No Longer Afraid (Complete)

One Year earlier: William’s POV

          William sat bitterly in his cell during light’s out, listening to the loud snoring of his cellmate. He rubbed his hands together so hard that his knuckles were white. “How could you do this to me, Sadie? I messed up. I know that but prison? Did what we have mean nothing to you that you would fight for us? “, he thought to himself. He was sentenced to nine years in prison. He had served most of his nine year sentence, with just only a few months left in his sentence to go. He had lost everything due to his conviction. His family disowned him, he was no longer welcomed by his friends, and he didn’t have a dime to his name. Even when he’s released, he won’t have anything to go back to. He sighed and fell back on his rickety bed. He remembered back to the night he had r***d Sadie. He remembered the tears in her eyes, her blood-curdling screams, and the way she left afterward. She didn’t even look at him. She just limped away in her torn and tattered dress. He squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was high and drunk that night but he remembered everything. He made the conscious decision to hurt her because he was angry with her for not doing what he wanted. “I need to make this right. I need to show her that I still love her.”, he thought.

          After being released for two weeks, William was enrolled in a program for ex-convicts called Chains to Freedom. This program gave convicts jobs working in soup kitchens, cleaning up highway trash, and enrolling them in college programs on their campus. He had decided to enroll in business classes at night while working in the soup kitchens in the morning. He was given room and board in exchange for his work and enrollment in college courses. He was doing well but everything changed for him when he met Michael. Michael had gone to prison for human and drug trafficking. Just like William, he was enrolled in the Chains to Freedom program. The difference between the two, however, was that Michael was buying time. He was there simply to complete the required program and move on to what he did best, the very thing that landed him in prison.

          One night after class, Michael was hanging out with William in his room. “Hey, Will. What do you have planned after you finish this wack program?”, he asked as he lit a cigarette. William looked out the window of his tiny room and immediately thought of Sadie. “I’m going to show my girl that I love her and give her a better life. It’s the least I could after what I had done to her.”, he said softly. Michael nodded as he took a drag of his cigarette. “What did you do to her?”, he asked as he exhaled the smoke. William sighed and looked down at his hands. “I r***d her.”, he said. Michael froze in place, staring at William for a minute before patting his cigarette off into the ashtray. “You sure she’ll take you back after that, bro?”, he asked. William looked over at him with a serious look. “She will. I love her and I know she still loves me. I just need to show her I’ve changed and then, she’ll take me back.”, he said. Michael nodded again. “How are you going to show that?”, Michael asked. William looked down at his hands. “I don’t know. I need to find a good paying job so I can buy her whatever she wants and give her the world, ya know what I mean?”, he asked Michael. “I do.”, Michael said with a smile. “Love is a beautiful thing but it’s a very dangerous thing, my man. You sure you’re willing to do whatever it takes to get this girl back?”, Michael asked.

          William nodded fervently. “I’d sell my soul to the devil himself if I had to.”, William said in a painstricken voice. Michael grinned slyly as he took a long drag from his cigarette. “Then join me and my crew. Everything is already set for us when we get out of here.”, he said excitedly. William frowned. “What will we be doing?”, William asked. Michael smiled brightly. “Making millions of dollars a week just to start! One of my buddy’s old man has passed away right? So, by default he inherited his father’s business. We’ll be the managers of the business, making sure that the money goes where it should without any fuss. So, what do you say? Ready to make some real money?”, Michael asked. William felt a huge smile spread across his lips. There was no way that Sadie would refuse him once she sees how successful he is.

          As promises, William was made the manager of this unknown company. He worked to make sure that the money went where it should, paying close attention to spreadsheets, deposit schedules, and the nature of the accounts in which the money was deposited. One day, William decided to visit Michael. He got dressed in his tailor made suit, left his three-story victorian mansion, and got into his 2019 Bugatti Chiron. Life was good for William. He wanted and needed for nothing and in his mind, soon Sadie wouldn’t either. He drove over to Michael estate and requested an audience with him. William was welcomed like family into his home. When William came to Michael’s study, led by his butler, William was floored by what he saw. Multiple young women, naked with chains and dog collars around their necks. Tears were streaming down their cheeks and some were grimacing in pain while piled up in a fetal position in the corners of the room. “Hey Will! Just in time.”, he said as he pushes a weak woman off his lap. He quickly pulled up his pants, washed his hands, and shook William’s hand. “What-What’s going on here?”, William asked, feeling his throat go dry. Michael looked around the room as if he didn’t understand what he was talking about. “Oh, this. This is nothing, just some mid-week exercise.”, he said with a wink. “Who are these girls? Why are they wearing collars?”, he asked. Michael smiled as he yanked one of the young women by the chain that was hooked to her collar. She yelped and grabbed at the collar as Michael, pulled her to her feet. He cupped her jaw in his hand and kissed her cheek. The young woman sobbed softly in his grip. “It’s all part of the fun.”, Michael said, “Here, you can have this one. She hasn’t been broken in yet.” Michael dragged the young girl over to William. William looked down at her and saw terror in her eyes. All of a sudden, he remembered Sadie. He knew this look all too well. “No, Michael. You know Sadie is the only girl for me. Besides, I don’t think you should keep these women here like this.”, William said politely.