For the first time in weeks, Seo Hana felt something other than fear.She felt... purpose.
That letter burned in her chest like a secret weapon.Madam Kang.Her mother's last hope.Her only ticket out of this nightmare.
But how?The man barely let her out of his sight.Every window was locked.Every door guarded.
Hana spent days studying the mansion's rhythms.When the guards changed shifts.When deliveries came.When the monster got drunk enough to forget she existed.
She had one shot.And if she failed...There wouldn't be a second.
That night, during the storm, the house became a maze of shadows.She slipped through corridors like a ghost, heart pounding so loud she feared it would give her away.In the garage, she found a phone tucked inside a delivery man's jacket.A miracle.
With trembling fingers, she dialed the only number burned into her memory from childhood.Madam Kang's personal line.
It rang.And rang.And—
"Who is this?"The voice was sharp. Cold. Powerful.
Hana swallowed the lump in her throat."Seo Hana," she whispered."Daughter of Seo Min-jun... please... I need help."
There was silence.A heartbeat.Two.
And then, like thunder in the dark—"Where are you, child?"
Hope.Real, terrifying, dangerous hope.For the first time, Hana let herself cry.