Page 70 of Three, Two, One [321]

“No,” she says, hiccupping. “I will not disgrace my father like that. I will not let them read that contract.”

“What contract?” Jesus Christ.

“We all signed one. It was a big production. It was videotaped. And they had me stand up and recite it out loud. Pledging to sell my baby to a man who was present in the room, but wearing a mask to protect his identity. There’s no way I will disgrace my father like that.”

“Why did you do it, though? I don’t understand.” How? How could this girl sell an unborn child?

“I was looking for my best friend, Janine. Remember?” She tips her head to look up at me. “It was fake, Ark. I knew she was pregnant, but then she disappeared. I figured the only way I could have any chance of finding her was to get with the program. They didn’t know who I was back then, I had the fake ID. But week after week of doctor visits and not getting pregnant—”

“Wait.” I stop her here. Because I need to know. “How were they trying to get you pregnant?”

“He fucked me. Every night while I was ovulating. It was like a perk of the contract, I think. He was the leader.”

I have to close my eyes for a moment to process this. I take a deep breath. “The leader of what?”

“The baby-selling ring.”

“And he needed a baby from you?”

“That’s what he said. I didn’t know who he was at my contract party, everyone was wearing masks. It was like a masquerade ball. Everyone but me was dressed up.”

“So when did he find out who you really were?”

“When they discovered I had gotten a Depo shot the day before I was contracted, I thought for sure I’d be in and out in a week or two. The shot lasts for about three months, and there’s no way to stop the effects once it’s given. I thought… I thought I was so smart, Ark. I really did.”

I continue to stroke her arm. She’s calming down, but my heart rate is speeding up. “But they know the tricks, I’m sure.”

“Yeah. It only took them a few days to figure it out with a blood test after they got suspicious.”

“And then what happened?”

“They locked me up. Took my fingerprints. And they said they ran my face through some facial recognition program. But that might’ve been bullshit.”

“So they knew you were Zoey.”

“Yeah. And then the leader kept me as his… personal…”

“I get it. You don’t have to say it.”

“And when my three months was up, he tried getting me pregnant. But it took me months to get pregnant, and then when I was, I miscarried every time.”

“Holy fuck.” I pinch the bridge of my nose with my fingers. “Did you find your friend?”

“No. But one girl remembered her. And can you believe this, Ark? Those contacts?” Blue laughs, but it’s not a happy laugh. It’s a laugh that says there’s more crying ahead. “Those contracts aren’t even honored. Imagine that. A girl sells her baby and she never gets paid. And you know why, Ark? Do you know why she never gets paid?”

I do know, but I can’t make myself stop her from telling me.

“Because they kill them. They rape us, they steal our children, and then our reward is death.”

“Were they all kidnapped? Or were they there to sell their babies?”

“I was the only one they locked up in the basement, so I can only assume the other girls were there for the money. They kept me company sometimes.”

“And no one tried to help?”

She shakes her head no. “They needed money—”

“Fuck the money. No one needs money that bad.” My shout scares her, making her shrink inward. “Sorry,” I whisper. “Sorry. It’s just, you can’t put yourself in that category, Blue. Don’t identify with them. You’re not like them. You were a prisoner. They were selling their children. It’s not the same thing.”