I didn't run.
Not at first.
Victor's words rang in my head, wrapping around my ribcage like a steel trap.
You were not sold to James. You were donated to him.
I'd spent years thinking my father had sold me—that I was a commodity, nothing more. But this? This was something else entirely.
This is because I was never destined to escape.
The motel room was too claustrophobic, too stifling. My heart pounded in my head as I stepped back, my hand closing into a fist around the stolen papers. Victor watched me, a grin seeping behind his sharp, sunken eyes.
“Where are you heading, Stella?” He spoke smoothly, but I wasn’t deceived. “Running won’t change what has already been put into motion.”
I swallowed hard, forcing myself to be courageous. "I don't have to change anything." My voice was s
