She had taken a cab to a hotel. A five star hotel because she deserved that and so much more. Coming from a middle class family, Bridget Ross had hit the jackpot when she'd married Theodore Sullivan. He was handsome, rich, and stupid enough to fall for her charms. She'd promised herself never to go back to the way she'd lived before she met him. Not that she had gone to sleep hungry or lacked anything. Her parents had worked hard to provide for her as an only child. But she wanted more. She wanted to live like a queen. So checking in to a five star hotel had been the obvious thing for her to do. That was until two days later when they'd kicked her out for not being able to pay for the room she was staying in. Even the jewelry she'd taken with her, hadn't been able to pay off half of the bill.

And how would it? She had been so ignorant of everything around her. Theo did a lot for her so she could live a comfortable life and she'd gone and ruined it all just because she wanted to be desired. Her husband hadn't given her enough attention so she had gone to seek it somewhere else. Now all she wanted was to crawl up in a dark corner where no one would notice her. Funny how just one stupid mistake changed your life forever. She thought wiping away the tears trickling down her face. What she wouldn't do right then to have the chance to live in a small shack all by herself. The great Bridget Sullivan, for the first time ever in her life, would give anything to go back to her parents house. Because going back to Theo would be asking for too much. He didn't deserve what she'd done to him. And Marjorie? Bridget curled up in a ball and bit her lip to quiet her cries. She would give her worthless life to hug her daughter one last time.

After being thrown out of the hotel, she'd walked around not knowing where to go. All she had were the clothes in her suitcase which weren't worth that much. And she should have sold them because they were all expensive but she couldn't let go of her pride. After the sun had gone down, she'd resigned herself to sleeping anywhere. Exhausted, thirsty and with blisters on her legs for walking in heels all day, she'd settled on a run down motel. Bridget had scrunched up her nose but what options did she have? She would sleep there for one night. Then the next day, she would call Theo and tell him to double the amount of monthly allowances and she would sign the divorce papers. With that in mind, she had fallen asleep only to wake up in her own personal hell. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Her mind taunted her. It had all been like a dream. To this day she couldn't believe how she'd ended up where she was. All she remembered was falling asleep in that motel and waking up in a pitch black room.

Disoriented, she'd asked where she was and called out for someone to turn on the lights but she'd gotten no answer. Adjusting her eyes to the darkness, she had realized she wasn't alone. "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter. Soon you won't even remember your name"

"What are you talking about? And why am I here?"

"Listen, I've been here before. I suggest you go along with everything they tell you to do and you might end up in a better place" someone had told her. It was too dark to make out anything other than their silhouettes.

"Where are we?" no one had answered her. Because they didn't know. After an hour or so a door had opened and someone had walked in with a torch light, shining it on their faces. Bridget had winced then demanded to be told where she was.

"It doesn't matter where you are. Keep your mouth shut and look pretty. That's all" the man at the door had told them.

"My name is Bridget Sullivan and I demand to be told where I am and why I'm here. You don't know who my husband is" she'd said standing up. The man had walked towards her, shone the light from her face to her toes then back and then murmured "You'll sell for a pretty penny" not realizing how much danger she was in, she'd pushed the man asking to be let go. She hadn't seen the slap he landed on her face coming. He'd backhanded her so hard, she'd fell to the floor bumping her head against the wall.

"Keep your mouth shut and look pretty or it will be worse for you. All of you" the man had said then left. With a throbbing cheek and an oncoming headache she'd sat up dazed. Never in her life had any man raised their hand to her. Even when Theo was so mad he'd never hit her. And it was like that man had knocked some sense into her. In that moment she'd realized that she was going to pay for all her mistakes. Wherever she was, she would suffer for being a bad wife and mother. Scared she had asked the other women why they were there. One of them had answered, chilling her to the bone.

"We're prostitutes being sold to the highest bidder. If you're lucky, an American will buy you. Trust me, you don't want to end up in a foreign country with no papers."

Too stunned to speak, Bridget sat there wondering how she'd ended up there. Prostitution? They must have mistaken her for one of those girls. That had to be it. Whoever ended up in that motel had to be someone helpless like she was. She was sure that if she explained to them who she was they would let her go. Then she would go back to Theo, take the money he would give her and spend a week in the Malibu mansion washing  away all the filth she'd acquired in the past day. Yes. That was it. Having found a solution, she'd waited for the man to come back so she could talk to him. Surely they could come up with an understanding of some sort.

The first man hadn't come back. Instead a plump woman had shown up and ushered them out to another room. When Bridget had tried to speak, she'd gotten a split lip and told the number one rule. 'Keep your mouth shut and look pretty". That woman had told them it would be worse for them if they didn't follow the rules. They had been told to strip and shower in a large room that had numerous shower heads spaced out. There was no wall or curtain for privacy and a man was standing at the door watching them. When Bridget refused to move, she'd been prodded with an electric shock stick. The pain reverberating through her body had gotten her and the rest of the women moving. They showered and were provided with tiny robes to put on. After that they were led to a room and lined up in a straight line.

