Happy birthday to me, yay!

Warning: abuse, pedophilia, and racist, homophobic, and misogynistic language.

Note: The kidnappers are calling the girls by the names of the characters in the series Madeline. Here is a guide:

Madeline: Maritza

Chloe: Alana

Nicole: Michelle

Danielle: Pidge

Yvette: Nicky

Nona: Flaca

Lulu: Maria

Anne: Ouija

Ellie: Taystee

Monique: Lorna

Janine: Blanca

Sylvie: Alex, She is sometimes identified as Simone.

Aleida sucked in a gasp as she realized this could very well be Juliana's daughter. "What about you, what's your name?" Maritza asked under her breath.

"Aleida McDonald," she responded silently as well.

"You're the McDonald's owner?" Maritza wondered aloud, and the innocent question made Aleida smile, but she shook her head no.

"It's my husband's last name. It's just a coinkydink, though."

"It's nice to meet you. They're a loud bunch, aren't they?" Maritza asked in a little voice, shaking the older Latina's hand.

"Yeah. What happened to your arm?"

"Scraped it on a door handle trying to hold everything and go up the basement stairs at once. I missed the door handle trying to open it, but a nice gentleman helped me," she said in a wavery voice, blushing. "I just wish I could see my mama."

"What's she like?"

"She had dark hair and brown eyes like me, and she was the best and most fun mommy in the world. I miss her so much. I wish we could run away together and find her."

Their whole conversation was whispered, so they could barely hear each other. "Dinner's ready!" Maritza announced loudly. Aleida followed behind her with a plate of cheese and chicken enchiladas. They set the dishes down in the middle of the table and a creepy guy tapped Aleida's butt when she walked past him. One of the women shot him a glare and Maritza rolled her eyes.

"Douchebag pervert," Aleida told her in a hushed tone. They moved upstairs to clean some more.

"That's Herrmann. You're lucky he just touched your butt. What he does to me is worse."

"Hablas espaƱol, nena?" Aleida was going to make an escape plan with the young girl in a language she assumed no one else would be able to translate.

"Yes, but the mailman understands Spanish. I-I can't-I'm not allowed to speak it," she mumbled.

Maritza struggled to pick up a treasure chest in one of the bathrooms and Aleida helped her. "Let me do it," she offered.

"We'll both do it," Maritza decided.

"One, two, three!" They grunted and moved it to the side. Maritza started vacuuming the floor as Aleida washed the mirrors. There was lipstick smeared all over it and it wouldn't come off.

"I think Herrmann's girlfriend did that on purpose, Ms. McDonald. Just ignore it."

"Glad to," Relief filled Aleida's tone. "That name sounds familiar, I've been thinking about it, Maritza. Is your motha's name Juliana?"

"I think so," she shyly answered.

"Madeline, let's go!" a harsh male voice called up the stairs. Aleida wondered why he had called the child by a different name.

"It was really nice to meet you, Ms. McDonald, see you later!" Maritza said, giving Aleida a quick hug. She skipped away and Aleida felt a tug at her heart, staring after Maritza in shock.

Was she Juliana's daughter Maritza? It would make sense, since the little girl in the photos around Juliana's house had the same features as this Maritza, and she'd be eleven by now. Aleida would have to ask Juliana to check her daughter's birth certificate and do some research.

"Okay, get out!" Officer Hellman snapped at Aleida and forced her down the steps. She tripped over the last stair in her daze and fell hard on her bottom. Hellman glared at her. "Get up, you clumsy bitch!" he commanded.

Aleida struggled to stand again and she felt lightheaded and like she had the wind knocked out of her. It took her a few seconds to get her breath back. "You betta not put your fucking hands on me again..."

"Leave and don't come back. You're fired." Kubra shoved a five dollar bill in her shaking hands.

"What? Why?"

"You and the kid aren't allowed to speak to each other," Kubra growled.

"Nobody told me that!" she protested as Hellman pushed her out the door and slammed it in her face. She gasped at the pain that had now gone to her hip and then she had to sit down. She texted Leon to let him know that she was finished and he replied that he would pick her up in thirty minutes. It's so dark, and she hated it. The men were rough with her enough to give her a reminder of the last monster who touched her.

She was finally going to make something of herself today. After the combination of much urging from her mom, her best friends Gloria Mendoza and Diane Vause, and her boyfriend Leon McDonald, plus finding out she's pregnant, Aleida was headed to her very first Narcotics Anonymous meeting. She didn't need to be arrested for driving under the influence again. The second time, she almost ran Jack Pearson, Diane's strict boss and Gloria's uptight boyfriend, off the road.

"I'm Aleida and I'm a drug addict," she recited in her head over and over again. It was probably how she was going to have to introduce herself there. Leon was dropping her off and Gloria would be picking her up. She didn't trust herself and she felt like nobody else should either.

"Bye, Lei. You can do this. I love you," Leon said warmly while taking her hands in his. They made out for a long time and he talked to the baby inside of her while kissing her belly until Aleida really had to go inside.

"I love you too. See you tonight after work, sweetheart!" she said while waving and walking backwards to the building. She watched Leon's red '79 convertible drive away until it was just a little red dot on the street. She was excited for their first Valentines' Day as an official couple. She turned around and took a deep breath. "Okay..." The wind picked up and she rubbed her arms in the freezing Feburary air when all of a sudden, someone grabbed her from behind. Aleida tried to scream and defend herself, but her assailant was much bigger and stronger than her. They clamped their hand over her mouth and pushed a gun into her jaw. Her breathing sped up. "N-no..." she mumbled.

