Chapter 2:
where the heroine makes the choice to enter the auction:
The screen glowed cold blue in the dark room. Her finger hovered over the "Apply" button on the encrypted auction site. No name, no history just one question: *Are you willing to surrender your freedom for payment?
She stared at it for hours.
Her brother's breathing grew shallow in the next room. Hospital bills were piling up, and the debt collectors weren't knocking anymore they were promising to come in swinging.
Tears welled up, but she blinked them away. She couldn't afford to cry.
The idea disgusted her selling herself like property. But what terrified her more was the silence that would come if she didn't. Silence from her brother's room. Silence from a life too broken to fix.
With trembling hands, she clicked "Yes."
A message appeared: Location and instructions will be sent. Do not tell anyone. Do not run.
Her phone buzzed moments later. It had begun.