Darkness retreated slowly, like a reluctant tide. Consciousness seeped back in with the pain—a deep, throbbing ache in my skull, bruises humming across my ribs, my thighs, my back. Every breath was a conscious effort, a negotiation with the hurt.
The air was thick with a scent that didn't belong to any place I knew.
Where am I? where the hell I'm I!!
My eyelids were leaden. I tried to lift them, but the light beyond was a white-hot blade. I flinched, surrendering to the dark again.
Then the memories didn't just return—they attacked.
Lucian cheated.
The words were a cold, serrated knife, twisting in my gut.
Patricia did this to me.
Her hands, a blur of manicured cruelty. Her kicks, precise and sadistic, each one a violation.
James… Lionel. He took me. But where?
The final piece clicked into place with a soundless, terrifying snap.
My eyes flew open.
