Truth or Lies? by A. Gomez (book club recommendations txt) 📗

me with the back of his hand when Victor Chang yelled something in Mandarin at him. He froze with his hand midair, dropping it to his side. He stalked to the far end of the kitchen and stayed there, glowering at me.

“Dr. Langley, there are a few rules that must be followed here in order to have peace,” Chang said. “You are new, as is your young friend, so I will give you both this week to acclimate yourselves. Debbie will educate you on these rules.” He eyed everyone and then retreated to wherever he came from.

Debbie glanced around, clearing her throat. “Back to work, girls.” She squared her shoulders and sat at the very long kitchen table. “Isabel, please have a seat.”

Very shakily I took my seat next to Betty Lou. She scooted closer and latched onto my arm. Caroline was already gone to whatever chore she was assigned to. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Lilly making pancakes and smirking. I thought she was the only one unaffected by my behavior. I grinned inwardly.

“Isabel, today you’ll be getting a haircut and your makeup done so we can take a few pictures of you to place online. Priscilla will cut your hair since she’s really good at that and Elsa will do your makeup.” Debbie eyed Betty. “Betty Lou will be getting pictures too, but all we need is for Priscilla to just fix her hair.”

She was talking as if this was some sort of Vogue or Cosmopolitan photo shoot. Was she so far gone from reality, so detached and desensitized from all the horror, that this was just par for the course for her? My pulse was racing. I knew once Betty’s picture went online men would start making “appointments” for her. Bile rose in my throat.

“Debbie,” I began, “who’s in charge of placing these pictures online?”

“Oh, I am. Victor trusts me with all the online postings. He monitors the activity but it’s my job to get the girls up there.”

“Will these photos be going up today?”

“If I have time to upload today, yes.”

“Oh?” Her answer surprised me. Was sex trafficking a super time-consuming job?

“After last night’s incident I have to make sure that bathroom and bedroom are thoroughly cleaned. The Boss doesn’t like his house dirty, he insists on keeping it beautiful and elegant. I also have to show yous both what’s expected of you here.” She exhaled, sounding a little irked. “On top of that, I still have to manage today’s schedule with the girls. So, as you can see, I am a bit swamped today.”

I resisted the urge to shake my head and call her a crazy bitch. “Oooh, you do have a lot on your plate, it sounds like. What can I do to help?” I asked, wanting to confuse her.

She blanched at me, surprise in her eyes. I thought I’d thrown her for a loop. I eyed her impassively, waiting to see what her response would be.

“Uh… well, I don’t know.”

“I’m very good with computers. I could do the uploads for you,” I said sweetly. She blinked at me, unsure of how to answer. “I could also help you clean up,” I added. “You just tell me what you need for me to do around the house and I can do it.” I paused for a moment, looking around the room for that Asian man that I had throat-punched. He was at the far end of the kitchen, still glaring at me. I lowered my voice so he couldn’t hear me. “How much do you get paid for doing this?” She whipped her head around and gaped at me. “I hope Mr. Chang pays you what you’re worth because you’re the only one running this household and managing the girls’ schedule.” I whistled. “That’s a lot of work for just one person. And you even have to take them to see a physician, in some cases. That’s time out of your day and away from the other girls.” I could see she was thinking about what I was saying. I mentally gave myself a high-five. I hoped I’d got her thinking and confused enough to where she would start questioning Chang or at least cause a few waves.

“Breakfast is ready,” Lilly announced as she placed a stack of pancakes and bacon on the table. Debbie jumped in her seat, startled by Lilly. I tried to hide my smirk. Another girl brought waffles and eggs and set them next to the pancakes. I smelled coffee brewing somewhere but I couldn’t see where that was. Everything smelled heavenly. I was starving and thankfully Lilly made some of the breakfast so I wasn’t too concerned about poison.

All the girls that had dispersed earlier were now coming back to the kitchen to get breakfast. Caroline glanced at me as she walked past me but said nothing. Someone quickly set the table and someone else brought the juice and milk but no coffee. Damn. I fixed a plate for Betty Lou and then myself. She wasted no time in inhaling her food. She smiled at me and then rubbed her head on my arm like a kitten, as if she were saying thank you with her body language. I gave her a half smile and placed my cheek on the top of her head. My mouth was too full of food to say anything.

Debbie introduced Betty and me at the breakfast table. A few of the girls waved and a few said hi. We said hi back and waved. It was an uneventful meal and very peaceful. It felt more like a girls’ school than anything else, while we were eating and the girls were chatting. They talked about fashion, makeup, nails, books, music, anything but what they were scheduled to do today. A few of the girls asked where we were from or if we