“You little b***h,” she snapped. “You’ve attacked one of my best customers.”
Aurelia hit Gretel across the face, a blow as hard as any of those she had received from her would-be rapist. Gretel began to cry.
“Did you think I took you in out of the kindness of my heart?” Aurelia shouted. “I’ll feed and clothe you just so long as you earn your keep. But you’ve got to learn that resistance is futile. The men who come here want only one thing, and you’re going to give it to them.”
“I won’t,” Gretel said. She felt the courage of the desperate. She would fight.
“We’ll see about that,” Aurelia said menacingly. “I’ll send someone up to see you who can be most persuasive. Then we’ll see what you will and won’t do.”
With that she walked out, and once more Gretel heard the key turn. She fell bac
