- 5 hours ago
Category
πΊ
TVTranscript
00:05Two years ago, I was a straight-A freshman with a bright future.
00:11My boyfriend coaxed me into sleeping with him and secretly took intimate photos of me.
00:16The next morning, he was the one who spread my nude photos across the entire campus.
00:22Before noon, I was expelled. He walked away clean.
00:25Adrian said my brother owed his sister a life, so he ruined mine.
00:31Now, I strip and dance here just to keep my brother alive.
00:35Men slam cash onto the stage, screaming my name.
00:45A man shoves $50 into my garter and grabs me.
00:52The manager yanks me off the stage halfway through a song.
00:56VIP booth. Pay triple. Whatever he wants.
00:59The booth is hidden behind a curtain with a single red light overhead.
01:03I start my usual dirty dance facing that direction.
01:07Normally, by now, a VIP would be leaning forward, his filthy gaze glued to me.
01:13But this man stays back in the dark. I can't see his face.
01:18Loop 4 says lose the top!
01:26Is that good enough for you back there?
01:29He wants the skirt! Gone!
01:36The whole floor loses it. Filth pours from every mouth.
01:41Pick one! Rawr panties! He says take it off!
01:47Five grand. Half to the house.
01:50What's left still covers Ryan's meds for two weeks.
01:54He says, you really do it when you're told.
01:59Emma Lucas, how did you get this cheap?
02:02I froze. Only one man in the world ever called me that.
02:07Adrian. My first love. The man who took those photos and leaked them.
02:15There are so many rich bastards in the city. Why him of all people?
02:20I paid the whole room to watch how low you would go. Cheap.
02:26Three years. And this is what you became?
02:30You paid five grand to watch. Don't act shocked.
02:33I used to feel guilty about those photos. Now I know I wasted every ounce of it.
02:38That is all you're worth now. Take it and go.
02:45Two years ago, he kissed my forehead on the bleachers after a college game.
02:50He promised me rides home, late night fries, and every Friday game.
02:56Now he throws money at me and calls it mercy.
03:00He books me every week. The girls call him the regular.
03:04Skip the stage. Come make real money tonight.
03:08Client dinner uptown. My table.
03:11Usual rate.
03:12I know what a client dinner means. I have done it.
03:16Two grand for the night. Cash. You want it?
03:19They buy the wine first. Then they pass you from chair to chair.
03:24Two grand covers Ryan's meds for half a month.
03:27I'm in. But I want the cash first.
03:31You count like your life is on the line.
03:36Because it is.
03:37The woman in the mirror looks so calm. She feels like a stranger.
03:42Ryan Lucas payment is three days overdue.
03:44Two grand is not enough now.
03:46I grab my coat and head to the address for that private room.
03:51The address is a private room above a steakhouse.
03:55I push the door open and step in.
03:58A dozen men in suits sit around a long table.
04:01That man is Reyes, the regular, bowing like a servant.
04:04The man who booked me an hour ago is now serving someone else.
04:08I look up to see who sits at the head of the table.
04:10It is Adrian.
04:12He wears a suit worth more than my year of rent.
04:14Mr. Cole, this is the dancer I told you about.
04:18She cost me a fortune to get here tonight.
04:20I know her. I booked her booth earlier tonight.
04:23Five grand. And she'll strip naked on command.
04:25The whole table erupts. The men laugh and slap the wood.
04:28If she's not your type, sir, I'll swap her.
04:31I have a fiancΓ©. I don't need the entertainment.
04:35Leave her.
04:36I heard she's been with you before. Let her stay and pour drinks.
04:39The man beside me slides his hand down my waist.
04:42I grab his wrist. He laughs and squeezes my waist.
04:45Adrian sits at the head of the table, unmoved.
04:47Mr. Cole, your fiancΓ© must be beautiful.
04:50She is. Beautiful, classy, and clean.
04:54That word hits me like a slap.
04:56Every man at the table understands at once.
04:59There is bad blood between Mr. Cole and me.
