Chapter Fifteen

In the enclosed space of the elevator, she could feel Aiden’s eyes boring into her until he finally asked, “Do you really not think you deserve credit?”

Staring at the metal doors as they opened, she didn’t reply as he pushed her out, taking her back to the room Alex occupied, leaving the guards outside. Looking at the tiny angel sleeping on the bed, she finally said softly, “I really didn’t do much. I made a thirty-second phone call and then gave you more information. There were four villages worth of women down there, which means that anything I did in Clear Mist Village, you could take care of without my help. Without you and the soldiers, I wouldn’t have accomplished anything.”

He paused at the side of the room where he was grabbing a fresh towel, moving to her side again as he handed it to her. The damp cloth was warm, and she absently used it to clean her hands, given they had some residue from touching the others. “Have you considered that without you, we would have accomplished nothing as well.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he interrupted. “The police have been trying to track their organization down for years. Do you think when Alex was taken, we didn’t try everything we could to find him? They’ve been operating for years without ever being caught.”

“They’ve got people on payroll in the police.” Vivian agreed softly. “Even if there was a clue, they would cover it up. I wasn’t sure my call would make it to someone clean.” He nodded, looking tired even with the face paint distorting his expression.

“The problem is who had the ability to bury everything. Do you know…?” He seemed to realize it was a long shot, and she gently shook her head.

“No, I don’t know who they were, just that they existed. Sometimes they’d taunt the women with that information, saying even if they escaped, no one would believe them and they’d just be brought back. Or talking about how they had a close call and complaining they had to pay more to cover it up.” Setting the towel aside, she gingerly hauled herself up, ignoring Aiden’s hand as she slowly moved to sit on the bed as he hovered over her. She brushed a few strands of hair out of the child’s face, taking comfort in his presence.

Aiden seemed irritated she’d ignored his help, then sighed and just accepted it as her stubbornness. “The point is, without your information, none of them would have been saved. Without your call, we didn’t know where to start searching. You did save every single one of those women through your actions.”

“I’m sure you would have figured it out eventually.”

“Maybe. But they went under the radar for years. And Alex…” His voice trailed off. She didn’t need him to finish, because they both knew what would have happened if Alex had stayed there for even a single day more. Levi could only be held off so long. It would be a miracle if he didn’t get PTSD from the experience, although he’d thankfully been asleep for most of it. Instead, he finished his thoughts. “From a practical standpoint, you’re right. The soldiers did most of the work. They’re the ones who brought them all here. I’m working with the government to fund their treatment and rehabilitation, but you were their turning point. Without it, nothing else happened.”

He gave a soft sigh. “It’s more than that, though. Downstairs, you saw the difference. Most of the women from Clear Mist were calmer. Do you think that level of chaos is normal? Do you think no one else tried to use the PA system to calm them down? No matter how much we prepared for their arrival, they were still panicking. The women from Clear Mist Village were calmer. Helping. That’s because of you. We were treating them like glass, but you shocked them out of it, and they believed you. Trusted you. Listened to your words and spread them. You gave them hope.”

She could tell he felt uncomfortable going on such a long monologue, but that he was really trying to help her get over this sticking point in her brain. Their conversation was interrupted by a quiet knock at the door to warn them before it opened, and who she could only imagine was his assistant came in, directing a few other people behind him as he bowed to Aiden to report. “President Williams, we’ve brought the items.”

“Set them up quietly.” Aiden ordered easily, standing at her side. The assistant cast a few extra glances at her before Aiden’s aura turned frosty and he hastily made himself busy taking things out of bags. Two of them were setting up a specialized desk for her, although the general idea was sitting in a chair backwards. Just… ergonomically and with a lot of padding so she could rest against her stomach instead of her back. Plenty of paper and colored pencils were stacked neatly.

The assistant brought the body pillow he unearthed over to the bed himself, but before he could say anything Aiden snatched it from his hands and began arranging it. This was clearly alarming behavior to the man, as he just stared for a moment before giving her a tiny bow and quickly making himself scarce.

The other thing he was unpacking was clothing that got hung up in an unobtrusive wardrobe she hadn’t paid attention to before. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised that she saw stuff for Alex, Aiden… AND her. She highly doubted the women’s clothing would be for anyone else. While the president was silently building a pillow nest for her, she stared just as curiously at his employees as they did at her. The only difference was that she was watching them openly and they were sneaking constant glances.

She slid down from the bed and Aiden’s attention immediately shifted to her before he pushed the wheelchair into position. She grumbled softly, “It’s just a few steps, I’m not going to break.”

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“Better safe than sorry.” He grunted back. The sheer disbelief on his assistant’s face was kinda hilarious as he pushed her to the newly assembled desk, having guessed what she was after.

Glancing up at the poor man who had to deal with his grumpy boss day in and day out, she smiled and said, “Hi, I’m Vivian. Thank you for bringing all this.”

He practically rushed to bow to her as he said, “Hello! I’m Assistant ___. And it’s no problem, I was just following orders.”

