They were lying on their backs now, having spent the last hour feasting on each other’s flesh. Above the bed the glow from a scented candle flickered on the ceiling.

‘I’m really going to miss you when you go back to Mexico,’ Alice said.

Rosa had told her she’d be in London for two weeks, and they had even talked about doing some other stuff together. With the weekend approaching, Alice had offered to show her around the city. She’d mentioned Oxford Street, Covent Garden, Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square. These were all places that Rosa had heard of and the prospect of visiting them excited her. So too did the thought of sharing the experiences with Alice. It wasn’t something that Rosa usually did because she rarely stayed anywhere longer than one or two nights.

‘I’d like to see Buckingham Palace,’ Rosa said. ‘I’ve seen so many pictures of it.’

Alice giggled. ‘Then that will be the first stop on our tour. Shall we do it on Sunday? Please say yes.’

Rosa giggled back. ‘I don’t see why not.’

They fell silent as sleep crept up on them. Alice was the first to drop off and her breathing became heavier. Rosa succumbed shortly after and as soon as the darkness claimed her so too did the nightmare.

There are three men in the room with her. Two of them are strangers. The third is Enrique, her adoptive father.

He’s told her that they’re his friends and that they’ve been looking forward to meeting her.

‘They didn’t believe me when I told them what a beautiful little girl you are,’ he says. ‘So that’s why I’ve brought you here to their home. So that they can see for themselves.’

Rosa has only just turned eight years old and she’s scared. She thinks she knows what is going to happen to her. The men are going to do horrible things to her and make her do things to them. And if she tries to resist or starts to cry she’ll be hurt.

Enrique usually slaps her face or pinches her cheek so hard it brings tears to her eyes. Sometimes he says that if she doesn’t behave he’ll drive her deep into the forest and leave her there all alone.

Once she said that she was going to tell her aunt and in response he threatened to burn her eyes out with a cigarette.

So she no longer resists or cries or tells him to stop.

But this is the first time he’s introduced her to anyone and she suspects it’s because her aunt is in hospital having something called an appendix taken out of her body.

‘My friends have given me money to buy you some gifts,’ Enrique says. ‘So I want you to show them how grateful you are. Do you understand?’