05:01Reyes' smile freezes. The others quickly change the topic.
05:05I drink when he tells me to drink.
05:07I smile when he tells me to smile.
05:10At last, Adrian stands. The cold scent of his cologne hits me first.
05:15He never used to smell like that.
05:17Three years, Miss Lucas.
05:19You don't recognize me?
05:21Or have there been too many men to remember?
05:24The table goes quiet.
05:26You need money that badly?
05:31Is Ryan dead? Is that why he lets you sell yourself?
05:34The check is still warm from his hand. Stiff against my skin.
05:38Thank you for the tip, Mr. Cole.
05:41The room goes strangely quiet. Adrian's disgust spills over.
05:44So practiced.
05:48Since Miss Lucas loves money so much, let's make this interesting.
05:52What do you mean, Mr. Cole?
05:53She had prices at the club, didn't she?
05:55Same rules here tonight.
05:56For every man at this table she entertains.
05:59I pay ten grand. How much she earns depends on what she can do.
06:02The room goes dead. Then the men cheer. Their eyes crawl over me like I am already bought.
06:09Ten grand. Mom's wheelchair. Ryan's meds. Another month alive.
06:15Ten grand each. Paid tonight?
06:18He wanted me to break. I don't.
06:20Paid tonight. Every cent.
06:22Then I'm in. So which one of you is first?
06:25The middle-aged men crowd around me, drunk and laughing.
06:28A sweaty hand lands on my bare shoulder.
06:30Another hand grabs my waist and drags me back.
06:33The smell of liquor, smoke, and old cologne closes in on me.
06:36Someone bends down and pulls off one of my heels.
06:38My dress tears at the chest. Red bite marks show above my cleavage.
06:42I shut my eyes and count in my head.
06:44Ten grand. Twenty.
06:46He watches without moving, but his eyes are full of rage now.
06:51My skirt is shoved higher under their hands, exposing the black lace underneath.
06:55Get your hands off her! Everyone out!
07:00Mr. Cole, the night is just getting good.
07:04I said out before I put every one of you on the street.
07:08For a second, there is only my breathing.
07:11My dress is torn at the chest.
07:13One heel is gone. Red bite marks burn above my cleavage.
07:17My skirt is still pushed up, exposing my black lace panties.
07:21What are you covering now?
07:23You still have shame left?
07:25I bite my lip and say nothing.
07:27Thirty grand. Every dirty SEM is yours.
07:29The bills scatter across the carpet.
07:31Take your filthy money and crawl out.
07:36Only then do my hands start shaking.
07:38I always carry one now.
07:40This job taught me that.
07:41The woman in the mirror has messy hair, smeared lipstick, and red marks all over her neck.
07:47For a second, I almost do not recognize her.
07:51You call me cheap, Adrian.
07:53But if I weren't, how would my family survive?
07:56I do not go home.
07:59I go straight to the hospital.
08:02The hospital smells like bleach and old medicine.
08:08Emma?
08:09Emma? You're off early.
08:15It was slow tonight.
08:21Ryan sees the marks on my neck.
08:25Emma...
08:26Who did this to you?
08:32I freeze with my hand on the broken frame.
08:35I scratched myself by accident.
08:37It looks worse than it is.
08:39Then he nods, like he believes me.
08:47Glass cuts into his fingers.
08:49He does not seem to feel it.
08:51The girl in the photo is Lily Cole.
08:54Adrian's younger sister.
08:56And Ryan's first love.
08:58Ryan used to be the star of every court he stepped on.
09:02Now, he can barely hold a picture frame.
09:05It's my fault, Emma.
09:06I couldn't protect Lily.
09:07And I couldn't protect you.
09:14I'm useless.
09:15I dragged you into this.
09:18No.
09:19Look at me.
09:20The dance job is easy.
09:22The money is good.
09:24People there like me.
09:26Maybe I'll be a star one day too.
09:30As long as you're happy.
09:35The money from that room wasn't enough?
09:37Now you're working sick men in hospital beds too?
