Page 1 of Serving Her Sentence

1

“Noelle White, you are hereby found guilty of all charges.”

The gavel pounded down ominously, making her jump and the metal chains around her wrists clatter with a hard, metallic sound. Her heart pounded in her chest, her mouth going dry. Even though she'd known the sentence was coming, it didn't make it any easier.

She was guilty, and everyone knew it.

At the time, skimming money from the company she worked for hadn't seemed like a big deal. They made plenty of it, after all, and were dumb enough not to put enough security systems in place to keep someone in her position from helping themselves a little. Besides, she'd been overworked and underpaid. She’d felt like Robin Hood initially, even though the only poor she was helping was herself… then it had become almost a game. She’d taken more and more, way more than she’d actually needed, laughing to herself at how easy it was.

Unfortunately, someone had finally noticed, the security systems had been changed, and the trap had been set. Noelle had fallen right into it. Regret had become her dominant emotion—regret and after her recent decision, trepidation.

“You owe Biggs Corporation $3.5 million dollars and have indicated you are unable to repay $2.7 million of that sum. Is that correct?”

Noelle jerked her head in affirmative.

“That is correct, Your Honor,” her attorney said, giving her a sympathetic look.He knew what was coming as well, and he’d tried to talk her out of her final decision.

He really had tried during the entire trial actually, even pointing out her long hours and lack of raise in six years, setting up the billion-dollar corporation as the bad guy, but when it came down to it, Noelle had still stolen the money. Stolen and spent a big chunk of it over the past three years. Maybe she would have gotten more sympathy if she had only taken what she’d needed, but the prosecution had been able to point to her new sports car, the luxury condo, her recent vacation to Maui…

“Ms. White, as a non-violent criminal, you have options,” the judge said, pinning her with a steely glare. Noelle felt her body flush hot, then cold. Everyone knew what the options were for non-violent criminals. Still, she didn't say anything, waiting for him to list them out, waiting to be told how she could change her life. “You may serve ten years in the penitentiary or submit yourself for auction. Should you choose the latter, as a financial criminal, the amount you receive will be used to pay back the plaintiff. Any money beyond that amount will be split between the state and yourself when your sentence is over. Because of the nature of your case, an auction sentence would be served for one year from the time of your purchase.”

The auctions were about a decade old, implemented during a time when the jails were overrun with non-violent offenders, and the government was in need of money. They required the consent of the guilty party, but the sentences were often much shorter and did not require any kind of imprisonment. At the end of it, the guilty party would be rehabilitated back into society, often with more money than they'd ever imagined. The idea was, once they’d served their time, they would have the means to ensure they were never tempted to repeat their crimes.

It was government-sanctioned sexual slavery, done with the willing consent of the slaves in return for shorter prison sentences and a great deal of money. It was also the road less traveled. Two months ago, a man had chosen to be auctioned, and he'd gone for nearly six million dollars for a term of one year. When he finished his sentence, he'd be set for life.

A slave could not be irreparably harmed physically and was required to visit a therapist once a week to ensure their emotional and mental health, but how they were treated was largely up to their new owner. Some kept the slave for themselves, others might share them or even use them as business incentives, while some did a combination of both. One or two had even married their slave at the end of their sentence, but most former slaves kept to themselves, living quiet lives and avoiding public scrutiny. No one really knew much about them, what their sentences had been like, or how they felt about their choice now.

Noelle gulped and gave her attorney a nod. His warm brown eyes were troubled, but he turned back to the judge and gave her answer.

“Ms. White chooses to submit herself for auction.”

The courtroom had been quiet, but for a long, tense moment, it dropped into complete silence before erupting into a complete hubbub. Most of the noise was coming from the press gallery, which was already in a frenzy at the prospect of a new prison sentence auction. It happened often, so the new slaves didn't become celebrities, but rare enough, so it was always considered newsworthy. Most coverage came right after the person chose their sentence, and everyone wondered why.

Noelle trembled as everyone focused on her. She was young, with her whole life ahead of her. Ten years enclosed in a cage versus a year of sex? She was not especially experienced and completely terrified, but she also didn’t want to be in her thirties when she finished her sentence. The government would help her with housing and a job at first, but it would be nowhere near what she had been making.

It was a long-term benefit to her short-term detriment, rather than a long-term detriment with very little benefit.

To her, it was the logical choice, even if her emotions screamed at her to run.

* * *

Two days later,she was escorted out of her cell and breathed a sigh of relief. The walls had been closing in on her, reinforcing she would much rather be a sex slave for a short time than serve a long time in prison. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself, trying to quell the fear rising in the back of her throat. The woman escorting her was no-nonsense and nearly as muscular as the guard who followed them.Nothing about her demeanor invited questions, but Noelle couldn’t hold back.

“Is it time for the auction?” Noelle asked meekly, her stomach churning in anticipation of the answer. She honestly didn’t know whether she wanted an affirmative answer. It was very much an ‘out of the frying pan, into the fire kind of situation.’ Although she didn’t particularly want to go back to the cell where she’d been waiting, she didn’t feel ready to face her future yet.

“Yes,” the woman replied briskly.

Noelle gulped, her footsteps slowing, but a sharp order from the guard got her legs moving again. There was no pity to be found in either of her escorts. Not that she should expect any, but she felt more than a little pitiful. Now that the auction was about to happen, she was wondering if she’d made the right choice.

A year… I can do anything for a year. It’s not that long. And when I’m done, I won’t have any worries… I’ll be set… I can go back to my life, my friends…

If she even had any friends after this. She hadn’t seen or heard from any of them since she’d been arrested, but she could always make new friends. The point was, it was only a year.

I can do this.

Instead of being led to an auction room, at least what she thought an auction room would look like, the woman brought her to a doctor's office—white walls, clean counters, and a padded table with stirrups set up in the middle of the room.

A man was waiting, handsome with blond hair, blue eyes, and an almost welcoming smile, wearing a professional white lab coat. He was the first friendly face Noelle had seen since her lawyer, and she found herself hesitantly smiling back to him.