Someone wanted her gone—wanted her dead so badly they were willing to pay for it. The thought twisted like a knife in her chest. She wasn’t just a target; she was a price someone had put on a life they deemed worthless.
Pain was the first thing Estelle registered the moment her eyes fluttered open. She groaned and squeezed them shut again, not because of the light, but from the excruciating ache coursing through her body. It radiated from her neck, snaking down her spine, through her arms, legs, and every other part of her body. Her hands were completely and painfully numb, bound for so long she’d lost all feeling. The same went for her feet and buttocks. She tried to move her head, but the effort only sent sharp, stabbing pains shooting from her neck into her skull.
She groaned again, f
