*ADELINE*
The evening settled over the island like a heavy, damp blanket, the sun dropping lower in the sky and igniting the horizon with shades of tangerine and crimson. Yet, even the natural beauty around me felt overshadowed by the morbid spectacle I was now part of. The atmosphere went beyond mere luxury; it felt like a gilded cage adorned with delicate chains. I shifted uneasily in my seat, my mind racing from the chaos of what I had witnessed already.
The women glided around the terrace with an air of practiced ease, their skin bared to the sun in fabric that was barely more than an afterthought. My heart ached at the sight of them, not because of envy over their looks or the attention they drew, but rather from a soul-deep shudder as I recognized the echo of their treatment. What
