"She left?"
I nodded. "Our doorman told my dad that she got into a taxi on her own, and that was the last time she was seen around our building."
"Wow. Strong lady."
"Yeah, but she could have told me."
Jackie blew out a breath. "In the beginning, I was strong. At least, I thought I was. I always wished for a sign or something to happen for me to get out of here, but then the weeks turned into months and then years, and I started to depend on your father to survive. I respect your mother for getting out."
"You can leave. You have no guards," I reminded her.
"It's not that easy," Jackie argued.
"Why not?"
"Where would I go? I have no money."
"I don't know, but there has to be something the feds would do for you if you went to them and told them you were being held captive for eighteen years."
"Honestly, I'm scared to leave."
"If you don't want to go with us, just know that the road out front does lead to the main road. It's long—not sure how far—but it's doable."
The bedroom door opened, and Zell walked out. She smiled tightly. "I can't sleep."
I reached out my arm for her to come to me and then spun her so she was sitting on my lap. She pulled her long blonde hair over her shoulder to move it out of the way, and Jackie smiled as though she knew a secret. Maybe she could see that I cared a lot about her daughter. Maybe that was love.
"What were you talking about?" Zell asked.
"My mother," I replied. I wasn't going to mention the L-word.
"She's still missing?"
"Not sure we can call it that since she left on her own."
"Where do you think she went?" Jackie asked.
I lifted a shoulder. "I honestly have no clue. She doesn't have friends that I know of."
"Your father held her captive too?"
I started to shake my head to answer no, but then I stopped. Was she held captive too? My mother was always at the apartment no matter what time of day I came or went. There were times she went out to dinner with us, or to my baseball games when I was a kid, but my father was always there too. I'd assumed that was them being parents. Was I blind to everything my entire life? "You know, I don't know."
"He never really mentioned your mother when he would visit me, but he had to trust her enough to leave," Jackie said.
"Maybe because of money. Everything comes down to money, and he probably gave her none."
"He sounds like a horrible man," Zell stated as she lay her head on my shoulder.
"The worst," I agreed.
"If you leave," Jackie spoke, "who will stop him?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"He'll still sell women, and he'll still come to see me."
"Unless you come with us."
"I don't think I want to find out what he'd do to us if he ever found us," she argued.
"So, you're saying we need to stop him?" I questioned.
Jackie nodded. "I think that's the only way all of us will ever be free of him."
"Then what do we do?"
"I don't know," she replied.
"The only thing I've ever thought of was burning the warehouse down."
"What about the girls in there?" Zell asked.
I thought for a moment. "They'll be moved to my father's club for the auction."
"When is there an auction?" Jackie inquired.
"Later today."
"Then you need to do it today."
I balked. "You think we should go back today?"
"Do you know when other auctions are?" she asked.
"At least once a month."
"But you don't know what day?"
"No." I shook my head.
"Then it needs to be today."
"What will happen to the women when you burn the warehouse down?" Zell asked.
"Well, they will still be sold, but at least he won't have a place to hold new ones for a while." With my luck, my father had another place to store women, and burning the warehouse down wouldn't do much. If anything, it would only be temporary. I knew that.
"We have to save them," Zell argued.
"And how do you suggest we do that?" I questioned.
She shrugged. "I don't know."
"They're transported by a van or truck, right?" Jackie asked. "Something that can hold all of them?"
I nodded.
"What if you stop the truck?"
I chuckled. "How the fuck do I do that? This isn't some action movie."
The women didn't have an answer, but the longer I sat there with Zell on my lap, the more I knew I had to somehow try to save them now. Jackie was right. I didn't know when another auction would be, but I could at least stop more girls from being picked up for a while.
"What if," I spoke, an idea coming to me, "I set the fire, and you two rescue the girls. You can be at the club and hijack the truck. You can drive, right?" I asked Jackie.
"I can drive, but I can't go with you," she clarified.
"And why not?"
"I'll just be in the way. I haven't been in civilization in almost two decades. I don't want to screw anything up."
"I haven't been in civilization either," Zell stated. "Five years ago, I was still allowed to feed the ducks once a week, but even then, I wasn't allowed to talk to anyone."
"What do you mean?" she questioned.
"That lady who pretended to be Zell's mother is a horrible person," I said. "She's kept Zell locked in the penthouse and forced her to clean the sex rooms."
"I had no idea." Jackie frowned.
"Yeah, they both need to be stopped," I stated.
"I think you're the only one who can," Jackie replied.
"And me," Zell said. "I want to help."
I smiled at my girl as I ran my hand down her long mane. "I do need help, but your hair will probably get in the way."
"I'll cut it."
I blinked. "You want to cut your hair?"
She shrugged. "Yeah? It will grow back, right?"
"Over time, yeah, but are you sure you want to cut your hair, princess? It's a big change."
Zell nodded. "It's always getting in the way."
"I can do it," Jackie offered.
"Really?" Zell asked.
"It's been a while since I cut someone's hair other than trimming mine, but I think I can do it."
"Okay." Zell beamed.
"I can't believe we're going to take down my father." I sighed.
Jackie looked at me. "Yeah, but think of people's faces when they find out Frank's own son did it."
I felt like a new person.
Jackie cut my hair, but it wasn't a trim like Tifarah had done for the last few years. Jackie cut it all the way to my shoulders. She also gave me a pair of jeans and a sweater to wear since I had no other clothes.
"Well?" she asked.
"It's … different."