Just like the last time, Joanna vanished into thin air, but a visit to her father had him piping everything he knew. Their affluent lifestyle was funded by a loan they took from some gang years back and when they couldn’t pay their dues, Joanna was taken as compensation.

What fazed me was that she always knew about the pact between her father and the so-called gang leader. Rather than informing me of the crisis, she opted to swallow her pride and sire a child for her buyer’s barren wife. The contract stated that she was to spend three years catering for the child before leaving the couple’s home; never...