what she'd become, and she preferred to remain dead to them rather than shatter their hearts. This man was the closest to a family she had now, he wasn't perfect but Bella sometimes played, pretending that he was in fact her father.

Back in Italy when she first arrived at the wild house, she'd seen with her eyes as a girl who tried to escape but ran out of luck was fed to big wild dogs that tore her to shreds, they had intentionally let all the girls seen the scene as a warning of what will happen if they tried to escape and it had terrified everyone to the bone so much that no one dared to think the thought, back at Bigdog's club she'd been given the chance to go to school, but she knew better than running away, BigDog was considerate but he was mean when he chose to be, just a little bounty on her head would have sent all bounty hunters in New York after her, these people do not joke with their money. With Captain it was different, she wasn't completely bound but she wasn't free either, even though she knew she meant nothing but money to him she appreciated how he communicated with her, she knew she couldn't outrun him and she didn't intend to, considering she had nowhere else, he had let her have her own place like she'd always wanted, it was a small room but it was her own and had even supported her schooling and was the only one who came to her graduation ceremony.

" Lotus we have information" Captain said over a phone call.

"Do you know him?" Bella asked after he dropped the call.

"No, no one does," Captain replied absentmindedly, opening and closing books in search of something.

"And you trust him enough to sell information?"

"I do not trust anyone Ella, it's pure business, he seems to be too interested in Drago as I am, he tipped me off on the container last month, I'm simply returning the favour," Captain defended.

"I still do not approve, if he is clean he shouldn't be a ghost, it's too suspicious "

"You can sit tonight's operation out go home and take care of yourself "

"But I'm...." Bella began to protest

"Don't argue Ella just go and treat yourself" Captain interjected.

"Alright... see you tomorrow Cap make sure you make him pay" Bella said putting on her shawl she left Captain in his office.

* * * * *

Bella dashed into Captain's office the following day after receiving a call, she forgot to put on her sunglasses so she half-wrapped the shawl around her face.

"What happened?" She asked closing the door behind her, her eyes searched the room, Captain sat at his desk his face in his palm, Lorenzo was pacing back and forth and a man called Eric stood with his hands in his pocket, and Cassandra a lady whom Bella had met when she first arrived at Captain's house half laid on the couch.

"Cap? Sandra, Lorenzo someone say something"

"Lotus double-crossed us, he got to the package before us" Eric answered flatly.

"Shit! Shit! I knew it, a ghost can't be trusted " Bella cursed.

" That's what I said," Cassandra replied, biting on her fingers.

"Double Cross is a strong word, I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding" Captain defended

"Cap! " Bella snapped.

"Look I gave him the juice, the plan was to split the profit he was just there ahead of schedule"

"Yeah and forgot to leave behind your half" Bella said sarcastically.

" Have you tried calling him?" Bella asked, getting a bit pissed as to why Captain was still trying to defend the thief called Lotus.

"Unavailable," Lorenzo replied.

"Oh my fucking God!, How do we find a ghost?" Bella exclaimed, falling to the couch beside Cassandra.

A knock sounded at the door and everyone began looking at each other in suspicion, the boys were out so who could it be, so early in the morning after a failed operation Cassandra and Bella both stood up and reached for the guns beneath Captain's office table, then hid it in their dresses, Eric reached for the gun tucked in his trousers at his back, Lorenzo opened the fridge and retrieved a weapon himself.

"Come right in" Captain called out his hands holding a gun placed in the second drawer of his table as he sat up.

A man walked in with three hefty-looking men behind him and Everyone froze. Bella couldn't believe her eyes, even in a thousand years she could never forget that face, no matter what change occurred to him Bella will always remember the face, it has haunted her dreams and bugged her for ten long years leaving her in guilt.