"Gotcha!" the man taunted her with a snigger. He dragged her back behind the building where a black car was waiting. It was totally isolated and her heart was beating so fast. He ripped her purse off her shoulder and threw it across the ground. "You won't be needing this." Aleida gasped in horror when she saw her phone and her wallet slide out. Once he forced her into his car, he removed his hand from her mouth and she spat. Aleida was shaking so much that she couldn't even pull her knees to her chest. It was Jack Pearson. She knew he didn't like her, but she had no clue that he wanted to torture her like this. He bound her wrists together with stiff duct tape. "Can't have you trying to escape to your little cult should you ever see them out and about, right?" He chuckled evilly and tears leaked from her eyes.

"Please don't...I'm pregnant...just like your girlfriend! Y-you have another baby!"

"Exactly. I need to protect my children from the problem that is you!"

"What does that mean? W-when will you let me go?" She was so frightened. She closed her eyes and pretended it was all just a nightmare, but of course, it was real.

"Don't ask stupid questions. Stop struggling. You're now my hostage. You'll murder your child if I make you fall one too many times. You hit me while you were driving high! You could've killed me! You cost me thousands of dollars!"

Aleida glares at him while her chin quivers. "I offered to pay, but you just flipped me off. I already apologized for that, but now, with the way you're treating me, I wish I did, you pathetic bastard! Go die or something!"

"You're my side whore now, bitch! You're weak. You always have been. You just couldn't stop with the smoking, huh, you fucking crackhead?" Jack yelled at Aleida. He backhanded her into silence and she felt herself losing consciousness. She clutched her still flat stomach and prayed that he wouldn't hurt her baby. It was almost like passing out because she took too much heroin, but this time, nobody was here to take care of her.

The flashback sent her into panic attack mode and she kept screaming and crying whenever she heard a growl in the woods. There was the rumbling of a chainsaw and shuffling footsteps that got louder as the person approached the house. He pounded on the door, it opened up, and closed again. Aleida's teeth were chattering, but she was sweating at the same time. She wanted to call Charles, but she had no concrete proof that these men were for sure hurting Maritza.

A pair of headlights shone in her eyes and she knew Leon was back. She tried to move, but she couldn't. She was too scared, for both Maritza and herself. Her husband came out of the car with his flashlight. He waved it around and then ran to Aleida.

"I'm stuck," she mumbled.

Leon pulled her to her feet and she grabbed onto him and started whimpering in his shirt. He put his hands on either side of her face and stroked her cheeks as tears stream down them. He kissed her forehead. "Oh, baby, why are you out here? I thought you were going to stay inside."

Aleida sniffled as he helped her into the car and closed her door. "They kicked me out."

"Why?" Leon got in on his side and started up the car. Aleida groaned in pain softly as she adjusted herself in the seat until sitting didn't hurt too bad. Her back felt stiff and all she needed was a massage and for that little girl to be okay. "What's wrong, sweetie? You were limping earlier and wincing when you got into the car."

"I just tripped. I can't work for them anymore because I was talking to this young girl who lives there. She's Daya's age. I suppose she's not allowed to talk to guests."

"You have a handprint bruise forming on your forearm," he pointed out when Aleida rolled up her sleeves. "I'll bang on that door and then beat the shit out of them!"

He was about to leave the car, but she grabbed his hand.

"Nah, just let it go because something more important needs to be reported, the fact that they may be abusing a child in there. I'm fine, really. That poor girl, however, is not. I'm almost sure she's my friend Juliana's daughter because she said her name was Maritza and I asked her if her mom is named Juliana, and she answered that she thought so. I have the house's address for possible future reference. When we get closer to home, I'mma call Red and ask her to go on the Internet and look up Kubra, the one who gave me the job. I doubt he's who he says he is, and I want Daya to stop going to Starbucks, just until we find out more information on him. Franny Morello should quit her job there too, I'll let Stansie know."

"Excellent plan so far, honey. I'm in!" Leon said as he took her hand.

The car bumped through the greenery and rolled unsteadily on the dirt road. They soon got onto the freeway and Aleida then called Red.

"Hey, Aleida!"

"Red, hi! Listen...I want to advise you to google Kubra before your relationship with him develops further. Take it from me, it's better to know about him before getting into a bad situation you could've stayed away from in the first place."

"I don't think I'll find out that he's a player just by researching him online. Aleida, I promise you that I'm not crushing on him or anything. I don't want romance in my life right now. If he asks me out, I'll tell him that."

"I just got back from this weird house that's far away from civilization. It's in the woods, practically. I was a maid there for a very short time...I started today, but I was given the boot. I saw Kubra at the house...in fact, he asked me to go over there and clean and slave away in the kitchen."

"Did he make a move on you?"

"Nah! I haven't gotten to the meat and potatoes of this story yet. What I'm trying to say is...and please keep an open mind when I tell you this...Maritza, Juliana's Maritza, was a maid there, too."

There was dead silence on the other end of the phone. "Are you sure it was really her?"

"Nah, but she was Mexican, and she kind of looked like an older version of the Maritza that is in the pictures at Juliana's house. She told me that Maritza was her name and then I asked if Juliana was her mom and she believed she was. She even described her mother as having dark hair and brown eyes. Juliana said Maritza would be eleven if she were still living. Well, guess what? She looks that age."

"That's impossible," Red murmured. "Did she say her last name?"

"Nah, and that's why I'm fifty-fifty on this whole thing. Don't tell Juliana anything, we can't get her hopes up."

"I know. Maritza Ramos was found dead, though. The body was destroyed, burned beyond recognition, but it was her."

"How could you tell, besides the dark hair, because lots of people have dark hair. Could it have been a mistake?"

"You know what, with the pathetic New York police with the exception of Lieutenant Hopper, yes. Then why haven't we found her, ever? The cops said her captor's car caught on fire and they both died."

