Introduction

A splash of ice-cold water shocked me awake, but the smell of stale takeout and cheap air freshener told me something was terribly wrong.

The last thing I remembered was a dark cargo container, the scent of the sea, and the chilling realization that my own brother, Liam, had sold me to human traffickers to pay off his gambling debts.

I was supposed to be dead, yet here he was, whining about co-signing a loan, completely oblivious.

Then I saw the date: three years ago. Three years before my life completely fell apart, three years before he' d betray me.

A cold, sharp rage drowned out years of guilt and my mother' s dying wish: "Always look after your brother, Chloe. Promise me." That promise had been a chain around my neck, strangling me until I lost my marriage, my savings, my home, and finally, my life.

Not again.

I looked at him, really looked at him, for the first time without the filter of sisterly obligation. I saw a parasite.

Then I did something I had never done in my entire life. I slapped him.

His eyes widened in disbelief. "What the hell, Chloe?" he shrieked.

"No," I said, my voice low and steady. "I'm not signing anything. Not today. Not ever again."

"You don't get to be 'done'! You owe me! I'm your brother!" he snarled, grabbing my arm.

"A brother doesn't sell his sister to traffickers for a hundred grand," I said calmly.

The blood drained from his face as his grip loosened. He hadn't done it yet in this timeline, but the idea, the calculation, flickered in his eyes. He didn' t know how I knew.

And that gave me all the power. I was back, and this time, I would be the one writing the ending.