Chapter Three: Chains Of Betrayal
770 Words
Isabelle’s POV
The silence didn’t last.
It never does.
The moment the cell door opened, I knew something was wrong.
“This batch would sell well,” one of them muttered.
“Especially that one,” another said, glancing at me.
I frowned.
What money were they talking about?
“Ooh, I like this one,” another said, dragging a young girl forward. Chains clinked around her wrists as she struggled.
How did she even end up here?
“Leave me alone!” she cried, but he didn’t listen.
“Hey!” I yelled.
“Where are you taking her?”
They ignored me.
“Leave her alone!” I shouted, yanking at the bars of my cell.
They dragged her away.
Moments later, her screams echoed through the dungeon—raw, desperate, filled with fear.
The men laughed.
Low. Cruel.
Like animals.
I turned away, my stomach twisting.
It was disgusting.
Soon after, they dragged her back—half-lifeless, still bound in chains.
I stared, my chest tightening.
What kind of cruelty was this?
One of them turned toward me.
Before I could react, he yanked my chains and dragged me out of the cell.
But that was his worst mistake.
“Come on, move it!” he yelled at me.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked.
“Shut up,” he replied coldly.
“Matthew, bring the others. We need to sail before noon,” he ordered.
I froze at what I saw next.
About fifty people—bound in chains.
Young girls, women, men… it was horrific.
They looked like they hadn’t bathed… or even eaten.
Worst of all—
They were my people.
“Where are you taking us?” I asked, staring straight at the man who seemed to be in charge.
“I said shut up,” he snapped.
I looked around at the others, taking in the fear etched on their faces.
The trembling.
The silence.
The hopelessness.
Then it clicked.
This wasn’t a prison.
It was a market.
“Replace this one. It looks worthless,” the man said, pointing at a woman.
She was dragged away immediately.
No hesitation.
No mercy.
They dragged us out of the dungeon, toward a river nearby.
“Clean them up,” the man ordered.
I stared at him, disgust rising in my chest.
At that moment, everything about him—everything about this place—made me sick.
We were forced into the shallow water, still bound in chains.
We were stripped.
Their eyes lingered far too long.
“I like this one,” the one they called Matthew said, staring at me.
We were thrown rags to wear, then shoved onto a boat.
All the while, one thing echoed in my mind—
I put my people in this mess.
And I would get them out.
Dead or alive.
Around me, people cried, clutching onto each other, their bodies shaking with fear.
What was this madness?
I leaned closer to the girl—the one they had taken earlier.
“How long has this been going on?” I asked quietly.
She hesitated.
“Of what use is it telling you?” she said bitterly. Then her voice rose.
“After all, you stood by him. You supported him. You handed us over to him… you did this to us!”
Her words hit me harder than any blow.
I looked at her properly.
She was barely seventeen.
Pain.
Hopelessness.
Grief.
All written clearly in her eyes.
“My papa died when I was three,” she began, her voice trembling.
“They took my mama… days later, I found her body near the desert. I buried her myself.”
My chest tightened.
“All four of my siblings were taken. The trade separated us…” she broke down into tears.
“I still feel like they’re out there… alive,” she whispered.
“I hope so.”
She couldn’t cry.
“I will get you out of this mess,” I promised.
“How?” she asked.
“Once we sail across this river, there’s no returning. Some of us might not even make it to the shore,” she said, her voice trembling.
“And even if we do… we’ll live as slaves.”
“Like animals.”
She paused.
“As their sluts.”
I looked away.
They didn’t deserve this.
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms.
Ryan didn’t just betray me.
He destroyed lives.
And now…
I’ll make sure he suffers until his very last breath.
And this time…
I won’t lose.
.
- Writer
