A beautiful teenage ballerina is drugged and kidnapped by people she considered friends and sold into a brothel. Inspired by true events.
Betrayal in the most profound way! Kidnapped, raped and left for dead.
Laurel Murphy struggles to rebuild her body, her life and happiness--A chance meeting changes all that
Imagine the terror of waking up in a strange bedroom bound and gagged. Teenager Laurel Murphy was a promising ballerina destined to have a brilliant career until she was kidnapped, sold into a brothel where she was raped, brutalized and finally left for dead.
Contrary to what the kidnappers thought, she didn't die. Follow Laurel's struggle to rebuild her body and a new life. The high and low points of the life that followed will grab your heartstrings and not let go. Although she was able to smash down the need for revenge during her journey from terror to success, all that changed in the space of a heartbeat. Inspired by true events, this work of fiction begins in the late 1950s, but human trafficking of American teenagers is even more prevalent now than it was then.
Excerpt
Door hinges squeaked as though in need of oil and broke the suffocating silence.
Footsteps. Gardenias. Stale tobacco smell.
My heart pounded so hard I felt like it wanted jump right out of my chest. A tall woman walked to the foot of the bed and stood there holding a tray. In one graceful move, she turned and placed it on the dresser, shrugged and came back to the bed. She bent toward me, blonde hair spilling over her shoulders like a glistening shawl. “Well, Laurie, I see you’re finally awake.”
"Sherry?"
Waves of relief cut through my fear until those familiar strange gold flecks in her hazel eyes flashed like caution lights. Full lips, painted brilliant scarlet, drew into a sneer. My jumbled mind shrieked that something was horribly wrong.
“Aw, look at that. The little ballerina is frightened.” She shook her head. “You know, you’re really a trusting idiot.”
She reached out and stroked my hair, her long fingers catching in the mass of tangled black waves. It was her cruel smile that scared me most. She held my chin in a vise-like grip and fixed me with a gaze as cold as ice.
“You know, you’re not only trusting, you’re awfully naïve for someone seventeen years old.” The sound of her high-pitched laugh raised the hair on my arms.
“You know how you said the Coke tasted funny at lunch yesterday? Well, that was because I slipped something into it to knock you out. Honey, you lost your cherry last night.”
Cherry? What was she was talking about?
She tightened her grip and her fingers dug deeper into my shoulders “Stop that damn crying. You’d better do exactly as I say or―”
Sherry had always been sweet and caring which was why I adored her. I didn’t recognize this terrifying stranger hovering over me.
“Damn you, quit wiggling! Just calm down! Her fingers traced a line along my cheek, and stopped at the fabric jammed into my mouth. “I brought you some toast and juice. Here, let me take that thing out of your mouth for awhile.” She untied the knot and the gag fell away. My mouth was so dry it felt like it was full of cotton balls.
“Sherry,” I pleaded. My voice sounded dry and raspy. “Get me out of here. I want to go home.”
Silence.
I became aware of a pain between my legs. It was only a dull ache at first, but one that increased as I became more alert until, finally, it hurt more than the time I fell on the edge of a wooden milk crate in kindergarten. Mama had taken me to the doctor back then and he told her my vagina was bruised. I remembered giggling through the pain because that word sounded funny.
Without warning, the tears welled in my eyes rolled down my cheeks and left damp tracks in their wake.
I couldn’t understand why my mind was so fuzzy.
“Sherry?”
She fixed me with a malicious stare. Not a word. The aura in this strange room chilled me more than a winter wind blowing off Lake Michigan.
“Sh-Sherry, you’re frightening me.”
She moved her face very close to mine. Hot puffs of breath peppered my cheek. “You’re a real pain in the ass, Pavlova. Quit bawling and drink this damn juice. Know why you’re here? Because Tommy Boy and I kidnapped you, that’s why.”
Professional Reviews Outstanding And Engaging Read
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2013 When I was one of several who first edited this story several years ago in its first incarnation, I wasn’t sure I could get into the story. With it being part romance and mostly in first-person, which I don’t personally like in fiction, it wasn’t my usual cup of tea.
However, the further I read, the more engrossed I became. This wasn’t just some sappy love story. The title is true to the story. It’s about betrayal in the most profound way. In this second incarnation, it’s greatly improved and updated.
The hero goes from a high to a despairing low, only to drag herself out of it, and then gets knocked off her feet again. It’s amazing how she survives this punishment, yet she does. The author not only makes it interesting, but gets the reader to feel every bit of it. She’s a master at drawing emotion out of every scene, from the lightest to darkest moments.
The plotting is fast-paced and there’s no endless narration and exposition. In the third-person sections, there’s no head-hopping and the transitions are smooth. It’s very well written.
Danse Macabre
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2013
This book is, by all appearances, a "chick lit" kind of book, with its abundance of female characters (including the protagonist), and a very female point of view. However, it ventures far afield of that genre, opting instead for a high-tension tale of revenge.
The author refuses to take the easy way out for either her central character or the story, relying on a vivid opening in which aspiring ballerina Laurel Murphy comes face to face with pure evil. Its effect on her runs deep with each turn of the page, and as her life moves forward, the reader is left to wonder if she will ever recover.
Appropriate Timing
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2013
Betrayed could not have been released at a more appropriate time. Many states have enacted sex trafficking legislation with Nevada's passage in the last legislative session. We have a federal Commission where advocates and victims can bring this heinous crime to the forefront. The author takes us, through the heroine, to the darkest side of humankind. This is a must read.
