“Ha, so you can swim? I remembered when
you did the background check, you can’t
swim!”
The two men punched her a few more times.
“I see you’re still in pain!”
Ashley sounded desperate.
“I’m not lying! They said I’m pretty and that
videos of me will attract people to go deep
—
sea diving. They’ll give me twenty percent of
the money.”
“I already got my friend to agree. She’ll go in
the water soon. She has money and good
credit, so she can get a lot of loans. I’ll get at
least two hundred thousand dollars!”
“I can pay you back!”
The two men sneered. Ashley looked terrified.
Then, they patted her face.
“We’ll give you one more chance. But we’re
not waiting. If you don’t get us two hundred
thousand dollars tomorrow, well, your parents
are here. They must have some money saved
up.”
<
Then, they ripped her clothes and took photos
of her.
“Someone with your looks could marry a rich
guy, but think about what’ll happen if this
video gets out.”
Ashley curled up in a ball and sent someone a
message.
Then, Liam came to pick her up.
My phone rang.
“Rory, the instructor said tomorrow’s a good
day. We might see the fish tornado. Can we
go diving tomorrow?”
I agreed right away. I knew she wasn’t going
back to the hotel. I told her I’d see her
く
Liam wouldn’t see me tomorrow, and those
loan sharks wouldn’t get their money.
It was going to be interesting.
The next day, I put my phone on airplane
mode and listened to the monitor.
Ashley went from being confident to being
frantic when she couldn’t reach me.
She even called my parents, but I’d sent them
off to go deep sea fishing.
When no one answered, Liam glared at her
and told her to wait. Then, he went to talk to
other customers.
As night fell, the two men grabbed Ashley and
She started screaming and begged, saying it
was all a misunderstanding.
The two men didn’t give her a chance to
explain.
“Set up your phone. We’re gonna have some
fun, then we’re sending this girl overseas.”
Ashley tried to act calm and snuggled up to
him.
“I know my friend has a lot of money. She
told me she saved up fifty thousand dollars.
Can I call her?”
The two men sneered. “Why would your friend
lend you money?”
<
Ashley jumped at the chance. “I know her
phone password. You can hold her down
while I transfer the money. Then, the three of
us can have some fun together.”
The two men looked skeptical and weren’t
going to give her a chance.
I took my phone off airplane mode and called
Ashley.
“Ashley, isn’t our snorkeling trip at nine
tonight? Why are you calling me so early?”
Ashley’s face twisted. “Rory, are you deaf? I said nine in the morning!”
The man grabbed Ashley’s hair when she got
upset.
く
She cowered.
“Oh, tonight works too. It’s even better at
night. Just hurry over.”
“Oh, and can you stop by at the pharmacy
and buy two boxes, it’s fun to fill those with
water and then throw them.”
Sure, I’ll ask my mother to come buy it for
you.
I wanted to see if those loan sharks would let
her trick them again.
I had a good job and friends. I wasn’t going to
ruin my life for Ashley.
If I wanted to get revenge, I had to use
someone else’s hands.
<
I hung up, told my parents, and knocked on
Ashley’s parents‘ door.
“Mrs. Bob, Ashley called me, and she sounded
weird. And she told me to buy those. She
hasn’t been back in a day. Is she in danger?”
“Has she called you?”
Bob had hit her last night, but he was worried
she might be in trouble. He tried calling her,
but she didn’t answer.
