Trafficked : my story of surviving, escaping, and transcending abduction into prostitution

A haunting, unforgettable, and ultimately inspiring story of a young woman who survived human trafficking Sophie Hayes, a young, educated woman, lured from her family by a 19-year-old Albanian illegal immigrant named Kas, into spending an idyllic weekend in Italy with her seemingly charming boyfriend. However, on the day she planned to return home, everything changed. He made it clear that she wasn't going anywhere. Soon Sophie's bewilderment turned to fear as he punched and shouted at her and threatened to kill her adored younger brothers if she didn't do exactly as she was told. Hayes describes in detail the six months she spent as a sex slave working seven nights a week, servicing "on average, about twenty-five customers every night." The book is a gripping if grim look at the psychology behind the pimp-whore relationship. Read more... Abstract: A haunting, unforgettable, and ultimately inspiring story of a young woman who survived human trafficking Sophie Hayes, a young, educated woman, lured from her family by a 19-year-old Albanian illegal immigrant named Kas, into spending an idyllic weekend in Italy with her seemingly charming boyfriend. However, on the day she planned to return home, everything changed. He made it clear that she wasn't going anywhere. Soon Sophie's bewilderment turned to fear as he punched and shouted at her and threatened to kill her adored younger brothers if she didn't do exactly as she was told. Hayes describes in detail the six months she spent as a sex slave working seven nights a week, servicing "on average, about twenty-five customers every night." The book is a gripping if grim look at the psychology behind the pimp-whore relationship He'd been her friend for years. He said he loved her. Then she realised she didn't know him at all... When everything seemed to be falling apart in Sophie's life, she was thankful for her friend Kas, who was always at the end of a phone, ready to listen and to offer comfort and advice.Her father's cold dislike of her and then her parents' divorce had left her with a deep distrust of men. But, gradually, Kas made her believe there was at least one man who truly cared about her. But she was wrong. At first when Sophie went to stay for a few days with Kas in Italy, he was kind and caring, as he'd always been. But three days after she arrived, everything changed. His eyes were cold as he described the things he expected her to do 'for love'. But soon Sophie's bewilderment turned to fear as he punched and shouted at her and threatened to kill her adored younger brothers if she didn't do exactly as she was told...to sell her body on the streets to pay off Kas's debts. Terrified of Kas, the police and the men whose pleasures she was forced to satisfy, Sophie worked seven nights a week for the next six months on the dark and lonely streets of a town in northern Italy. Subjected regularly to Kas's verbal, mental and physical abuse, she knew she would never escape. And then, one day, after she'd been admitted to hospital with stomach pains – and knowing that Kas would kill her if he found out – she dared to phone her mother. But who would reach her first? When everything seemed to be falling apart in Sophie's life, she was thankful for her friend Kas, who was always at the end of a phone, ready to listen and to offer comfort and advice. Her father's cold dislike of her and then her parents' divorce had left her with a deep distrust of men. But, gradually, Kas made her believe there was at least one man who truly cared about her. But she was wrong. At first when Sophie went to stay for a few days with Kas in Italy, he was kind and caring, as he'd always been. But three days after she arrived, everything changed. His eyes were cold as he described the things he expected her to do 'for love'. But soon Sophie's bewilderment turned to fear as he punched and shouted at her and threatened to kill her adored younger brothers if she didn't do exactly as she was told...to sell her body on the streets to pay off Kas's debts. Terrified of Kas, the police and the men whose pleasures she was forced to satisfy, Sophie worked seven nights a week for the next six months on the dark and lonely streets of a town in northern Italy. Subjected regularly to Kas's verbal, mental and physical abuse, she knew she would never escape. And then, one day, after she'd been admitted to hospital with stomach pains - and knowing that Kas would kill her if he found out - she dared to phone her mother. But who would reach her first? The haunting, unforgettable memoir that took the UK by storm, Trafficked is a gripping first-hand account of a young woman who survived the horrors of human trafficking.Sophie Hayes, a young, educated English woman, was spending an idyllic weekend in Italy with her seemingly charming boyfriend. But the day of her return home, he made it clear she wasn't going anywhere. Punching and shouting at her, he threatened to kill her adored younger brothers if she didn't cooperate to help him pay off hundreds of thousands of dollars he'd racked up in debts.Over the next six months, Sophie is forced to work as a prostitute in a country where she didn't speak the language, nobody knows her whereabouts, and escape seems impossible. She struggles to survive, constantly at the mercy of her boyfriend's violent moods and living in fear of being killed by any of her customers. When a life-threatening illness lands her in the hospital, Sophie has a chance to phone her mother and escape—if her boyfriend doesn't get to her first.Chilling and captivating, Trafficked is one of the first memoirs to present a stunning personal look at the criminal human sex trafficking trade and bring this disturbingly widespread abuse to light. When Sophie Hayes met the mysterious and charming stranger Bledi, she knew he would change her life - but she had no idea how much. At first, it was a typical whirlwind romance. But one day Bledi told Sophie that love always comes at a price. Bledi tricked Sophie into travelling to Italy, where he forced her into selling her body on the streets to help him pay off a large debt. When she refused, he beat her, stole her passport and locked the doors. Terrified and ashamed, Sophie worked the dangerous Italian streets without rest, seeing as many as 30 clients in a night. She was completely at Bledi's mercy for food, for clothes and for shelter. With no money, no friends and no family, she was trapped. But Sophie found the strength to keep going, clinging to life by a single thread of hope: that somehow she'd find a way to escape. Relates the true story of a young British woman, forced into prostitution in Italy by her boyfriend, who managed to foil her abductor and make her way back to safety