I woke up and groaned in pain. My whole body was sore, and I could see I had several bruises that littered my body. Last night had been another rough one and I couldn't help but cry silently, thinking about what my life might be if I could only get out of this damn house.

After my parents died, I had been sent to live under my uncle's care. He had a drug and gambling problem and would occasionally take frustrations out on me if things didn't go well for him at the casino. He made my life miserable. He pulled me out of school when they started asking questions and he told the state I would be home schooled so they would stop snooping. I can't remember the last time I had a proper meal, and he would beat me for every little thing. I thought the beatings would be the worst of it, but he proved me wrong.

He had taken out a loan with some pretty dangerous people and came home one night with his face completely black and blue. He had given me a beating to match his and then locked me in my room for two nights. When he opened the door again, he dragged me by my hair down to the basement and told me to wait. The unfinished basement had exposed walls and a concrete floor, but he had cleared out all of his junk and replaced it with a queen-sized bed. He placed a cuff on my ankle and chained me to the bed. That was when the men started showing up. He had started selling appointments with me to men to help him pay off his debt.

I heard his footsteps coming down the stairs and immediately tried to stifle my crying. He couldn't stand seeing me cry. He said he'd never seen anything uglier. Crying was all I did when this all started. A man complained to my uncle once, and he hit me so hard, both of my eyes were swollen shut for weeks.

"Did you have a good evening pet?" he sneered at me.

"Yes sir." I mumbled, not meeting his eyes. I was only to look him in the eye when ordered to.

"Now I have some very important men coming over to see you tonight, so we're going to let you have a bath. Won't that be nice?" He was standing right in front of me now and I could feel my hands trembling. I hated bath days. He bent down and unlocked the cuff that sat around my ankle. My skin crawled as his fingers lingered on my skin. Before I knew what was happening, he slapped me across the face, one of his rings catching me under the eye. He snatched me up by my hair and I cried out in pain. "When I ask you a question, I expect an answer. Now, wouldn't it be nice if you had a bath tonight?!" he roared in my face.

"Y-yes sir!" I responded as quickly as I could. I could smell the drink on his breath, though there was almost never a time that he was sober these days. I tried to push my head back into his hand to relieve some of the pressure on my scalp. He gave my hair one final yank, throwing me onto the concrete floor. My scalp was throbbing, and I couldn't help the tears that collected in my eyes. Don't cry Nora. Things will be worse if you cry.

"Get your ass over there." He pointed to the corner where there was a drain and a hose set up. The icy spray stung my skin, and the high-water pressure highlighted all my cuts and bruises. This was one of the only times I was uncuffed for an extended period of time. I tried to run once, but I didn't get far, and the consequences were bad enough, I never tried again.

When he was done, he threw a towel at me, and I dried off as best as I could. We finished my bath just in time. The doorbell rang just as he cuffed me back to the bed.

"Now you behave down here. If you embarrass me in front of these men, it will be the last thing you ever do." He warned, and with that he hung the key to my cuff on a hook above the door and headed upstairs.

I crawled to the center of the bed, just where he liked me to wait. I drew my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them in an attempt to warm myself up. The closer we got to the winter, the colder that basement got, and with my wet hair, I was completely chilled to the bone.

Several pairs of footsteps slowly descended the stairs, and I could feel my body start to tremble. I've had almost no time to recover from my last appointment. My body just needed more time. Uncle came in with two men trailing behind him. The men were dressed in well fitted suits and towered above uncle. They were easily the most handsome men I had ever seen. I closed my eyes and just prayed they would be quick with me.

"What the hell is this Stuart?" One of the men demanded of uncle. He had an aura of power around him. I was intimidated just being in his presence. Uncle didn't seem to be too comfortable either. All of his big talk from before was long gone.

"Mr. Lorenzo, this is why I have been late on my payments." Uncle began to explain, smoothing down his comb over with his sweaty palms. "Men pay to be with her, but I have to limit how many appointments I sell. Her delicious little body can't take too many at a time. She's weak." His eyes raked over my naked body hungrily. I shuddered and curled myself into an even tighter ball.

"Stop." The man, I assumed was named Mr. Lorenzo, commanded, holding a hand up. He wasn't even talking to me but that didn't stop me from flinching. I couldn't stop the scream that slipped through my lips when Mr. Lorenzo punched uncle square in the face. He fell to the floor with a hard thud.

