Chapter Eleven – The Spark
Every tyrant forgets: even a prisoner learns the shape of their cage.
The morning began like all the others.
Daniel kissed her forehead before leaving for work, his lips brushing her skin like ice. His hand lingered on her bandaged palm as though it belonged to him, not her.
Then he was gone.
The locks clicked into place. The silence closed in.
Julia sat at the table for a long time, staring at the photo of Maya still hidden under her pillow.
Her heart beat faster with every thought.
If Daniel was watching Maya… if he was willing to use her as leverage… then Julia couldn’t just endure.
She had to fight back.
Her eyes flicked to the journals stacked neatly by the window.
Every page was filled with her careful lies—words Daniel believed were her devotion
