Is this destiny?

Sarah told JoAnna that they found 39 girls total, out of which 17 were physically assaulted.

"They are all shaken up, and some of them are too scared to talk. Last night we collected urine samples and told them that it's for the health check. We performed pregnancy tests. Three girls are pregnant…"

JoAnna listened and her heart was breaking. "How old are they?"

Sarah understood that JoAnna is asking about the three girls who are pregnant. "One is seventeen and the other two are sixteen."

"What do you plan to do with them?"

"I hope that you can talk to pregnant girls and explain the situation and the options. That is the most urgent now. Other than that, we will arrange for any medical treatments that you find appropriate. Our goal is to send them back to their families when they are ready."

JoAnna looked at Sarah and Aiden and nodded in approval. "You are reuniting thirty-nine girls with their families around the world. That is a great achievement for a honeymoon."

Sarah smiled. "It sounds nice when you put it that way, without the ugly parts."

"You are doing your part. Don't take the blame for crimes done by others. What is your timeline on sending the girls home?", JoAnna asked.

Aiden responded: "Six girls will leave in one hour, so that will leave us with thirty-three."

"Meili?", Sarah asked Aiden.

Aiden frowned. "She can go tomorrow."

"Who is Meili?", JoAnna asked.

"Ah, that is another story. When we arrived here…", Sarah told JoAnna how they found Meili and that she lied about Aiden assaulting her.

JoAnna didn't like the story about Meili. "What did you do to her?"

Sarah shrugged. "She is isolated from all the girls, but we didn't do anything to her. She is a spoiled brat. I look forward to getting her out of my sight."

JoAnna didn't agree with this. "Out of your sight, but she will get into someone else's. Don't tell me that you will let her scot-free after she accused Aiden of an assault. It only shows that she will do anything just to achieve her goals."

Sarah was not sure how to answer and JoAnna didn't press the matter because it's one thing when the culprit is a grown woman and it's another one when it's a seventeen years old girl.

JoAnna decided to switch the topic. "What about the guy who owns this place and runs this business of selling girls?"

Sarah's ugly expression reflected how much she does not like Akmal. "We interrogated him, and he is imprisoned in the basement. I was thinking of cutting off his important parts so that he can't force himself on any girl anymore. But I was too busy to come up with a detailed plan. The guy is disgusting. He sees women like things that exist to please a man. Disgusting is a mild word for him."

"Can you let me handle that guy for you? I have anger that needs venting. But first, let me talk to the girls…"

 ... 

JoAnna spent the afternoon talking to the girls.

Just like with Sarah, the girls were closed off and too scared to talk.

JoAnna secretly gave to the girls a medicine which will allow them to mentally relax enough to have a conversation.

JoAnna didn't want to talk about the details of the incidents. Her goal was to slowly gain their trust and over time to track changes in their behavior. JoAnna is not a psychiatrist, but she can gauge their overall mental state. She told Sarah that for the girls who are heavily mentally scarred, they will need to bring in a professional.

For this first day, JoAnna's priority was to talk to three girls who are pregnant. They either want to keep the pregnancy or not and in any case, it's best if the correct measures are taken as soon as possible. Just as JoAnna guessed, the girls were not aware of their pregnancy and they were terrified of it.

"Take it out.", one girl pleaded through her tears. "You said that you will help me move on. How can I forget this if I end up with a child which will be an eternal reminder of what happened? I will never be able to love it, and everyone will suffer… Why do I need to suffer? Why am I getting punished? What did I do? … I didn't ask for any of this..."

JoAnna hugged the girl and they cried together. JoAnna remembered when she was sixteen, enjoying her carefree life and this… they didn't deserve this. No one does.

"I will have everything ready for tomorrow. Until then you can change your mind. If we go through this, there is no turning back.", JoAnna explained.

It went more-less the same with the other two girls.

JoAnna gave a list of equipment and supplies to Ernesto and they agreed for one of the rooms in the back house for the staff to be converted into a room for medical checkups and procedures.

…

When JoAnna ended her talk with all the girls, she went to the bedroom to rest.

As soon as she laid in the bed, the images of Vera flashed in her mind, and Jeff and… tears started rolling from her eyes silently.

JoAnna realized that if she is by herself, she will cry so she decided to skip on the rest and go back to talk to the girls.

Just as she got out of the bed, Sarah peeked in the room. "Is this a good time to hear how it went?"

JoAnna waved to Sarah to come in, relieved that she has a company. "Yes, it's fine. I think that they are all smart girls, each of them is coping in her own way."

"Will they need any treatment?"

JoAnna confirmed. "I suggest that you get a psychiatrist to talk and evaluate them. Even for the ones which seem fine. It can't hurt. I will help you find someone trustworthy."

"Female.", Sarah reminded JoAnna.

JoAnna agreed. "It will be a process. The girls will need a steady and safe environment. They are young so I have hope that they will be functional adults, one day. But I don't know how long it will take. It could be days, months, or years."

Sarah already guessed that it will be something like that. "I was thinking to send them to the Beach house. It's nice and calm and without much commotion. They can take their time to heal. To keep busy they can learn to play an instrument or paint. I heard that arts are good for the mind and soul. It can help them express what can't be put into words."

JoAnna agreed. "It would be good if your girls from the Cliffside villa visit them occasionally, to remind them what normal is. They are about the same age, so it will be easy for them to connect. And if they visit with their boyfriends, these girls can also see that not all men are bad."

Sarah likes JoAnna's suggestions.

"Three girls from that group of seventeen told me that they want to go to their families. Do you think that it's wise to send them right away? I want them to go home, but I am confident that they will hide from their family what happened. And I know that suppressing this and pretending that it didn't happen will backfire eventually."

JoAnna shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you should keep them around until a psychiatrist sees them. In that way, you will have another opinion."

---

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