"She was kidnapped and raised in captivity for the past four years, if that is her. Three of the other men who were at that house, they were cops, Hellman, Herrmann, and Piscatella. Another one was Dr. Andy Stryver, I saw him at the table, now that I think about it. The police can't arrest themselves and a doctor can alter dead people's faces to look like a hostage victim who's actually alive. Do you see what I'm saying here? They committed the perfect crime where their professions would keep them from getting stone cold busted. Somehow, they lured this little girl into their trap. It's like something out of Lifetime. The only reason I ain't called nine-one-one yet is 'cause I want to make sure I ain't accusing nobody of somethin' they didn't do. Also, Hellman might answer and he was violent with me when throwing me out of their house. My bottom half aches."

"I hope you feel better soon! Okay, I'll see what I find out about on Kubra. If they are all the kidnappers and they hurt Maritza, he'd probably be the only one with a criminal record."

"That's right! Yo, I'mma be home in five seconds, so I should get off the phone now. I got worried about Daya, Christina, and Emiliano all of a sudden."

"I don't blame you! While we were talking, I couldn't stop peeking into the room where my sons and Lida were watching a movie. Are you going to tell Daya or the others about all this?"

"Nah, not until we're positive Kubra is or isn't a bad guy. That's why I want to find out tonight, so Hopper can pull him out of his job and throw him in the slamma if need be. 'Course we got Charles, too, he just started...he an old friend of ours. Di, Glo, and me, I mean."

"That's nice! Okay, well I won't tell my boys or Lida either. Bye, Aleida! Talk to you later."

"Bye!


"Hey!" Hellman and Kubra's faces were beet red as they stormed into the room where half the girls were being kept. They flinched sharply when the grown men came near their small bare feet with their huge black boots. Hellman unlocked Alex's handcuffs and grabbed her up by her recently broken arm, courtesy of Piscatella. He shook her, despite her cry of pain. "You know why Desi had to snap the bone, right?" He snatched her glasses off her face. "I'll crush these if you can't answer, you slutty bitch." Alex squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the tears back and then she opened them again. She swallowed hard to get the lump to slide back down her throat.

"I...I tried to stab him with the scissors he had used to cut Lorna's hair...I-I'm sorry, sir," she mumbled faintly.

"Good girl." Hellman muttered and kissed her on the mouth, jamming his tongue between her red lips. She wanted to bite it so badly, but when she tried that before, she had to spend the night hanging upside down by a rope which was tied to a pipe that creaked every time she moved. "My Lolita. You're the hottest one here." He clumsily put her glasses back on her face so she had to adjust them. Hellman stepped aside and then Kubra kept her in place by groping her breasts underneath her thin bra. She wanted to throw up. "You're a waste, you know," Hellman told her as Kubra sexually assaulted her. "I wouldn't worry, since a lot of us, except Piscatella and Vee, can fuck you straight." He pointed at Nicky. "You better listen to what I'm saying, since you're guilty of being a dyke as well. I've caught you and Sylvie together more than once. Do not screw each other unless I am present, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" they both said in a loud voice.

"Now..." Kubra turned Alex around to face the group and he snaked his arms around her waist and licked her neck. "She's got nice tits, right? Don't answer that, its rhetorical." The only reason she hadn't collapsed yet, was because he had her trapped against him. He unhooked her bra and she watched it fall to the ground. His slimy fingers slithered down the thong Vee had provided for her and they went into her vagina. She glanced down at the purplish-blue handprints that marked her pale thighs and shivered involuntarily. "Yeah, you're on your period, you want me right this second, pet."

Hellman started masturbating as he came over to them. "Man, you're not kidding! She can barely stand upright!" He took her from Kubra and just stared at her while digitally raping her. She felt so sick from both the awful touching and her menstrual cramps that she wanted to faint. "Whoa, you're wet. You almost made me forget what I was the angriest about in the first place, you stupid cunt!" He kicked her away from him and she stumbled to the ground with a yelp. Hellman mimicked the sound she had just made, and then cackled. He knelt down close to her, and when she started to get up to her feet, he backhanded her across her face, sending her glasses flying. She shrieked while placing her hand firmly to her aching cheek. "You're being naughty again," he growled and dug his fingernails into her breasts. "Find your glasses and then crawl back to the group." Kubra wagged his index finger at her and then flicked his tongue in and out through his index and middle fingers before exiting. The other girls had just watched that whole thing with horror and dismay.

After she'd obeyed Hellman's orders while sobbing softly and closing her eyes since she was so dizzy, the sadistic monster locked her wrists together again. He took his police baton out of his belt and she flinched sharply. She wasn't able to look at him any longer. "Who captured that brainless dago?" he demanded, tilting his head towards where Lorna was in the human-sized cage, her mouth covered with duct tape and her eyes filled with unshed tears. With the exception of mealtimes, she had been in there all day since Ratman orally raped her after her shower. The rest of the girls were handcuffed together by their wrists and ankles. Alex could tell the girls were terrified to respond to him. "Answer me!" he bellowed.

"I did," Taystee replied bravely.

"Me, too," Blanca chimed in.

"The rest of us were with Piscatella in his car. He told the girls to kidnap Lorna," Maria informed him.

"Just don't hurt her, please," Nicky begged. "Let her be with us!"

"You got the wrong one!" he yelled and let Taystee out of her chains, only to slam the baton into her stomach a few times and then kick the same spot. She groaned loudly while bending over and holding her belly. Alex couldn't watch Taystee get beaten any longer, so she just kept her gaze on Nicky, who appeared just as upset. "Never trust an ape or a spic!"

"What'd they do this time, Greg?" Piscatella asked roughly and glared at the girls as he came into the area.

