Chapter 2

"Elise? Your shift's over. Time to go." My coworker, Maria, a kind-faced woman with tired eyes, called out from down the hall, effectively breaking the suffocating silence. It was a lifeline.

Katherine' s gaze lingered on my back as I turned to acknowledge Maria, a silent accusation in her eyes. I could feel it, a burning weight between my shoulder blades, even as I walked away.

The foreman, a stout man with a perpetually grumpy expression, handed me a slim envelope. "Here's your pay, Ryan. Don't be late tomorrow." The crinkle of the few bills inside felt meager, barely enough to cover the week's rent.

Rent. The thought was a familiar knot in my gut. Every cent was accounted for, a tightrope walk between survival and destitution.

As I started to walk out, a hand clamped around my arm. Katherine. Her grip was surprisingly strong, almost desperate.

"Elise, please. Let us help you." Her eyes were pleading, filled with a guilt I didn't want to see. "We can give you money, a job. Anything you need."

I slowly turned, my gaze sweeping from Katherine's tear-streaked face to Annamarie, who stood a few feet behind her, his head still bowed. Hope flickered in Katherine's eyes, a dangerous spark I instantly recognized.

With a deliberate, unhurried motion, I peeled her fingers from my arm, one by one. The skin where she touched me felt cold, numb.

"You can't give me what I need," I said, my voice flat, emotionless.

Katherine's mouth opened, then closed, her words choked off. Her eyes, filled with a mixture of helplessness and frustration, mirrored a familiar despair. She didn't follow as I walked out of the building.

No time for distractions. This life, this shell of existence, demanded every ounce of my focus. Survival was a full-time job. I had already stretched myself thin, beyond breaking point, just to stay alive.

My tiny room was a twenty-minute walk from the construction site where I sometimes picked up extra cleaning shifts. It was less than ten square meters, partitioned off a communal living space, barely more than a closet. On rainy days, the ceiling leaked, forming dark, spreading stains on the thin mattress I called a bed. It shared a wall with a public restroom, and the faint, acrid smell of stale urine was a constant companion, especially at night.

By the time I reached my door, the sky had swallowed the last vestiges of daylight, plunging the alley into a deep, oppressive gloom. I was exhausted, every muscle screaming in protest. I kicked off my shoes, too tired to even light the single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. I just collapsed onto the mattress, ready for the oblivion of sleep.

Then, a knock.

A sharp, insistent rap against the flimsy wooden door. My first thought was the landlord, demanding rent a day early. My heart hammered against my ribs, a familiar fear.

I pulled myself up, dragging my weary feet to the door. I unlatched it, pulling it open just a crack, ready with an excuse. But it wasn't the landlord.

Katherine stood there, her face drawn, eyes red-rimmed. And beside her, Jace. My ex-husband. He held her arm, his hand resting protectively over her visibly rounded stomach. They stood out like exotic birds in this squalid alley, their designer clothes and polished shoes stark against the grime and cracked pavement.

I instinctively moved to slam the door shut, to push them back into the past they belonged to. But Jace was quicker. He slipped his foot into the gap, deftly preventing me from closing it.

He pushed the door open, casually strolling into the cramped space. He glanced around, his nose crinkling in distaste, his hand rising to cover his mouth and nose for a moment. His eyes, devoid of any real pity, finally settled on me.

"We heard you were alive," he said, his voice smooth, almost rehearsed. "Couldn't believe it."