Chapter 2

"Chloe, drink."

A bottle of water was slammed down next to me in the dark. The cap wasn't even screwed on, spilling most of the water over my clothes.

At 1:40 AM, the car pulled up in front of an unmarked, rundown concrete house.

I was dragged out of the back seat and shoved into a basement behind a heavy iron gate.

A filthy, blackened mat lay on the cold concrete floor. Two young women were huddled in the corner. Their eyes were completely hollow. They didn't even look up when I was thrown in.

Jerry tossed me to the ground and yelled toward the stairs.

"Marcus! This is the special order from Vanessa. Keep a close eye on her. Don't let her run."

A thin, rat-faced man walked down the stairs, chewing gum. He looked me up and down.

"Vanessa's order? This girl?"

"She's worth five hundred grand?"

Jerry sneered and leaned in, lowering his voice, but I could still hear every word.

"The buyer's price is five hundred grand. But Vanessa said this girl is pretty. She wants me to ask if they can push it to seven hundred grand."

"Oh, seven hundred grand?" Marcus squatted in front of me, parting his lips to show a row of stained teeth. "Then we must handle her with care. Don't leave any marks on her."

He reached out, trying to grab my chin.

I jerked my head away. With my bloody lips, I whispered, "If your hand touches my face, I suggest you start running right now."

Marcus’s hand froze in mid-air. He laughed. "Wow. Quite a temper on this one."

Jerry kicked me hard in the shoulder from behind.

"Shut up! You still dare to talk back here? Your own family sold you out. Who do you think is going to save you?"

A sharp pain shot from my shoulder down my arm. The sedative took advantage of my weakness, making my vision go pitch black for a second.

I bit my tongue again, dragging myself back from the edge of fainting.

Marcus didn't push it. He stood up, walked outside the iron gate, and dialed a number.

"Hey Vanessa, she's here... yeah, no scratches... alright, alright. We'll take her across the border tomorrow afternoon. We'll be there before dark..."

"...Your niece? When is she registering? The day after tomorrow? Got it. Tell her to go early so she doesn't raise any flags."

I couldn't hear what Vanessa was saying on the other end, but after Marcus hung up, he looked at me and clicked his tongue.

"Your sister-in-law said you got into some fancy military academy?"

I kept my mouth shut.

"She wanted me to tell you," Marcus chewed his gum loudly, "that her niece is heading out to register tomorrow. Your pathetic brother is personally driving her there."

He paused, letting out a smug chuckle.

"She also said your brother bought her niece a brand new designer suitcase. Cost over two grand. Paid for with your college fund."

A soft sob came from the girl in the corner.

Marcus kicked the iron gate violently. "Shut up! Stop crying! It's annoying!"

The crying stopped instantly.

The basement fell back into a suffocating silence.

I sat against the damp concrete wall. The ropes around my wrists were so tight my hands were turning purple, and my shoulder throbbed where I had been kicked.

The drugs hadn't fully cleared my system. My consciousness was like thin ice on water, ready to crack at any moment.

Just then, a quiet, timid voice came from upstairs.

"Boss... can I talk to my sister? Just a couple of words..."

Sean.

My own brother had actually followed them here.

Marcus impatiently threw his phone through the iron bars. The screen was lit up. A FaceTime call was already connected.

Sean's face filled the screen. His eyes were red, and his lips were trembling.

"Chloe... are you okay..."

I stared at him, not saying a single word.

My silence terrified him. His voice cracked. "Chloe, I know you hate me... but Vanessa, she lost so much money in her business. Our family is really—"

"Sean."

I spoke, my voice so raspy it didn't even sound like me.

"When you watched her tie me up and throw me into that car... what were you thinking?"

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Suddenly, the phone was grabbed away. Vanessa's smug face appeared on the screen, a nasty smirk plastered on her lips.

"What was he thinking? He was thinking he finally doesn't have to pay for your expensive college tuition anymore. Chloe, did you really think your brother cared about you? The only thing he worried about when you got accepted was how much it would cost him."

Sean lowered his head in the background, not even daring to argue.

I stared at the screen, looking at her ugly, triumphant face, and spoke quietly.

"Vanessa, has your niece ever taken a flight before?"

She blinked, caught off guard.

"Yeah, she has. Why?"

"Good," I said. "At least she'll be comfortable on her flight to New York."

"Because when she comes back, she won't be flying."