When the were both seated and comfortable, with plates of mouthwatering cookies and tea Katherine finally spoke. "Mama Esmeralda said you knew my mother best?" She asked.

The woman smiled softly, nodding as she did. "I did, I held you first when you came into the world Katherine. You're mother would be proud of the woman you've become." She said.

​​

Katherine looked at Devon then back at the lady. "What do you mean? Mama Esmeralda said my mother came to the orphanage with me."

"She did didn't she? She came to that orphanage because I told her to."

Katherine shook her head, "I don't understand. Did you know my mother before the orphanage?"

She nodded slowly.

"Why does Mama Esmeralda not know? Were you also a..." she trailed off.

"A whore?" She finished "I wasn't" she shook her head. "But that was a time of my life I wasn't proud of." She replied.

Looking to her without words they both waited for her to continue. "I was a midwife. I helped the girls put to bed when they were pregnant and it was too late to abort the baby. I was under orders to kill the children immediately there were born, because which man wants a child from a whore?" She explained.

Suddenly Katherine demeanor changed, noticing it she immediately calmed Katherine. "I didn't kill any child, I couldn't. But all the mothers thought I did, so I was always resented and hated by all the girls. Until your mother was brought in, she didn't know who I was or why I was treated like the villain. She was kind, pure and innocent. And she was the first person in a while that treated me like a human being."

"What do you mean brought in?" Katherine asked.

"Which girl of your mother's background would ever want to be a whore? Katherine I understand the women of the orphanage had a different idea of your mother but she didn't choose this life. No girl in that place did."

"So she was... kidnapped?" She whispered silently. The lady nodded.

"She was scared and she had every right to be, and she was so innocent. I had to help her, the first time she was to be with a person she fainted out of panic and fear. It caused a lot of commotion, she was beaten half to death." The woman said. "As much as we all tried to encourage her to either just go through it or kill herself she was insistent on getting out of there alive and with minimal damage. For such a kind soul she was very determined. So I advised her to catch the eye of one of our VIP customers. He was known for excluding the women he saw for that period of time, till he got tired of them. At least for that time she wouldn't have to be with multiple men."

Katherine swallowed as she tried to bite back the tears that welled, she didn't even know what to feel. For the first time she began to feel regretful, why did she even dig into this in the first place?

"She succeeded, but he never got tired of her. Infact he got so obsessive and possesive that she disappeared from the brothel for weeks. Then she would be back bruised and looking lifeless and empty."

Katherine couldn't hold back the sob that choked her. "But she loved him." The woman said.

"Sh-she what?"

She nodded. "Your mother loved him, she was given the opportunity to leave and be with someone else but she didn't."

"But how could she? He must have threatened her or maybe because she was scared?" Katherine cried. "Why would she go back? You said he hurt her."

"We were all hurt Katherine, women used for their bodies are always mistreated like that. And don't get me wrong, she was treated better than most but she was still a whore, well to him." Shd explained.

"How? How could you know that my mother loved such a man?" She asked.

"Because she told me, that was her therapy. It kept her sane to say them out loud. And I'm absolutely sure that man is your father. She wasn't with anyone else the entire time she was in that brothel." Katherine's eyes widened.

Swallowing she asked the obvious question. "Who is he?"

"I have no idea. I never saw his face, only heard stories of him from the women he kept." She replied. "I know he was dangerously good looking, and much older. He had a dual personality as they said. He could be incredibly charming and sweet but also the most wicked and heartless heart lived within him. And he was incredibly good in bed. He derived pleasure by drawing pleasure from the women he bedded. He wasn't like the others, sex with him was like a ride to heaven."

"Is that really important right now?" Katherine spat.

"I just thought you should know why your mother would fall for a guy like that. Regardless of anything he would or could have done to her." She answered. "And he never sleeps with a girl if she's unwilling, he never rapes anyone. Not that he'd have to, he makes women putty in his hands."

"So what happened next? How did mother escape from that man?" She sniffled. "You said she was enamored with him. Why then would she run away with his child?"

"It is true, your mother was enamored with him. It was more she was addicted. She knew he was bad for her but she couldn't help herself. But then she was pregnant with you." She said.

"She was so scared when she found out, but she mustered courage to tell him. He had her abort it, but she didn't. And she didn't tell him about it, till she couldn't hide it anymore. That's when I came into play."

"You were supposed to deliver me and kill me." She whispered.

The woman nodded. "But I never killed the kids and though your mom knew that she was determined to know her child. So we came up with a plan to escape, because after your mother was to deliver she was going back to him. He wasn't letting her go. It was dangerous and hard but she managed to do it, and with a baby as well. For a while we lived in different houses and cities to throw her pursuers of track, before she eventually appeared in the orphanage. But for her safety no one could know that we knew each other prior." She stated. "I know this must be difficult for you to here, and I'm sorry I don't have more information on you father. I know you're searching for him."

"Not anymore, I want nothing to do with the man that didn't want me. The man that saw my mother as a hole he could stick it in." She spat bitterly. "Devon get up, let's go."