I was supposed to be dead.

The last thing I remembered was the cold, jagged edge of the ceramic lamp, the agonizing sting, and the warm rush of blood before the darkness swallowed me whole. I had welcomed it, thinking it was my only escape.

But instead of the quiet void, I woke up to the sterile, rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor and the overwhelming smell of antiseptic.

My eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the harsh fluorescent lights of a hospital room.

Before I could even process that I was still alive, hushed, angry voices drifted through the crack in the door.

"I told you to just let her bleed out," a harsh whisper hissed. Chloe. "It would have solved everything," she continued, her voice dripping with irritation.

"And have the police crawling all over my house?" Liam shot back, his tone clipped and furious. "People would talk, Chloe. I couldn't just let my wife die in the guest room. There would be an investigation."

"Is that the only reason?" Chloe’s voice shifted, laced with a sudden, venomous insecurity. "Are you sure? Or did you see her bleeding and suddenly realize you still love her?"

Liam let out a cruel, dismissive scoff that made my stomach turn. "Don't be stupid. Of course not. I saved her because we need her. The buyers are furious. They paid us a fortune, and now they’re demanding their merchandise. If we don't hand her back over to the traffickers tonight, they'll come for us."

Panic exploded in my chest. I had to get out. I tried to gasp, to rip the IV from my arm and run, but my body refused to obey.

My limbs felt like lead, pinned to the mattress by whatever heavy sedatives they had pumped into my veins. I was completely paralyzed.

Footsteps approached the door. I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing my breathing to stay slow and even. I had to play dead. I had to pretend I was still unconscious.

The door clicked shut. Someone leaned over me, their cheap, familiar perfume suffocating me. Chloe.

"You're pathetic, Daisy," she whispered, her breath hot against my ear. "When they take you away this time, don't even think about coming back. Liam is mine now. He always was. And just so you know while you're rotting in whatever hell they take you to... I'm pregnant with his baby."

The heart monitor beside me betrayed my shock, its rhythmic beeping suddenly spiking into a frantic flutter. Chloe let out a dark, satisfied chuckle.

Before I could even force my eyes open to look at her, a heavy, chemically induced darkness dragged me under. I went completely blank.

When I woke up again, the sterile smell of the hospital was gone. It was replaced by the choking stench of diesel fuel, stale sweat, and rust.

The floor beneath me was vibrating violently. It was pitch black, and the deafening roar of an engine echoed all around me.

The freight truck.

Adrenaline burned through the lingering sedatives in my blood. I pushed myself up, my bandaged hands screaming in pain. I refused to be their pawn. I refused to let Liam and my own stepsister win.

I stumbled through the suffocating darkness of the moving trailer, throwing my hands against the cold metal walls until I felt the heavy latch of the rear doors. I threw my entire body weight against it. I kicked, I clawed, and I pulled with every ounce of strength I had left.

Clang.

The metal groaned. I hit it again, screaming into the darkness.

Suddenly, the latch gave way. The heavy doors burst open, violently swinging outward and letting in a rush of freezing night air.

The highway blurred beneath me, a ribbon of deadly gray asphalt rushing past in the moonlight. The truck was moving fast—too fast. But staying meant a fate worse than death.

I didn't think. I just closed my eyes, and I jumped.

The impact was catastrophic. I hit the asphalt, rolling violently as the rough ground tore at my hospital gown, my skin, and my bandages.

The world spun in a sickening blur of sky and road until I finally skidded to a halt in the dirt and gravel on the side of the highway.

My body screamed in absolute agony. I lay there in the dirt, staring up at the starless sky as my vision blurred. The truck's red taillights disappeared into the night, leaving me entirely alone in the deafening silence.

I couldn't feel my legs. My breaths came in shallow, ragged gasps, and the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

As the edges of my vision began to turn black, a single, heartbreaking thought echoed in my fading mind.

I guess this is the end…

Until suddenly...