09:42The moment he recognizes Adrian, blood bursts from his mouth.
09:47Ryan!
09:51Don't listen to him.
09:53He's got the wrong girl.
09:54Ryan?
09:55You were on the state state team.
09:57You were supposed to go pro?
09:59How did you end up like this?
10:00Say one more filthy word about my sister.
10:03Try it.
10:05Lily's smile sits between us, like a wound.
10:08Touch her again.
10:10I'll haunt you from the grave.
10:12I didn't know you were this sick.
10:13I came here to apologize.
10:15The words sound clean.
10:16Too clean.
10:18Three years later.
10:19Then get out.
10:20The best apology is staying away from my brother.
10:26Mom?
10:27What are you doing here?
10:28I said I'd pick you up tonight.
10:30Ryan's soup is ready.
10:32He should drink it hot.
10:34The room goes quiet.
10:35She has not said his name once since Lily's funeral.
10:38Adrian, you came.
10:41He finally understands.
10:42Why I take off my clothes for strangers.
10:45Why I kneel for cash without crying.
10:48Why the girl he ruined is still standing here.
10:52Please.
10:53Take it.
10:54Move Ryan to a better room.
10:56Get the best doctors.
10:57She does not slap him.
10:59She does not curse him.
11:01Take it home, Adrian.
11:03We don't need your money.
11:05Adrian used to raid our fridge and call my mother Mrs. L.
11:09Now he stands by the door.
11:12Afraid to take one step into the room.
11:15Mrs. Lucas.
11:16The soup smells good.
11:17It cooked for hours.
11:19You're busy. You should go.
11:25Floor's packed. They're asking for candy.
11:28He knows exactly what that means.
11:31I have to go.
11:32I've got a show to dance.
11:40Emma, let me drive you, please.
11:42No thanks.
11:43I'd hate to dirty your expensive car.
11:45Are you doing all this for Ryan?
11:47I say nothing.
11:48Silence is enough.
11:49The club.
11:50The men.
11:51The cash.
11:52You're killing yourself to keep him alive.
11:54Congratulations.
11:54You finally caught up.
11:57What happened to him?
11:58He was on the state basketball team.
11:59He was healthy.
11:59Was it because of me?
12:00Yes.
12:01Three years ago, you posted those photos and walked away clean.
12:05Ryan was already broken after Lily died.
12:07That night, the stress hit his heart.
12:10Stress induced myocloritis.
12:12He collapsed before sunrise.
12:14He never walked back onto a court.
12:16I didn't know.
12:17Of course you didn't.
12:19You never looked back.
12:21And your mom?
12:22You noticed the cane?
12:24You wanna know about my mother?
12:26Fine.
12:27Look me in the eye while I tell you.
12:34Do you remember my father?
12:36After your photos went everywhere, he came home drunk.
12:39He pointed at my face and called me a slut nobody wanted.
12:43Don't back away.
12:44You wanted to hear it?
12:46Then look at me.
12:47He grabbed a metal pipe.
12:49He swung it at me like I wasn't his daughter.
12:52My mother threw herself over me.
12:53That pipe hit her leg.
12:56The bone snapped right there.
12:58Adrian reaches for me.
13:00I slap his hand away.
13:01Don't touch me.
13:03Emma.
13:05Don't say my name.
13:07Where were you?
13:08While my brother was dying in a hospital bed.
13:11While my mother was learning how to walk with a cane.
13:14Where were you, Adrian?
13:22You disappeared.
13:23And left us to rot in the mess you made.
13:28You ruined Ryan!
13:31You crippled my mother!
13:34You destroyed my whole family!
13:39I'm sorry.
13:43Emma.
13:44I'm so sorry.
13:46Outside the hospital, we both fall apart in the cold.
13:54The next morning, Adrian is outside my apartment building.
13:58He has not changed his suit from last night.
14:01This covers Ryan's surgeries and rehab.
14:03Your mom's leg too.
14:05I'll get the best doctors.
14:07Last night's cash was mine.