"I wanted the Diaz fatass instead, not that dumb, puny whore!" Hellman pointed at Lorna, bound and gagged in the cage. "She's useless! Sure, she's got the big tits, but the rest of her body is nothing like a twelve-year-old's. Diaz is filled out, though! Now we gotta wait another two years to take her! We can't release the runt, or she'll tell everyone. Remember, it's supposed to be like Madeline. 'Twelve little girls in two straight lines, the smallest one is Madeline.' We already have a Madeline! That little brown hottie under Humphrey's rule."

Piscatella shrugged. "I guess the dago can be Monique, then. Look, man, a lot of guys would want someone child-sized. We're sellin' 'em by the time they're thirteen...so Sylvie, Monique, and Yvette will be out of our hair in a few months." He was referring to Alex, Lorna, and Nicky, whose birthdays were in March and April. "You can take the new Monique and kill the ginzo once you have Diaz in your grasp." The subhuman turned to the girls in chains and Taystee writhing around on the floor and whimpering, as Hellman kicked her in her abdomen a few times more, handcuffed her again, and then left the room. "She's a big one, though, so we would need all five of you, okay?" Piscatella nodded while holding up all five fingers on his right hand. "That is not a request."

"Yes, sir!" they chorused, although Taystee choked on her words.

Their giant master knelt down to their levels and aimed his police baton at Blanca's face. "Open up, Janine, you need to be punished, too." Nicky and Maria shielded their eyes and Taystee turned away as Piscatella shoved the weapon into her mouth and pushed her to the floor. Blanca shrieked at the top of her lungs and started coughing up blood mixed with puke. He punched her in the face with his free hand, giving her a black eye, and he clutched Alex by the back of her neck and made her watch him torture Blanca this way. "This is what happens when you make my men furious!" Alex bit her lip to keep from crying because of Blanca's helpless bawling.

Every day, since she was a tiny girl, Alex had witnessed or experienced something incredibly scary, and the torment seemed to get progressively worse. She was amazed that she and the others were all still breathing. They were broken and battered with their spirits crushed and their lives threatened, but they were somehow surviving.


Aleida and Leon turned onto their street. He parked on the driveway and they stepped out. While they walked, a light above their porch turned on automatically and Leon let them into their house. Aleida saw Gloria's aunt Lourdes watching television.

"Where are the kids?" Aleida wanted to know. "I'm aware that Diane went with Gloria to her bodega and Fahri's working..."

"Daya was in her room the last time I saw her. The little ones are with Diane and Gloria," Lourdes answered, but kept her voice at a low volume. "The baby's napping in my arms, see?"

Aleida sighed in relief with her hand over her heart upon seeing her youngest son looking so docile in her mother figure's arms. "Thanks." She glanced over at Leon. "We should see how our oldest is doing. I need to give her a hug."

"Remember when we used to swing her between us and she'd dance with us?"

"Yeah," Aleida said with a smile. "I miss those days. She's not so little anymore!"

"She's embarrassed when we dance, even in private!"

"Teenagers are like that! At least we can do that with Emilio and Chrissy!" Leon nodded in agreement at Aleida's statement and then they went into Daya's room, where she was on her phone and talking to someone about how it's nice in the Bronx and that they should visit sooner rather than later. Both Aleida and Leon got up on Daya's bed and wrapped their arms around their daughter while the girl on the other end laughed.

"Guys, what..." Daya trailed off in confusion. "Why are you kissing and hugging me so much? I'm in the middle of talkin' to my pen pal Adeola! She's thinking of being a foreign exchange student here, but she gotta wait three more years. She can still visit me, though."

"They love you!" Adeola exclaimed. "Ma, you gotta hear this!" she shouted in her Jamaican accent. "Aleida and Leon are basically smothering Daya. It's sickeningly adorable."

"I can't concentrate on our conversation now!" Daya complained.

"She can wait," Aleida muttered, still holding her daughter. "Why there gotta be a reason to show affection to your children?"

"Hi, Aleida, my mom and I are about to eat our chicken curry that we made together! Daya, I will leave you to your time with your parents. Til next time!"

"Have fun!" Daya called out cheerfully

"I think it's time we have a dance-off!" Leon announced.

"All right!" Daya said happily and then Aleida gave them two thumbs up. Her phone vibrated inside her pocket.

"Hold on, okay? I need to take care of this." Luckily, Daya was too distracted with Leon to ask why Aleida was being so secretive.

The woman left her daughter's bedroom and answered her phone to check whatever information Red had found on Kubra, if any. The older Russian lady started talking before Aleida could even say hi.

"He's a drug kingpin and was arrested in Bulgaria for that, and soliciting minors and young women...like sex trafficking. He's bought slaves before on the black market."

Aleida glanced inside Daya's room where she was just innocently dancing with her stepfather and laughing when she kept messing up on the steps. Her little artist was in the same place as that piece of scum and she had left Starbucks with Gloria. What if he'd done something to Daya? What if she had disappeared without a trace? She pressed her hand to her chest and gasped. "I thought there's some kind of law that people like him can't be around children!"

"They can't, but if a cop ever came to Starbucks, he would hide, unless it's Herrmann, Hellman, or Piscatella. That's why he told me that he's usually working in the backroom! Oh my god! I totally fell for it!" Red swore in Russian.

"So did I...he hired both me and Stansie's daughter, and Lida too, I'm guessing. You couldn't have known, Red. Thank goodness you checked."

"I wouldn't have done it if you never said anything. It was teamwork."

"I know...well, what do we do now? How can we save her if the monsters are the police?" Aleida wondered aloud. "Charles would help, of course, but he needs backup, and there is more than one mothafucka in that house."

"I'd have to poison them with ricin mixed into their food or an overdose of prescription drugs. I'm going to make a little ricin blueberry pie just for Kubra to bring home to his buddies," Red declared.

"Excellent!"


