Chapter 10 · The Woman Behind the Walls

Rena's hands don't shake when she pulls out the third folder.

It's older than the others. The edges are water-stained and the label's half peeled off. She sets it between us on the metal exam table and flips it open without saying a word.

Inside are intake photos. Rows of women. Some of them are looking at the camera. Most aren't.

"These are the ones they didn't bother hiding," Rena says. Her voice is flat. Clinical. "The ones who signed contracts. The ones whose families sold them or who got caught crossing territory lines."

I lean forward. My abdomen cramps again but I ignore it. "How many?"

"Fifteen in the medical wing. Maybe more in the sublevels." She taps one photo. A blonde woman with a split lip and a barcode tattoo on her collarbone. "This one's been there four years. They take eggs every six months. She hasn't seen daylight since intake."

Cole's standing by the door. His burned hands are wrapped in gauze but I can see the silver burns through the fabric. Red and blistering. His eyes flick to me and then back to the folder.

"They're using all of them," I say.

Rena nods.