Trafficked: The Terrifying True Story of a British Girl Forced into the Sex Trade by Sophie Hayes Page B

screaming inside my head were going to burst out of my mouth – and then God knows what Kas would do to me. But, instead of shouting, ‘Help me, Mum! I’m trapped here and I need you,’ I fought back the tears and said, ‘I’ve decided to stay here in Italy, with Kas. We’re planning to go travelling together later. So … So I won’t be coming home for a while.’
    â€˜You’re going to stay there?’ My mother sounded shocked, and when she spoke again I could tell she wascrying. ‘But, darling, what about … What about your job?’ She paused for a moment before adding hastily, ‘I’m pleased for you, of course. If you’re happy with Kas, that’s great. It’s just …’
    â€˜I have to go now, Mum,’ I interrupted her. ‘Sorry. I’ll call you again soon.’ I hated myself for hurting her. There was a tight pain in my chest and as Kas reached across and took the phone from my hands, I broke down and began to sob.
    Much later, I discovered that my mother had tried to convince herself that her sense of disquiet was really just hurt feelings because of the ease with which I seemed to be able to walk away from my family. She’d tried to accept what I’d told her and be happy for me, although when she told my sister, Emily, ‘Sophie’s going to stay in Italy,’ and Emily burst into tears and wailed, ‘I want her to come home. I don’t want her to be away,’ Mum had cried too. But she knew Steve was right when he said, ‘Sophie’s young. She’s enjoying herself, having fun. It’s what you want for her. I know how close the two of you have always been, but let her go, love. She’ll be back in touch when all the excitement dies down a bit. And even if she ends up marrying the man, Italy isn’t exactly on the other side of the world’ – although, for me, it might just as well have been, because the world I’d been forced to live in was not one I had even imagined existed.
    I’ve always phoned my mother at least once every day, and I continued to call her almost daily for the first few days because Kas wanted to keep everything as normal aspossible to avoid raising anyone’s suspicions. But, after a while, as he became more violent towards me, I found it increasingly difficult to sound ‘normal’ when I spoke to Mum and, gradually, I phoned her less often, until several days would sometimes pass before I answered her text and voice messages.
    It must have been hard for my mother when the close relationship we’d always had seemed to come to such an abrupt end. But she told herself that her misgivings – about whether I was really happy and everything was all right – were due to the fact that what I’d done was so out of character, and that she should be happy I’d had the confidence to spread my wings and start a new, independent life away from home.
    I had other messages too, from friends as well as from my sister and brothers, and before I answered them, Kas would say to me, ‘Do not say anything to raise anyone’s suspicions. Act normally. Do not mess up.’ So I’d speak quickly, always apparently with little time to spare because I was just about to go out, and I’d tell them how great everything was and how much I was enjoying myself. Then I’d drop the phone into Kas’s outstretched hand and wait for him to tell me what to do next.
    After I’d spoken to my mother that first day, I tried again to reason with Kas. ‘Couldn’t I go back home for just a few days?’ I asked him. ‘I need to tie things up and say goodbye to people. I’m supposed to give a month’s notice at work, and I can’t simply walk out on them.’
    But he just sneered at me as he said, ‘You’re always such a timid little mouse. Why are you so frightened of these people? They wouldn’t