As Herrmann circled around her, Alana looked up at him nervously. "Filthy bitch, the both of 'em!" he shouted. "Conspiring against us..."

"Who?" Humps asked just when Stratman walked in from the bathroom with Flaca. "What were you two doing?"

Stratman smirked. "I fucked Nona, now I just need Madeline, and my life will be complete. Why'd you send her up there, anyway?" Flaca looked so ashamed of herself as Stratman chained her to her cot again. A shiver came over Alana and she couldn't stand that she found Stratman kind of hot with his shirt off. She had to keep reminding herself that he was a child predator too, just like the rest of her kidnappers.

"Madeline's mine, bro," Humps said as Maritza rolled down the stairs and hit the floor with a thud as soon as she reached the bottom. "Ah, there she is right now." He licked his lips and stared at her while masturbating. "She's so smokin' that she melts the room." Alana was afraid she was dead.

"She's a traitor, you know," Kubra grumbled from the top. "She and that new maid we hired were discussing how she'd get out. Hellman had to throw the old wetback out the front door, literally."

"Damn, Madeline, why you gotta break my heart like that?" Humps kicked Maritza a few times until she sat up weakly. The girls sighed in relief. Maritza's forearm was bleeding and her face was bruised from Kubra pushing her down the steps. "You're still attractive, but you know better than to go against your masters. You're well aware that if we get arrested, you won't see your beloved Biff again."

Maritza gasped and crawled backwards from Humps. "I'm sorry, sir...I told her I wasn't interested in escaping." She scrambled to her feet and rushed to Stratman. "Biff, you gotta tell him! I wasn't doin' nothin'!"

"Now, Madeline..." Alana gagged internally as the dirty man lifted her face up and kissed her while chewing on her already swollen bottom lip. "You need to behave so Humps doesn't get violent, all right? When you chicks are up there and serving everyone, you have to be quiet so newcomers don't get suspicious and report this to other police officers who don't work with us. The outside world would never approve of our scandalous relationship. Don't you wanna be together forever?"

Maritza nodded. "I...I thought I was being sold, though." Alana's insides froze at Maritza's words. She glanced at Michelle, who only looked as terrified as she felt.

"Nope. I could never get rid of you. You're mine. Partly, anyways, since you also belong to Humps."

"You love me, though, right?" She looked up at him innocently.

"Yeah," Stratman answered. "I've always thought you were a gorgeous girl with lots of potential, you still are." He slapped her butt. "Let's go into the shower, you and me, okay? Don't slip."

"Okay."

After they exited the room, Herrmann punched Alana and she fell face down from the shock of being hit. She started crying from agony while Humps and Herrmann both laughed maniacally. She had gotten yet another nosebleed, so Humps called for Andy to get her a bandage.

When all the girls with the exception of Maritza were alone and sitting down, Alana leaned forward and faced them, since she was on one of the ends and could see everyone that way. "You know that's Stockholm Syndrome, right? What Maritza has with Stratman. Flaca, you have it, too. He is a terrible person, though...he's an adult having sex with a minor! That makes him a pedophile."

Pidge scoffed. "They don't got whatever you just said. They're in love with him, and he worships the ground they walk on. You got a crush on him too, dumbass. We can all see it."

"Yeah, and he's only eighteen. You just jealous that he thinks me and Mari are special," Flaca put in. "He'll let us out very soon, he told us. It's just that our romance will have to be private until we turn eighteen. The first time we each had sex with him, he took care of us after. It was painful and bloody, but Vee taught us it's supposed to be like that."

"No, it isn't. I took Sex Ed. Making love is supposed to be romantic and slow, but intense and powerful, too. You're not supposed to hurt your partner so badly that you break their pelvic bone or cause vaginal tearing."

"He don't harm a hair on our heads!" Flaca snapped.

"Why does he call you by the wrong names?" Alana wanted to know. "Isn't it degrading?"

"It's just a fun thing they all started to do. I don't think it's a big deal." Flaca shrugged. "Look, Biff could be a lot worse! He could show us our mamas missing us on the television, he could slam our faces into the floor, he could shove a gun up our vaginas, but he don't do none of that! Only the rest of them do. They ugly as shit, too, but not Biff." Flaca sighs and looks up at the ceiling with a dreamy expression on her face. "You know, on Mari's eleventh birthday, he let us both eat chocolate cake off of his naked chest and his dick? There was frosting, too...oh, it was the first dessert we'd had in such a long time. He always spoils us, hon. I ain't sorry we're his favorites."

"Damn, you don't gotta brag! Now I'm hungry for cake," Michelle stated.

"Yeah, me too, with ice cream and rainbow sprinkles..." Alana murmured wistfully.

"It sounds disgusting that you ate off a grown man...that was a bit too much information. He should be in prison, along with the rest of 'em," Pidge pointed out.

"I want him to know how it feels to shit and piss in a bucket and get whipped and beaten every day," Ouija hissed and then inhaled and exhaled sharply. "He only treats you two nice...because you're flawless."

"Hello, there," Stratman greeted them as he placed Maritza down on the floor next to Flaca and then locked her wrists together and bound her ankles. The evidence of further abuse around Maritza's torso disturbed Alana. "Goodbye, my exotic beauties."

"See you later, Biff," Maritza told him and then giggled when he pecked her cheek. She squirmed uncomfortably and blushed with what was probably humiliation when he rubbed a very private area of her body. "Oh my god, that was so good!" she exclaimed when he clomped up the stairs and shut the door. "I got a...what do you call those again? That feeling like you just wanna moan...and something tightens inside you and then bursts?"

"Orgasm?" Alana supplied.

"Yeah. Yo, don't tell him I told y'all, but he gonna do a strip show for us!" Maritza squealed. "Won't that be fun?"

