I slowly direct my gaze towards the basement door when it bursts open. I stare and prepare to shoot venom at whoever enters, but I won't lie and say I'm not relieved to realize Julio is not alone.

My gaze fades and I half-open my lips as Naomi stumbles down the stairs with Julio at her back. Reaching the basement, he pushes her forward, and our gazes meet as she lifts her head. The fear that had previously shone in her eyes has transformed into fierce hatred. Good. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

''Hurry up," Julio whispers, nudging her again. For the other one.

She crawls over to where I'm sitting on the floor and plops down next to me without resistance. From the bruise on her jaw, I'd say it's been beaten off. For now.

I'm fastened to the wall with a rusty iron clamp around my neck, and there's a row of similar contraptions protruding from the wall. Julio secures Naomi's clamp, then straightens up and steps back.

''In case you haven't figured it out yet, fighting is futile. Neither one of you will leave this basement until you agree to behave yourselves.''

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Naomi scoffs. I'd rather die down here than be raped up there.

Julio chuckles, and I try not to shudder at the twinkle in his eye. I keep my gaze fixed on him, waiting for what I already know is coming.

‘’If you say so.’’ -Julio shrugs and walks over to the hose he carelessly threw on the ground the last time I saw him. He removes the nozzle from it and drags it to stand in front of us.

"Hold your breath," I warn Naomi, closing my eyes.

Water gushes out of the hose and splashes me, but this time the stream isn't aimed at me. Naomi screams and I open my eyes and try to look at her. I can't move my head much because my skin is raw from the restraint.

She's trying to move her head away from the spray, and I flinch, knowing from experience that she's tearing the skin off her neck in the process.

"Freeze!", I shout above the downpour. Julio rewards me with a splash of water in my face, so I close my eyes, hold my breath, and wait for it to stop.

This goes on for a few more minutes, his cruel game directed mainly at Naomi, until finally the water is cut off. He laughs slyly as he drags the hose back to where it was and tosses it.

Icy water drips from my hair and slides down my body, and my shoulders convulse as I try to catch my breath. My teeth chatter and I stare straight ahead, refusing to look at Julio as he leaves. As soon as the door slams shut, I try to turn to Naomi, but give up when my neck practically screams in pain.

Instead, I reach out to her, my hand finding hers and squeezing it as I wait for her sobs to stop.

"Fuck those guys," she says, her voice cracking.

I turn my gaze toward the door. "Especially Julio."

Naomi snorts. "Julio's just an idiot. Lucian did it."

The image of Lucian comes back to my mind and anger rips through me. After spitting in his face, I wasn't so calm anymore. He dragged me back to the mansion grabbing me by the hair and then asked Julio to take me to the basement. I haven't seen him since.

I grit my teeth to stop the shaking and, after a minute, I speak again. "You met him in a chat room, right?"

Naomi sighs. "Yes. I guess you did too, didn't you?"

"He never told me his name, but yes, I did. He pretended to be a lonely man taking care of his paralyzed wife.

Naomi laughs dryly. "He went out of his way to lie to you."

''What makes you say that?''

Her legs twitch as she searches for a more comfortable position. He's going to be disappointed. I've been looking for comfort since I arrived. There isn't.

''It took her a while to tell me her name, but she did mention the island. Obviously, not everything it entailed, but he said he lived on one and that people here liked kinky things. He offered to pay me to come, and I almost did, but I told him I couldn't leave my son. The page where I met him... It was... It was through an ad I placed at a very bad time in my life. I had just lost custody of my son and I desperately needed money. It was the same with Anna. He told her that he wanted her here to spoil her Pretty Woman style, that he loved her and a bunch of bullshit that he still tries to make her believe. Most of the others are just as delusional.''

‘’And the rest?’’ I ask with my stomach churning.

''Yes. There are about ten other women up there who share the same quarters. Some of them came to the island of their own free will because they thought they were coming to be with Lucian. Two were brought here a couple of weeks ago, and they're much more cautious than the others, but even they act like they've already accepted him.''

''What is this exactly? ''She told me she was going to be a mansion prostitute. What does that mean?''

''It means you're supposed to sleep with the people who come here until you're completely brainwashed, and then I think they sell you to someone and you go live with them. I'm not really sure, though. The woman I spoke to seemed thrilled that a "master" coming to get her would soon choose her. That's the gist of what I got. Like I said on the boat, we have no escape.''

‘’No, no we don't.’’ I swallow, trying to convince myself that I'm not lying. There must be a way off this island.

‘’There isn't. Believe me.’’

‘’You've only been here a few hours, Naomi. You can't know that.’’

There's a pause, and tension fills the basement like a dense fog. I move, the mental discomfort worse than anything physical at this moment. My limbs went numb against the concrete floor long ago.

"How long do you think we've been here?" asks Naomi, and the concern in her voice makes me even more nervous.

‘’I don't know. A while.’’ I try to count how many times I've fallen asleep out of boredom or exhaustion, but I can't remember.

"Natasha... We arrived here three days ago."