**SIDE STORY (Ysabel's backstory)
Adjacent to the noisy market, a pub could be found in a hidden corner of Tollista. Despite the place being shabby, it was well-kept.
The sign had great lights blinking in a certain rhythm to attract customers at night. By day, it was nothing but a regular diner.
All the excitement comes after the working hours.
Rich men and women, both old and young, would come to this place to forget their troubles and hide away from their married lives. They would pretend to be single, slipping off the ring on their fingers and drinking to their heart's desire.
Merry waves of laughter, rhythmic music, booze, and the smell of cigars intensify the blissful atmosphere inside. Ambient lights made everyone look younger and more beautiful.
A timid girl entered the pub. Her skimpy silver dress barely covered her, and she felt conscious as stares were sent her way.
Her uncle told her that she would only sing one song and get paid—nothing more and nothing less.
While trying to hug herself, whistles could be heard as she walked hurriedly to the waiting stage. The tiny heels weren't helping.
Pulling at the edge of the dress, she stood in front of the microphone. A spotlight blinded her for a second before she heard the music of a sultry song playing in the background.
"Ysabel!" one man called out, screaming and cheering for the nervous beautiful lady on the stage.
"Ysabel! Ysabel! Ysabel!"
The crowd chanted.
Ysabel didn't find comfort in it. Instead, it only fueled her nerves to jump. She was about to step back and tell her uncle she no longer wanted to do this.
But the image of her sick brother froze her in place.
Ysabel gulped back her fears. She stared at nothing but the bright light, forgetting the cheers and whistles from the men and women whom she knew had no good thoughts to spare.
The opening of her song came. Ysabel opened her mouth and forced the words and the melody to find their rhythm. She sang the verses the way she practiced them a few days ago.
Ysabel and her brother had been orphaned at an early age. They were taken in by their uncle, a detached family member from her mother's side.
He was a man who lived mysteriously. Ysabel didn't know what he did for a living.
Until tonight.
It became clear why her uncle always came home late and would sleep most of the day and work at night. Sometimes, women were coming in and out of the house. A few men would join and more women.
Ysabel and her brother stayed in the lone room upstairs of their uncle's tiny house. The room downstairs where their uncle sleeps was always locked and too quiet.
But on rare occasions, Ysabel would hear a sound or two. Sometimes there were moanings and other times a bed creaking.
At her age, she was too young to understand what was happening.
But in light of the recent events, some things finally became clear.
At that moment, the young girl, no older than 18, wanted to get off the stage and ran away with her brother.
But her brother, Rene, was sick. He needed special care and medication.
The uncle who raised them with no question for the last few years finally showed his real motive for taking the siblings in when no one else cared about them.
Ysabel was very beautiful. To an owner of a pub, that was an asset sitting before him.
Her innocence was an added price on her head.
Sitting in the front row, the said uncle was watching Ysabel. He was guarding his investment and was ready to make money tonight.
The last notes of the song were coming to an end. Ysabel avoided her uncle's stare, thinking of an escape.
She may have been innocent, but she was not dumb.
Her fear came back a thousandfold when Ysabel sang the last verse. She stood on the stage, frozen in her spot when she spotted her uncle talking to an elderly man twice her uncle's age.
The strength almost left her body while the cheers and hoots of the people came with applause.
"Ysabel! Ysabel! Ysabel!"
Taking a step back, Ysabel waited for the spotlight to die before she ran backstage.
Some people in the audience were regular customers of the diner. She worked for her uncle as a waitress in the morning.
At night, Ysabel tended to her brother.
Heart hammering against her chest, Ysabel pushed past the other stage performers following hers. They were dressed more inappropriately, and a few tried to clap her shoulders to congratulate her on an outstanding performance.
However, Ysabel was adamant about escaping her uncle's plot for tonight. She had a general idea of how it would go.
She often heard her uncle dong negotiations.
Ysabel thought her uncle was selling items like precious jewels and traded them for a valuable price.
Before she came to the pub, she heard a piece of information that finally told her what her uncle was selling.
Women.
Men.
Ysabel came out of the back door with her heart in her throat. She was out of breath and was barefoot. The cold wind had her shivering as she glanced back at the pub her uncle managed.
She half expected him to lumber out and catch up to her, dragging her back inside to seal the deal he was making with the old man.
But none of that happened.
So she ran.
She planned to return to the house to retrieve her brother and find a place away from their uncle. Ysabel was old enough to care for him and saved part of what she had earned from waitressing at the diner.
That would be sufficient for them until Ysabel finds a new job.
These were her thoughts as she tripped several times and scraped her knee, desperate to get her brother to a safe place.
But her heart suddenly sunk when her uncle's house came into view.
Ysabel's footsteps slowed as she saw her uncle standing outside, waiting for her. There was a cigarette on his lips, a smirk, and her brother held in a chokehold.
"No," Ysabel begged. "Uncle, please."
"You still have a chance to save him, Ysabel."
An engine revved nearby, calling Ysabel's attention. She turned to the right and found a shiny car waiting for her.
Looking at her brother, Ysabel's insides quivered. She wanted to glare at her uncle but knew it wouldn't change her fate.
Walking towards the car with reluctance, Ysabel pushed back the tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
"Give me your word that you won't harm Rene, and I will make sure you earn your money."
Her uncle chuckled, chewing out the cigarette that dangled on his lips.
"When did I ever break my word, Isa? Rest assured, he will be taken care of when you get back. If you try anything funny, don't expect me to keep your useless brother around."