Alana plastered on a fake smile. "Mm-hm." She really wished he wasn't so good looking, so she could fully hate him as much as the others.

"Oooh...I...I think this baby needs to get outta me now..." Ouija said in a strained voice, but trailed off. After positioning herself into a squat, she clutched her swollen stomach that had grown nearly hard as stone with the contraction as she leaned forward and tried to breathe through it. That's when Alana noticed just how pregnant Ouija really was. She was so scared for the other girl, and Ouija appeared to be just as frightened. After stripping her of her underwear, their cruel doctor had left the room when her contractions started in the afternoon, but eight hours later, the baby seemed ready to come out.

The small screams and whimpers caused by her labor pains echoed through the freezing and dusty basement. Pidge and Michelle were on either side of her, and they held each of her hands as best they could. She spread her knees as far apart as she could, Michelle and Pidge could only stroke Ouija's hair while everyone encouraged her to push. She was sobbing as she worked at moving the baby out of her womb where he or she was safe and warm, and into their cold, dark world. Alana felt sorry for Ouija and her poor kid, who would have to grow up in this type of environment. Pidge reached under Ouija's legs to catch the baby as it slowly came out, and a piercing cry filled the space.

Ouija relaxed immediately, although she was breathing heavily and trembling all over. She tried to reach for her son with both hands, but she couldn't. Instead, she fell forward on shaky legs and landed on her forearms and knees before laying down completely. "At least the hard part is over..." she murmured. When Pidge put him in the new, young mother's arms, Ouija held him close and brushed her fingers over him while kissing the top of his bloody head. "I wish I had a blanket to wrap him up in and a nurse could clean him off in the first place!"

"We're proud of you, chica," Pidge said, and Ouija managed a smile.

"What you gonna call him?" Michelle wonders aloud.

Ouija looks down at her child with love in her eyes. "Miguel...after the angel closest to God. He's my little angel. He's also a miracle baby, since he survived so many blows to my stomach for nine months."

"Aw, what a precious name!" Maritza coos.

"Yo, little dude, don't worry, we'll take lotsa care of you," Flaca says while beaming at the infant.

"Yeah, we'll teach you so much stuff," Alana chimes in.

"It looks and sounds like a tiny demon baby!" Nobody even noticed Humps come in until he spoke his nasty words. "I'll wash the devil spawn and get it out of here. You wouldn't be able to hold it or act like a real mother anyway."

"No, don't take my baby!" Ouija shrieked and pounded her fists on the floor, making the chains clang as they hit the wood. Humps ignored her as he picked up Miguel with a baby blanket. "Please don't...I wanna hold him...he needs me..."

"He'll be with me, his father, and live a normal life away from you," Humps insisted and marched up the steps.

"No!" Ouija wailed and then broke off into more sobs of anguish. She was shaking so much as she twisted herself around to face her rapist. "Miguel!" She put her hand over her mouth and whimpered softly. "Mijito..."

"Be quiet or I'll sacrifice him over a fire pit and cook him for your breakfast tomorrow!" Humps threatened her, and Maritza squeaked in fear for the girl. "You've been here for an entire decade, or ten years now! That's more than enough time for you to learn that whining and bawling doesn't get you what you want! I am not making this young man stay here, we have no use for him! Boys don't grow up to be prostitutes. This guy will be a wrestling or football champ in twenty years, lemme tell ya. He doesn't need you for that, he needs me. I won't hear your protests. I appreciate that you gave me a son rather than a daughter."

Ouija pressed her lips together and her chin quivered as he continued going upstairs. She opted for crying silently, and Pidge and Michelle held her hands again. Alana teared up for the girl and she could see Flaca doing the same. Maritza rested her head on Flaca's shoulder and Flaca kissed Maritza's temple with much tenderness.

"It might be okay soon, mama," Maritza soothed Ouija. "I think I caused the maid to worry about me...so for all we know, she could be working on getting me out, which means the rest of you will also be rescued!"

"We've thought that about every brainwashed cook that has been asked to work here! Nothin' changes," Michelle said glumly.

"Nah, she seemed different! She talked to me...even asked if I could speak Spanish. I was too scared to risk doin' it, though...Humps was nearby. Plus, she got fired almost right away, so they knew she suspected something was wrong after meeting me. That never happened before."

"She'd need solid proof, and she got none," Ouija muttered. "My baby is gone forever and we're gonna be stuck here for the rest of our lives. Over a decade, and I'm still in this dump. It feels like a permanent situation, so just stop dreaming. Por favor."

"Yeah, it's pointless to conjure up the most unlikely situations in y'all's minds," Pidge added. "You bitches been in here four and six years, but for me and Ouija, it's been eight and ten years since we last saw the sun. Y'all remember what that was like? We don't."

"Mm-hm, but dreams is all we got," Flaca pointed out. "Sometimes they come true."

"One can only hope and pray," Alana agreed.


After Red and Aleida finished talking, they hung up and Red received a gross text from Kubra with a picture of a naked woman's body attached.

Suck those titties and cum in her cunt hard, she's a jiggly one!

Red was immediately repulsed. I think you sent this to the wrong number...I don't watch porn...

Sorry haha it was for a friend

She was about to delete the text until she took a closer look at the photo. It showed the lady from the chest down to her legs and there was a bit of black hair with blue streaks hanging down off her shoulders, but she was white instead of Mexican. She had bruises, cuts, and blood all over her and there were handcuffs around her ankles. Then, Red knew this poor woman was being abused, along with the girl. "God damn it, he's holding two people captive?" she asked herself. Her eyes widened upon seeing the back of someone else in the lower right-hand corner with blonde, frizzy hair. "Syn svin'i!" she hisses in her native language. "Three now?"

son of a pig fucker

She typed Kubra's name into the Google search engine again and then found a result for his MySpace page. He had an account, but it was set to private. Red created a fake profile, called herself Ronnie Banks, and made the Confederate flag be her profile picture. She went to his account again and added him and a bunch of other random disgusting men and pretty women in bikinis as friends. She couldn't wait for him to accept her request.