Bridget didn't think she could be any more humiliated than she was that day but little had she known that was just the beginning. They had been lined up so they could be auctioned off. Some bastard had suggested that they wanted to see what exactly they were buying so they had been ordered to drop the robes. They were naked underneath. A little hesitation had given her another bolt of electricity. She thought the pain would kill her but that would have been too kind for fate to grant her that wish. She understood then, that life was paying her back for being the rotten person she'd been. For her it had been like one of those last moments people had, a second before they died. Like a bulb lighting up in your head. But she hadn't died. She'd been bought by an evil man who was sick. Half of the things he'd made her do couldn't be spoken of.

She felt dirty and worthless. Where she'd once craved attention, she now wanted solitary. She would give anything for at least one day where she could be alone. It didn't matter where. After two months, she'd stopped counting the days because there was no use. That place was her new home. The women she'd been with had all been bought by different people. She was given a bed in a big room filled with double decker beds that had flimsy mattresses. Her limbs hurt every day she woke up but she couldn't afford to raise even one complaint. That shock prod stick had been painful. The things they did to anyone who opened their mouths, was way worse than being electrocuted.

Bridget rolled over, clutching the sheet covering her tighter. It was a little colder and the only way she could prevent herself from the chill was to fold the sheet in half and curl her body so it would cover her completely. The only thing that kept her alive these days was the thought of her daughter. She had been so cold and uncaring towards her that she wondered if Marjorie would ever forgive her. Yes she was young, but what if she never forgot how she'd treated her? What if her daughter hated her for the rest of her life? Bridget couldn't remember if she'd ever been kind to Marjorie. Was there a moment even for a second, that she'd made her daughter happy? Did Marjorie have a good memory of her mother to hold on to? 

Sadly the answer to that was no. She had been too self absorbed to spare a minute for her daughter. Her only hope now was that Eleanor was treating her kindly. She'd seen someone who looked like her this one time when they were changing locations. It had been for just a moment and Bridget would have screamed for help had there not been a gun pointed at her stomach. So she looked out through the window hopelessly at the last link she had to her daughter. She'd pleaded with her eyes to Eleanor conveying how sorry she was for everything. If she was lucky, the other woman had understood her plea. She fell asleep thinking that somewhere her daughter was happy.

"Bridge wake up" a voice pulled her from her sleep.

"What is it morning yet?" she shot up but realized there was chaos everywhere. The girls were running around screaming while gunshots were heard from a distance. "What's happening?"

"My guess, it's a raid. Let's hope it's the police and not another cartel" Hilda told her. She slept on the bed atop hers and although she wouldn't say they were friends, they got along. In a place like that, you didn't have friends. Only people you shared space with.

Hope soared in Bridget's heart "Do you really think it's the police?"

"I said I hoped they were. Now get up. Even if it's the police, we have to try and escape."

"Why? Aren't the police here to help?"

"Who cares? Do you want to spend a night in jail answering questions? Let's go. I know a way out"

"So why haven't you used it before to escape?" Bridget questioned trying to find decent clothing to wear. All they were allowed to have were lingeries. She found a coat they were given one time to surprise their clients with and put it on. Even then it was too short but she had no option. She would walk out of that place naked if it meant never going back.

"Because there were guards you idiot. Now hurry up" while the girls ran to the door, they went the opposite direction. Hilda took a corner, opening a door that led to the room where their clothes were kept.

"Why are we here? Do you need to take some of your underwear?"

"No. There's a door here leading to the backyard. I told you, I couldn't use it because there were always guards but I don't think guarding it right now is their priority."

True to her word, the place was deserted. It turned out they were living in the basement of a mansion. Looking around, Bridget realized that on the outside, the house looked like any other and no one would have guessed what was going on inside. There had been at least twenty girls but half of them came and went. Only handful of them lived there. Following Hilda, they crossed to the neighbors backyard and hid in the rose bushes. They heard as the gunshots rang out waking the neighbors who all went to see what was going on. That gave them the diversion they needed and slipping through the crowd they walked away from the raucous.

They must have walked for an hour maybe two, when the sun started to rise. The early risers and joggers gave them confused looks but Bridget couldn't care less. She was free. Life was giving her a second chance to live again. To correct her mistakes. To be a better person. She wouldn't waste it. She regretted that it had to come to that, for her to see who she really was and how she was affecting the people around her. Was it possible to atone for all her mistakes? There were too many to count. But on top of that list was Marjorie and Theo. They might never forgive her but she would try. She was going to do anything so she was worthy of being in her daughter's life.

They ended up in a shelter where Bridget couldn't believe how kind the people there were even after they'd told them where they had run away from. It was clear that she had a lot to learn. Not everyone was going to judge and shun them like she'd thought. Her only hope was that her husband would at least hear her out. She wasn't the same person she'd been. Bridget Sullivan had died and in her place Bridget Ross had been reborn.

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There is so much I wanted to put in this chapter but I realized it wouldn't fit in one or even two. So I just gave you guys the highlights. Later I'll tell you what my thoughts are on Bridget but right now I wanna hear yours.

Who saw that coming?

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