14:09This is pity.
14:10I don't take pity from you.
14:13Emma, please.
14:14Go buy forgiveness from someone else.
14:17Go buy forgiveness from someone else.
14:18That night, he takes the front seat under my stage.
14:21The card reader beaks again and again at the bar.
14:24He buys every private dance before any man can ask.
14:27She stays out stage.
14:29No booths.
14:30No hands.
14:34The manager smiles and takes the money.
14:36Take it off! Take it off!
14:38Still paying to watch me strip?
14:40The worse he looks, the dirtier I dance.
14:44The more I make him watch, the more cash hits the stage.
14:50Same time tomorrow, sir?
14:52For two nights, he comes back.
14:55He never touches me.
14:56He just pays and watches what he made.
14:59After closing, his car follows my cab from a distance.
15:03Love this late is worthless.
15:05On the third afternoon, I am doing makeup for my shift.
15:09Emma Lucas?
15:10Yes, what happened?
15:12Come to the hospital now.
15:13Is it Ryan?
15:14He jumped from the ward window.
15:16They found him on the pavement below the east wing.
15:21I do not remember the ride to the hospital.
15:24By the time I get there, the east wing is already blocked off.
15:31Ryan, no!
15:37He is still wearing the clean gown I fixed that morning.
15:42Ryan, wake up!
15:45Ryan!
15:46Look at me!
15:48His skin is already cold.
15:51Blood runs through the cracks in the pavement.
15:57Ryan? No!
16:00Tell me he's breathing!
16:05He left this on his pillow.
16:08It has your name on it.
16:13The handwriting is crooked and weak.
16:16Ryan used to sign basketballs for kids after games.
16:20Now, his name barely holds together on the page.
16:26I'm sorry.
16:27I'm sorry.
16:28After Adrian left, I asked a nurse to look up your name.
16:32The videos from the club were easy to find.
16:35I saw men throw cash at your feet.
16:38Lily died because I left her waiting.
16:41Now, my hospital bills put you on that stage.
16:47If I'm gone, you won't have to strip for my bills anymore.
16:51Use the rest for mom.
16:52Please get out of that club.
16:54No!
16:54Ryan, you were never supposed to see that.
17:06Adrian takes the letter from my hand.
17:11He searched because I came here.
17:13Emma did this.
17:15My son.
17:18Mom!
17:23Mom, stay with me!
17:27You have to stay outside.
17:29Let me in.
17:30Please, let me see her.
17:35Ryan's blood is still on my hands.
17:40His letter is folded in my fist.
17:46Don't!
17:46You don't get to say goodbye.
17:48Let me see him.
17:49No!
17:50You stay away from him!
17:56I sit outside the ER until sunrise.
17:59The billing desk window is still open.
18:02Then, I hear Adrian's voice.
18:04Put every charge on my card.
18:06Call whoever she needs.
18:07Cardology.
18:08Neurology.
18:09Surgery.
18:10Do not tell her I paid.
18:11Still paying behind my back?
18:15I know you won't take it from me.
18:16Then stop forcing it on me.
18:20It is for your mother, not me.
18:22I just need her to have every chance.
18:25Then stay where I can't see you.
18:28By morning, a doctor comes out.
18:30Her heart stopped twice.
18:32We got her back.
18:33But she is critical.
18:34For seven days, I sleep in the hallway.
18:37Every bill is paid before a nurse hands it to me.
18:41Adrian stays at the far end of the corridor.
18:44My mother never opens her eyes.
18:46On the seventh night, the monitor alarm screams from her room.
18:51Clear the hole!
18:53I hold Ryan's letter against my chest.
18:56At 2.17am, the doors open again.
19:01I'm sorry.
19:02You lost her.
19:05A week later, I walk out of the crematorium with two urns in my arms.
19:11The clerk at the front desk makes me sign beside both names.
19:16My hand shakes so hard, the pen scratches across the paper.
19:21One urn has Ryan's name on a white sticker.
19:24The other has my mother's name.
