The world returned in fragments—harsh lights flashing through my eyelids, distant sirens growing louder, the metallic tang of blood thick on my tongue. My body was a canvas of agony: ribs throbbing with every shallow breath, scalp burning where hair had been ripped, wrists raw and slick with blood from the zip ties that had cut deep during my struggles.
The dress I’d worn that morning hung torn at the shoulder, cold air biting exposed skin. I lay curled on the concrete, trembling uncontrollably, every small movement sending fresh waves of pain radiating outward.
The three men loomed above me again, shadows stretching long under the warehouse’s dim bulbs. The leader—the one with the snake tattoo winding up his neck—crouched close, his breath hot and foul against my face.
“You’re going t
