It was still dark outside—too early for anyone else to be up. Even Bella was sound asleep, wrapped under the soft comforter in his bedroom. Zac had entered his study last night without a word. The study was his refuge—a place he could retreat to when his thoughts grew too loud.
The dim glow of his laptop screen lit up the otherwise quiet room. Emails and messages waited for his attention, but his thoughts were miles away. They circled back to Mia.
Over the past few weeks, her story had come together in fragments. She kept most of her struggles to herself, but Zac was good at connecting the dots. Her overwhelming debt, the job she’d been forced to take, and her longing hope for freedom showed a life she hadn’t willingly stepped into.
She had made it known that completing this job would g