19:27They spent their last months in a room that smelled like medicine.
19:31Now they lie side by side in two small boxes.
19:36He does not come closer.
19:38He does not leave, either.
19:41Rain starts before I reach the parking lot.
19:54Get away from me.
19:56Emma, you're getting swoke.
19:58Ryan, my mother are already dead.
20:02Stop acting like rain matters.
20:08Don't touch them.
20:10I wasn't going to take them from you.
20:14You don't get to hold them.
20:16His suit is soaked through in seconds.
20:18He follows, two steps behind me.
20:21I arranged a place for you.
20:24A condo downtown.
20:26Quiet building. Security at the door.
20:28You can go back to school.
20:30Or leave the state. Anywhere you want.
20:38You think a condo fixes this?
20:42No.
20:45Then why are you still talking?
20:47Because I need to do something.
20:50You had three years to do something.
20:52You want to know what Ryan thought before he jumped?
20:56Adrian does not answer.
20:57Ryan looked after me for 19 years.
21:00At parties, if some guy got too close,
21:03Ryan stepped between us.
21:05If I called him late at night,
21:07he came to pick me up.
21:09Then after you left his hospital room,
21:11he asked a nurse to search my name.
21:14He found the club videos.
21:16I was on that stage.
21:17Men were shoving money into my bra.
21:19One of them pinned my thigh down
21:21and reached for my underwear.
21:23And I still had to smile.
21:25Because his bill was due.
21:28Then the photos came up.
21:30Emma, I...
21:31No. You listen.
21:33The ones you took when I still trusted you.
21:35The ones you sent out.
21:37Ryan died knowing his best friend slept with me
21:39and passed my naked photos around.
21:41So tell me.
21:42When you sent those photos,
21:43were you smiling?
21:45Did it feel good to ruin me?
21:47No.
21:50Then say what you did.
21:51I did it.
21:53I hurt you.
21:54I drove Ryan to that roof.
21:57Punish me however you want.
22:00Just don't look at me like that.
22:02Punish you?
22:03You think you deserve even that?
22:06I do not ask him to get up.
22:08There is nothing left for him to say.
22:10A hospital receipt is folded around it.
22:12This was Ryan's treatment money.
22:15Stage tips.
22:16Private room cash.
22:18Money men throw at my feet while I smiled for his bills.
22:21His face tightens and he cannot look away from it.
22:26He doesn't need it now.
22:28Emma, wait.
22:30You don't get to call me that anymore.
22:32I'm taking this money somewhere you can't find me.
22:35I'll buy the best dresses.
22:37I'll eat the most expensive food.
22:38I'll live well and I'll live a long time.
22:41For one second, he looks relieved.
22:44Good. Hate me.
22:46Spend every dollar. Just live.
22:48Don't look relieved.
22:50I'm not living for you.
22:52I will never forgive you.
22:54Not in this life.
22:57Emma!
22:59Please.
23:01The taxi door opens in front of me.
23:04I get in with Ryan and my mother.
23:07Adrian's voice breaks behind me.
23:10Don't go.
23:12I do not look back.
23:15One week later, I go back to my rented room.
23:18Inside, the room still smells like hairspray and cheap perfume.
23:23A rack of stage clothes hangs beside the bed.
23:26I throw them into black trash bags.
23:28The red dress from the private room is at the bottom of the pile.
23:31A dried stain sits near the hem.
23:34I do not look at it for long.
23:36Friday. Double rate. Private room requested.
23:40Saw your video. How much for tonight?
23:42I block every number.
23:44Then, I delete every account with my face on it.
23:47No stage name. No club page.
23:50No place for men to find me again.
23:52The last thing on the dresser is Adrian's check.
23:55The paper is still clean.
23:57His name is printed in the corner.
23:59At noon, I hand my landlord the keys.
24:03You sure you're done here?
24:04I'm done.
24:05A man in a black suit came by yesterday.
24:08Asked about you?
24:09If he comes back, tell him nothing.