"W-what are you doing?" Uncle stammered.

"Who is she?" Mr. Lorenzo demanded. He pulled a linen handkerchief from his pocket and began wiping uncle's blood off his hand casually.

"She's my niece. No one would even know she was gone!" Uncle said in an attempt to pacify the raging man. My heart sunk at the thought. No one was missing me, and no one was looking for me.

"You would condemn your own blood to pay off your debts in this despicable way?" The second man growled darkly.

"Fiero." Lorenzo said warningly, glancing over at me, causing me to avert my eyes.

"I had a product and buyers! I was getting you your money!" Uncle screamed at the men. His fat, ugly face was turning a bright shade of crimson the angrier he got. It almost matched the color of the blood pouring from his nose.

I gasped when Lorenzo pulled a gun out on uncle. The sound caused both men's eyes to flicker in my direction and I immediately put my head down. I could feel my heart racing. Stupid Nora. Now you've drawn attention to yourself.

"Take this piece of trash upstairs and wait for me there." Lorenzo commanded of Fiero. Fiero sneered down at uncle before shoving him through the doorway and up the stairs.

Once they were out of sight, Lorenzo turned to me. His gaze struck through me like lighting, and I scooted myself as far away from him as my shackle and chain would allow.

"P-please. I'll be good. Please don't hurt me." I begged him, wrapping my arms tighter around myself, as though that would keep me from completely falling apart. Tears sprung from my eyes as he got closer to me. "I'm sorry sir. I don't mean to cry." My entire frame was shaking now. As he got to me, he took off his suit jacket. I closed my eyes and waited for whatever he had in store for me. Begging never helped me before, so I don't know what I was expecting this time. I was shocked when he placed his jacket around my shoulders gently. It had been so long since I've been allowed to wear clothes. The feeling was almost foreign.

"I'm not going to hurt you princess." He told me comfortingly. His hand raised to my face and his fingers ghosted over the cut from uncle's ring. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you ever again. My name is Lorenzo Conti. Will you tell me your name?"

"N-Nora Phillips." I stuttered. He wasn't going to hurt me? What kind of game was he playing? That's all anyone did to me anymore.

"Well Nora, I think it's about time we get you out of here." He stated simply.

"He'll never let me leave." I whispered into my knees. "I'll never be safe as long as I'm here." I gave in and just let the tears fall. The truth of my words crashed over me, and I realized things would never get better. I was stuck in this life.

Lorenzo took my hand and gave it a little squeeze. I flinched at his touch, but he didn't let go. "I'm going to get you out of here and we're going to go somewhere safe. You don't have to worry about your uncle anymore. Now, do you know where the key to your cuff is baby?"

The pet name caught my off guard, but I nodded and pointed to the hook above the door. He retrieved the key and freed me of my binds. He offered me a hand to help me stand. I hesitated only for a moment before taking it. Once I was standing, he buttoned up his jacket on me as far as it would go. I was thankful it was long enough to reach my knees. I felt absolutely dwarfed when I stood next to this man. He towered over my unimpressive five foot-two inches. My toes were freezing on the concrete, but I wasn't going to complain. Almost as if he read my mind, he looked down at my bare feet and frowned.

"We're going to get you somewhere warm and cozy, alright baby?" he smiled at me encouragingly.

"Yes sir. That would be nice." I responded quietly. I didn't want to get my hopes up too high but my I couldn't help but trust this man. I would never get out of here on my own, and this was the closest I'd ever come to getting away from this life. I wasn't going to miss my chance.

When we got to the top of the stairs, I could hear my uncle crying and grunting in pain. Lorenzo put his hand on my shoulder to stop me from advancing any further, but it was too late. I already saw Fiero delivering blow after blow to my uncle's face. He was so bloody and bruised, he was almost unrecognizable. I backed away from the violence and nervously glanced up at Lorenzo.

He crouched down so his eyes could meet mine. "I promised I wouldn't let anyone hurt you ever again baby, and I keep my promises." he assured me. "Fiero, we're leaving." Fiero straightened up and like Lorenzo, pulled a handkerchief from his front pocket which he used to wrap his now splitting knuckles, leaving uncle a bloody mess on the floor.

"Oh, and Stuart, we'll be burning all of the dirty money you've given us. You better find a better way to make clean money and fast, because your debt just started all over." Lorenzo called over his shoulder as he led me through the front door to my new life.