Chapter 406: Trouble
"Mother?!" Aria yelped with a truly dark expression. Instantly, the sight of the poor woman gave her flashbacks to how her own severely mistreated mother looked after Kaiden saved her from becoming a brothel worker.
She’d been on drugs for a long time, forced by her ex-boyfriend, who became her captor. Julia Levander was severely mistreated. She was frail and in horribly poor health, so much so that when Kaiden first laid his eyes on her, he instinctively understood that he was looking at a dying woman.
The Moon Valkyrie found her and Naira’s situation far too similar, at least from a first glance. She didn’t know the nuances, but she didn’t need to. The gist of the situation was far too easy to grasp.
Naira bolted forward before anyone could stop her.
Her knees hit the floor, and her arms wrapped around the frail body of the woman who could barely breathe. The girl’s hands trembled as she hugged her mother with her whole body, attempting to hide the older woman’s entire body from the sight of the assailant.
The man, however, didn’t seem to mind the development. He only clicked his tongue in a sign of mild irritation. But beyond that, his face showed no emotion. It was as if he were annoyed by having to beat two women now instead of only one.
His hand rose, and the whip hissed through the air and came down on Naira’s back instead of the woman’s.
The sound tore through the whole building.
"Arghh!" Naira screamed in pain but didn’t move away. Her weak frame shielded her mother completely, and her voice shook with both anger and fear. "Stop it! Beating her won’t make her work better! She needs food and rest, not such cruel whipping!"
The man sneered. "Food, you say? I’m sure you brought home a lot of food with you then, if you’re speaking so boldly."
Naira’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her face twisted with dejection, her lips trembling as she looked down at the ground. "I’m sorry, Mom..."
Tears flowed from her eyes.