24:11By night, my old phone number is dead.
24:14At 11.43pm, Adrian reaches the building.
24:17Emma Lucas! Which room?
24:18She moved out this morning!
24:21The door to my room is open.
24:23The closet is empty.
24:25The bed is stripped.
24:27This number is no longer in service.
24:31The call cuts off in Adrian's hand.
24:34Then, he looks around my empty room.
24:36The dresser drawers hang open.
24:38A bobby pin lies by the baseboard.
24:40A lipstick mark is still on the mirror.
24:43She paid cash.
24:44Left the keys.
24:45That's all.
24:48Where did she go?
24:49She didn't say!
24:52Think harder.
24:55A cab picked her up around noon.
24:58Yellow cab.
24:59Before sunrise, Adrian is at the cab office.
25:01Cash ride.
25:02No name.
25:04Dropped at the bus station.
25:07Which bus?
25:10We don't track that.
25:17At eight, his assistant calls.
25:19The board is waiting upstairs.
25:20Cancel it.
25:21The quarterly review?
25:22Everything.
25:23By noon, he is at the club.
25:26Emma quit.
25:27Her page is gone.
25:28Her number is dead.
25:30Who booked her private rooms?
25:32I can't hand out client names.
25:36Every name.
25:38Every camera file.
25:41Every man.
25:45Who touched her?
25:46By early summer, Adrian's apartment wall is covered with maps.
25:50Bus routes.
25:51Motel receipts.
25:52Street camera stills.
25:53Not one frame shows my face.
25:56At 2.16am, a private investigator calls.
25:59We found one lead.
26:00A woman matching Emma bought a southbound ticket.
26:03Where?
26:04We don't have the city yet.
26:07Before dawn, Adrian gets the bus station records.
26:10Cash tickets.
26:11Departure times.
26:12Blurry camera stills.
26:13Not one name is mine.
26:15Run every camera again.
26:17We need a city first.
26:19Then get me one.
26:20By afternoon, he is on a flight south.
26:23The first woman has my height.
26:25It is not me.
26:26The second lead is a motel off the highway.
26:29A girl came through with two small wooden boxes.
26:32Which room?
26:33Room 12.
26:34She left before sunrise.
26:36The sheets are already changed.
26:38The trash is already gone.
26:41Only the smell of bleach is left.
26:43At night, his assistant calls again.
26:47The board wants an answer.
26:50If you miss tomorrow, they will remove you.
26:52Let them.
26:53Sir?
26:57I'm done.
26:58By the first hot week of June, he stops going home.
27:02He checks hospitals, bus stations, cheap motels.
27:06Every lead ends with a stranger.
27:08Every camera gives him someone who is not me.
27:13Three more years pass like that.
27:16By then, I am living in a small seaside town.
27:20One morning, I hear Adrian's name again.
27:23At nine, I unlock the door of my bookstore.
27:26A box of new art books waits beside the counter.
27:29I cut the tape, check the invoice, and stack the books one by one.
27:32The shop is small.
27:34Six shelves.
27:35Two reading chairs.
27:36One old coffee machine behind the counter.
27:40But everything here is mine.
27:49Morning, Emma.
27:50Morning.
27:51Your mystery dookers are on the second shelf.
27:53You remembered.
27:54You come every Tuesday.
27:56The radio behind the counter is playing the morning news.
27:59I am writing down a delivery order when a familiar name comes out of it.
28:03Adrian Cole has stepped down from every position in the Cole group.
28:06My pen stops.
28:07Sources say he has donated most of his personal assets to trauma centers and hospital foundations.
28:12For the past three years, he has been seen almost daily at the same cemetery.
28:15The customer turns from the shelf.
28:17You know him?
28:18I used to.
28:19That name used to make me shake.
28:21Now, it only makes the room quiet for a second.
28:23I pour coffee into a paper cup and set it on the counter.
28:27No shaking hands.
28:28No tears.
28:29Just books, salt wind, and hot coffee.
28:35Adrian, you earned every day of that.
Comments