Red busied herself by buying the ricin and making the poisonous pie with Aleida at the Reznikov home as soon as the younger woman showed up at her house around nine. Aleida must have told Leon about the lethal pie. Red filled Aleida in on her plan to pose as a sleazebag and talk about black market trades with Kubra.


Charles decided he would check up on Diane each night, just to make sure she was safe. He drove to the house on his way home from work and rang the doorbell. Aleida answered the door.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Hey Aleida, where's Diane? The house is quiet, which makes me worried."

"Oh, she just went out with Gloria to her bodega with the kids. Gloria's the manager there."

A Jeep drove up to the manor and parked itself behind Charles', and he smiled when he saw Diane. The women got out of the car, took the children out from the backseat, locked the doors, and walked up the front steps. Benny and Christina scampered upstairs while giggling.

"Charles, hi," Diane said. "You look relieved." She tried to hide her smile, but failed. She pursed her lips, and he was reminded of how cute she looked when she did that.

"I'm just glad things are back to normal, for you, anyway." Not really for him and Diane, or her daughter.

Her smile faded and she flinched at his words. "Things aren't normal, because my baby is missing, I jump every time there's a noise, I have horrifying flashbacks, I'm afraid of men I don't know-in fact, I hate them-and I don't feel like myself no more. Though it's true that I'm with my sisters again, a large piece of my heart is gone because Alex is not here! I'm not the Diane Vause that you knew in high school. You can't look after me any longer, it's not your job. My girls are with me. All I need now is Alex, and then I'd be able to say I'm fine." She walked past him and up the steps with a scowl on her face.

Gloria and Aleida sighed sadly. Charles frowned and shook his head.

"Did I say something, or do something?" Charles was puzzled. Women can be so confusing. "I mean, she flashed her pearly whites at me when she saw me. It was for a split second, but it was there."

"It could be that you said her life was back to normal. Yes, the Diane that we've always known is still here, but she's not the same as she was nine years ago. She's gone from being a strong, stubborn, sassy woman, to a lady who's afraid of her own shadow. She's basically a grieving mother, too, don't forget. She needs protection and crumbles into your arms if you give it to her, and she only feels safe with her own gender, which means that the kidnapper was obviously male." Gloria let him know. "Charles, she needs to testify. Whatever happened to her had to have been beyond a beating. You said she was locked in a basement with bruises and scrapes, well imagine what nine years of that must have been like. I can't bear to think of her in that situation. If she gives her statement, this guy will be behind bars for life...I hope."

"You girls mind if I come over and tell her that myself? The daylight might also calm her. It's dark and she wasn't expecting me, so that may be another reason she didn't feel comfortable talking to me."

"Sure, come over tomorrow. Good night," Aleida said, and the sisters closed the door behind them. He shuffled back to his car and wished that he'd never moved anywhere away from Diane. He also thought that if she ran after him and begged him not to leave, he would've changed his mind and stayed, anything for her. Then this whole thing would have never happened in the first place. They'd be married now with kids.


"Are you serious right now?" Gloria asked.

Aleida nodded. "We ain't sure this'll work...Red's still waiting to hear back from Kubra."

"I hope she does." Gloria sighs and shakes her head sadly. "God, three of 'em...I can't imagine, and one's a child! Poor baby..."

"Yeah, I know."

"Did you hear anything like thumping or crying in other parts of the house?"

"Nah, I thought Maritza was the only one there. It must be soundproof in the basement..."

"I'm shocked they made you leave...I thought they would've killed you if you suspected something amiss, or at the very least, kidnapped you, too."

"Leon would've started an investigation, and they knew that, since they could see how protective he was of me when they met him." Aleida smirked. "If everything goes our way, they gonna be so trapped! I bet they know they're fucked, too."

Gloria shrugged. "I ain't sure about that, them being aware they're in trouble. Assholes like them...they think we hella stupid. We're just tits and ass to 'em. They probably assumed they got away with it and it was just a close call. Clueless mothafuckas..."

"Oh yeah...I mean, that's good if they are, since they could pack up and move to another country."

"Yep..."


Diane regretted her choice to let go of Charles the day he left for Albany. Ashamed of herself and lonely, she let herself get into one bad relationship after another until she hit rock bottom. After having a one-night stand with Lee Burley, she fell pregnant and vowed to turn herself around so she could care for her baby girl properly. She'd turned down dates and her co-worker Brenda called her picky, so to make her stop, she decided to accept one man's proposal, Bill Chapman's, when Alex was two. When he dumped her, she was heavily romanced by his friend Lee Dixon, and they eloped. She snuck out of her bedroom window and went to Las Vegas with him. It was by far the biggest mistake she'd ever made, apart from not holding onto Charles. She wanted danger and Charles was too bland for her, or so she thought at the time. Now look at where that had gotten her.

She had not only ruined a part of her own life, but she'd destroyed her baby girl's entire existence. If not for Lee, or her stupidity, Alex would've been perfectly safe. She replayed the night she and Alex were separated over and over in her head until it became a blur.

"Why did you want me to bring my daughter?" Diane asked almost silently as Lee pulled her along to her car. Alex was tired, confused, and weeping a little against Diane's shoulder. She had her arms around Diane's neck and her legs around Diane's waist. Her child was also half asleep on her shoulder and she was holding the tiny girl with both arms, even though Lee was practically dragging her. She could barely keep up with his rapid pace. She was shocked Alex wasn't fully alert during all the jostling around. "I don't wanna wake her...and I didn't know we were eloping tonight. I thought it was tomorrow..."

