Humiliation

When she opened the bag in the parking lot, Diego understood that this afternoon was not going to end the way he had imagined.

The gas was almost invisible, but its effects were not. In seconds, the uniform stopped being armor and became something that burned the skin from the inside.

She had negotiated the terms by voice messages. The moment she crossed the house’s threshold, she knew the negotiation was over forever.

When Saya opened her eyes in the darkness, the first thing she felt was the cold steel on her wrists and Nadia’s breath inches from her face.

Four men paid to use me in a storehouse. My daughter controlled the door. That night I stopped being who I was.

Four glasses of wine in, Rodrigo started talking. What came out of his mouth that night changed the rules between them forever.

She couldn’t move while I controlled the remote in my pocket. Around us, a thousand strangers celebrated Carnival, unaware of what was happening beneath the velvet.