Generation Lost (Daughter of Joshua Balz & Ryan Ashley Malarkey)

Chapter 11 ~ Tricked

[Ryan Ashley's POV]

I watched as Gloria consoled a grief striken mother, and Agent Fords went through the files again with Mr. Holtz.

Balz was calling Devin to say we're going to be running late.

"How did this happen?" I blurt out. "How does an 19 year old girl from South America just wind up dead in an alley in Scranton, frozen to death and bruised?"

Agent Fords sighed and motioned to the man from State Department, who pulled out a piece of paper, and held it out to me.

I took it and examined it, seeing it was a contract from a modeling agency.

"What does this have to do with Julissa's death?" I asked.

"Ten years ago, Julissa Santos and 10 other Ecuadorian girls her age signed up to a modeling agency here in the U.S., in New York City," Donovan said. "They were promised food, apartment, a good paying job, supplies for work, and much more, paid for them."

I kind of had a sense where this was going.

"Only problem, once they arrived... It wasn't an agency, it was a brothel," he said. "Or a whorehouse."

"Human trafficking," I said, shock overcoming me as I tried to calmly take it all in.

Balz had looked over in shock as he heard me.

"Ghost, I'll call you back. Just make sure Snow is alright," He said, hanging up, walking over.

"My uncle worked for the State Department when I was little, I remember he worked some sort of case like this," I said.

"Wait, wait, wait... You're saying Julissa was tricked into coming into the U.S.?" Josh said.

"And she was put in the sex trafficking ring, forced to prostitute herself," Agent Fords said. "For a year."

"That's what they do, Miss Malarkey," Donovan said. "They trick you into a better life, take advantage of your dreams. When you arrive, they take away your passport, green card, documents, take away your whole life, even threaten your family and friends if you try to escape or say anything."

"And the other girls?" Balz asked. "Are they still missing?"

"4 still missing, the rest rescued five years ago during a drug bust," Agent Fords said. "Julissa was supposed to be among them, but she wasn't. We thought she was able to escape and seeked refuge somewhere, until...."

"Until what?" I asked.

"According to one of the girls, she was raped one night by one of the traffickers. She ended up pregnant, and they had her, planning to kill the baby and her, so she found a way to escape, ran from New York City to Pittsburgh, ending up in Scranton," Agent Fords said. "According to her autopsy reports, she had given birth recently, so we guessed she went into labor during her escape, so she had no energy, but had to get her baby to safety. She hid in that alley, but the cold was too much for her."

We stared in shock.

"Is there anyway we can help?" Josh asked.

"Keep a look out for this man," he said, holding up a wanted poster. "He's in our Top 10 List, so DO NOT approach him at any costs. Alert me at once."

He hands us the poster and a xard with his number.

"If we are right... He could come after Julissa's child if he finds out about the baby surviving," Agent Fords said.

"Over my dead body this asshole lays a finger on that kid, who is my daughter," Josh sneered.

"Just keep her safe, don't let her out of your sight," Agent Fords said.