Vivian smiled sweetly. “It’s lovely to meet you, Assistant __. Did you by chance bring pillows and clothes for the other women?” She hadn’t even been thinking about new clothes, what with expecting everyone to be in hospital gowns for days, but they would need to leave in something.

Assistant ___ hurriedly nodded after a quick glance at his boss, who only seemed mildly annoyed that she was talking to him. “Of course, we’ve provided a basic selection for the women to choose from as needed. They’re all being delivered now by a second group.” He hesitated, then asked, “Was there anything else you needed?”

She hesitated. Aiden’s cell phone had been quite high-tech, but she needed more information about the world. The only problem was that she probably shouldn’t have a ton of knowledge about technology. The most advanced thing they’d had in the village was that old rotary phone, which was decades behind what she’d seen him carrying.

“Tell him what you want.” Taking on the aura of an overbearing CEO, he had no problem ordering her to comply.

Rolling her eyes at him, she finally chose her words carefully, “When we first arrived, I saw a nurse watching a video on her phone. It looked interesting.” There. She hadn’t outright stated her request, but it was obvious what she wanted. Maybe she was throwing the poor nurse under the bus, but the hospital had basically been in wait mode at that point, so it wasn’t a huge deal. Well, that and they didn’t know which nurse it was. Nor was she going to tell them, because the nurse had actually just been sending a text and become a convenient excuse for her.

Aiden was staring down at her thoughtfully before he sighed and nodded to his assistant. “Bring her a new phone and laptop.” He paused, seeing her open her mouth, then said, “Get tablets for the other women as well.” She closed her mouth, satisfied, missing the look in his eyes as she showed no discernable confusion or befuddlement at what should have been unfamiliar terms.

“Yes, sir. I’ll get it taken care of immediately.” He moved like he was actually going to leave right that instant and she waved her hand hurriedly.

“No need for that, really! Getting it tomorrow morning will be just fine. I doubt anyone is in a state to use them tonight anyways.” Everyone was a crazy whirlwind of immediate treatment, and then they would need to sleep. She paused, then added, “Actually, you probably don’t need to leave the hospital for this, but most of us are half-starved and haven’t eaten much today. Something easily digestible for everyone would be nice.” She imagined they didn’t have a lot just casually ready this late at night.

“You’re hungry?” Aiden immediately seemed concerned, and she let out a soft sigh. Why was he so concerned about her?

“Not exactly. We’re all used to going longer than this without food, but it’s probably better if we start getting some nutrition.” She didn’t feel the hunger pangs, because her body just assumed she wasn’t going to eat. Or maybe it was such a constant feeling that she’d just ignored it like a buzz in the back of her mind.

His face hardened, but he nodded to his assistant. “Get it done.”

“Of course, sir.” He bowed slightly to her again. “Then, if you’ll excuse me.” She gave him a small wave, and he gave her one last considering glance, his eyes lingering on the ugly wound on her head and the bruises on her face before he quickly recovered and left the room, followed by the other minions who’d remained quiet in the background.

Resting her chin on her hand, she gave Aiden a considering glance as she said, “How much do you scare him regularly, to make him so subservient? Most assistants don’t work this late at night.”

“Oh, don’t they? And how do you know that?” She pursed her lips, refusing to answer, and caught a small smirk at the tips of his lips. “Assistant ___ is well compensated for his time to be available whenever he’s needed.” He’d better be, her inner voice agreed. The man hadn’t even flinched upon seeing his boss in camo. Well, he was probably aware of the situation from the start.

“Fine. Help me sit down properly and then go take a shower. I’m tired of staring at your dirty face.” How he could stand it, she didn’t know. She’d wanted to be clean at the very first opportunity. She’d been holding in her clean-freak tendencies the entire time she was at the village, but she hated being dirty or sticky with a burning passion. That part of the experience alone was like torture to her.

He let out a long-suffering sigh, then obediently helped her settle into her new desk, with only a minor mishap when she had to hastily rearrange her gown so she wasn’t flashing too much skin. It wasn’t made for her to straddle things. Aiden quickly brought her a light blanket, tucking it around her to preserve her modesty. “Thank you,” She murmured softly as she tried to hide the blush warming her cheeks. Why was she even blushing? The doctors and Nurse Taylor had seen way more of her body and she hadn’t even blinked.

Putting the call button on her desk, he said, “Push that if anything happens. I’ll be out shortly.”

“Go on.” She flicked her fingers at him, happy to send him away as she started arranging the papers and picking out the pencils she wanted. He grabbed some clothes and disappeared into the bathroom as she pulled out her first sheet of paper. She was about to start drawing the girl’s faces when her sight caught on a vase of three fresh pink roses sitting on the tableside.

On a whim, she started sketching them in a xieyi style, embracing the beauty of a simple moment. It only took her a few minutes, and then she set the drawing aside and placed a new sheet, preparing for a much darker job. Recalling Vee’s oldest memories, she began to outline a young girl’s face, working until it became a lifelike rendition. Flipping the page over, she detailed on the back everything she knew about her. Name, general age, hints as to where she was from, when she arrived, who she was sold to… and what they did to her. When she died, and how.

It was a grim testimony of the past, but she finished, setting it aside and moving on. She only had over a hundred more to get through…