"Nope! Surprise, pet." He grinned at her and she nodded to herself with a smile.

"What about Alex? I would've prepared her for my leaving on a special short trip and had her stay with the girls. She needs her rest...after midnight is too late to be up for such a little one like her. She's barely three...her birthday's comin' up soon."

"She doesn't seem to be moving or stirring. I thought she'd wanna watch her momma and stepdad get married!"

"I think she's closer to her uncle figure Leon than you, to be honest...she's been around him a lot longer. It'll take her lotsa time to get used to you...we've been dating not even half a year!"

Lee frowned. "Well, no wonder, she barely knows me since you never bring her over, nor do you invite me over when it's just you and her in the house!"

"I didn't think things would turn out to be serious between us...but now that they are, my friends will just have to accept us and I'm sure Alex will think you're awesome." As they got closer to Lee's car, an older guy lumbered out of the passenger's side door and slammed it shut. "Who is that?" Diane whispered.

"My good buddy, he's the best man. Too bad you don't have a maid of honor."

It would be Gloria, if she wasn't so grossed out by you, Diane thought to herself. "Oh."

In an instant, the newcomer snatched Alex away from Diane and dumped her over his large shoulders like she was a sack of potatoes. She tried to grab her little girl back, but Lee put his huge arm out in front of her and let the asshole get away. She tried to push past her boyfriend and duck under his arm and run, but it was no use. He was too strong and he had her in an iron tight grip. "Allie!" she screamed as her heart beat a mile a minute and her stomach lurched. She stomped on the pavement a few times. "Allie! Let me go, Lee!" She smacked his arm, clawed at his throat, kicked his shin, and she attempted getting him in the groin too, but he refused to release her. "Please give me back my baby, I'll do anything! Alex! Al!

"Mommy!" Alex shrieked in the distance, waking up fully at last. Both mother and daughter started screaming for each other at the same time. She reached for Diane and then beat her fists against her abductor's back. "I want my mommy!" Alex's wailing broke Diane's heart to smithereens. "Where's Mommy?!"

"I'm right here, baby. I'm right here. Alex!" Diane covered her mouth and sobbed as the distance between them grew and Alex's cries became quieter. "Oh god, Alex...Lee, why aren't you doin' shit? Why wont you let me get to her? He's takin' her to who the fuck knows where! He ain't the best man, is he?"

Lee snickered as he brought Diane to his car and opened the trunk to reveal a blonde wig and sunglasses. "No, you naive cunt. Just some dude I met on the dark web. Your brat looks damn good takin' a bath." Diane gasped in horror. "So do you, don't be jealous."

She went into the bathroom and stripped herself. She leaned closer to her reflection in the mirror and rested her hands on the cracked drywall on either side of it. Her makeup she used for cover-up was starting to wear off.

Scars marked up her flesh, and she could really feel her bones through her skin. A reddish-purple bruise was on her cheek where he'd slapped her days before. She looked tired, and she was. She lifted her bangs and smoothed them back so they would tangle into the rest of her coarse hair.

Diane sat down on the toilet and she examined herself. She'd felt an immense stabbing in her lower area ever since she was in the basement, but she didn't want to think about it, so she pushed it to the back of her mind until it hurt too much and she couldn't do that anymore. There were little bite marks there, human bite marks. She wondered how such a tender and tiny area could have that many wounds. She couldn't bear to look at herself any longer, so she got back up and prepared to bathe herself. She'd do it until she was clean.

Twelve. Alex was now almost twelve years old, if she were still alive in the world.

She yawned and then stepped into the shower. She turned it on and immediately cowered in the corner when she felt the burning water on her flesh. It reminded her of the time he threw boiling water on her for not cooking enough for him and his friends. She turned the knob slightly and tested the water. It was much too cold, but at least it soothed her wounds. She washed herself quickly until she started trembling. She turned off the water and then carefully patted herself dry. Some of her injuries were fresh and too sore to handle the softest of towels. She got herself dressed in her light pink nightgown and tiptoed to bed.

She used to love taking a bath because it calmed her, but now, all it did was give her nightmares, even when she wasn't sleeping.

The feeling was suffocating, being immersed in the hot, sudsy waters. She couldn't even tell she was crying, since the water blended with her tears. She swallowed gallons and it hurt to cough. Her heart was slowing and she felt like she was on fire, the way his nails dug into her skin and his foot crushed hard on her throat. The life was escaping her with each second. If Alex was in heaven, at least Diane could reunite with her.

She jumped and sat boltright up in her bed. She gasped shakily while she pressed her fingers to her temple. Her heartbeat was pounding way too fast for her liking. She wiped her tears away, pushed her hair back from her dampened face, and fell back onto her pillow. She couldn't have such scary dreams like these anymore; she didn't want to wake up her sisters or make the kids cry with her screaming. Besides, she needed to focus on looking for her daughter.

She only had one more nightmare after that-one where Lee had thrown her down the stairs so she rolled over and over again- and she awoke with a loud and painful thump. She opened her eyes abruptly and checked her surroundings. She found herself on the floor with the sheets tangled around her limbs and when Gloria and Aleida ran in with alarmed expressions on their faces, she blushed from embarrassment.

"Fell out of bed...tossing and turning too much, I guess," she muttered. "I'm okay."

The women helped her up immediately and got her back into bed. She groaned as her ears rung from the bang her body had made on her hardwood floor. She was a bit dizzy, and her girls must have noticed because they were holding up two fingers and asking her how many fingers they were showing her. She said the correct amount, and they were pleased to know she really was okay. They bid her another goodnight and then all was quiet.

Thank you for reading and reviewing, Guest, A Star In My Universe, Johanna002 and VeraRose19!