back to take me home

Later that night, Lily sat alone on the edge of her bed, still trying to understand where she was.

A girl quietly approached her. She glanced toward the hallway before leaning closer.

"Don't be picky."

Lily frowned. "What?"

The girl lowered her voice. "Don't complain about food. Don't refuse anything." She hesitated. "Otherwise, they'll make you drink toilet water."

Lily stared at her in shock.

The girl was extremely thin. Her clothes hung loosely from her small frame, and there were dark circles beneath her eyes. Yet she managed a faint smile.

"I'm Luciana."

Lily slowly returned the smile. "I'm Lily."

Luciana sat beside her. "Just do whatever they tell you."

Lily listened carefully.

"Don't ask questions. Don't argue. Don't try to be clever."

"Why?"

Luciana's expression changed at once. "They'll isolate you." She shook her head. "Trust me, Lily. You don't want that."

"What happens?"

Luciana looked toward the door. "It's terrible." Her voice became even quieter. "It's dark, it's lonely, and nobody talks to you. I've been there before." She swallowed. "I never want to go back."

Lily stared at her. She was only nine years old, but she understood something that frightened her.

This was not a correctional facility.

It was a prison.

Before Luciana could say anything else, a voice echoed through the hallway.

"Lily!"

Lily jumped. The old woman stood at the end of the corridor.

Lily looked at Luciana, who immediately whispered, "Go. Don't keep her waiting."

Lily hurried toward the woman, who grabbed her hands. "Come with me."

She led Lily down a long hallway and into a small room. There was a single chair in the middle.

"Sit."

Lily obeyed, and the woman closed the door behind them. Then she stood in front of Lily.

"Your uncle said you misbehave a lot."

Lily shook her head. "No, that's not true. I..."

Before she could finish, two women entered. They seized Lily, lifted her from the chair, and then set her back down and strapped her to it.

Lily's eyes widened. She looked from one woman to the other. "What are you doing?"

The old woman stood in front of her. "This is your first lesson, Lily." She spoke calmly. "You will stay here tonight."

Lily looked around the room.

"In here, nobody is coming to save you."

The words made Lily's stomach twist.

"So you had better learn to save yourself." The woman leaned closer. "Obedience will make your life easier."

Lily's eyes filled with tears.

Then the woman added, "Your mother signed a nine-year agreement with us."

Lily stared at her. "Nine years?"

"Yes." The woman smiled faintly. "You will remain here until you are eighteen."

Lily's breathing became shallow. Nine years. She tried to calculate the number in her head, and it came out the same each time: she would be eighteen before she could leave.

She looked toward the door. "Mommy is coming back for me."

The old woman said nothing.

Lily repeated it, louder this time. "She'll come back."

Still nothing.

Then the woman turned toward the door. "Get some rest."

The door opened, and the women walked out. The lock clicked behind them.

Lily sat alone.

For the first time, she realized that nobody was coming. Not her father. Not Ethan. Not her mother. Nobody.

And that was the night Lily stopped waiting for someone to save her.

(NINE YEARS Later)

Nine years later, the gates of the correctional facility opened.

Lily walked out with a worn bag hanging from her shoulder, and Luciana walked beside her. Neither girl looked back. For nine years, that place had been their entire world, and now they were finally free.

A luxury car pulled to a stop in front of them, and the rear door opened. Roselyn stepped out.

Lily stopped walking.

For a moment, neither mother nor daughter spoke. Roselyn looked her daughter over from head to toe, and then she smiled.

"Lily." Her voice was strangely sweet. "Oh, Lily. My sweet girl." She took a step forward. "How have you been?"

Lily said nothing. She simply stared at her mother, and seeing Roselyn again made something dark twist inside her.

For nine years, Lily had imagined this moment. Sometimes she imagined screaming. Sometimes she imagined asking why. Sometimes she imagined wrapping her hands around her mother's neck the same way she had watched her mother wrap hers around her father's. But standing there now, Lily realized that she did not want to give Roselyn the satisfaction of seeing her emotions.

So she remained silent.

A young girl stepped out of the car, close to Lily's age, and smiled brightly. "Mommy, is this my sister?"

Roselyn did not hesitate. "Yes." She looked at Lily. "She's your sister."

The girl smiled at Lily. "I'm glad to finally meet you."

Lily barely acknowledged her.

Roselyn's eyes moved toward Luciana. "So this is the girl you came out with?"

Lily finally spoke. "Yes."

Roselyn frowned. "You're bringing her home with you?"

Lily looked directly into her mother's eyes. "Yes."

"And what if I say no?"

Lily's expression did not change. "Any problem with that, Mother?"

She deliberately emphasized the last word.

Roselyn's smile disappeared. For the first time, she noticed something different about her daughter. Lily was no longer the frightened little girl she had abandoned. She was eighteen now, and there was something cold behind her eyes.

Roselyn instinctively took half a step backward.

Lily noticed. She almost smiled.

Almost.

During those nine years, Lily had been anything but obedient. She had challenged the women who ran the facility. She had refused to bow her head. She had broken rules and fought punishments. More than once, the facility had considered sending her away, but they had already taken Roselyn's money, so they kept her.

Over time, Lily's defiance earned her something she had never expected: respect. The other girls knew she was different. Lily refused to let that place completely break her, and Luciana had stayed beside her through all of it. For nine years, they had become sisters in everything except blood.

Roselyn had come personally because Lily was no longer a secret she could afford to keep. She was about to marry Luciano, the man everyone in the city knew. Luciano was the head of a powerful family, and his household had recently learned about Lily. They had questions, and they did not want rumors following the marriage. They wanted Roselyn to bring her daughter home.

Roselyn had refused. She had not wanted Lily anywhere near her new life. But Luciano's family had insisted, so in the end she had no choice.

There was only one condition Lily made before agreeing to leave: Luciana came with her. When Roselyn refused, Lily refused to move. Eventually, Luciano himself agreed.

Lily glanced at her best friend. Nine years together had made them inseparable. They had survived that place together, and Lily had eventually learned Luciana's story. Her uncle and aunt had been the ones who sent her there. After Luciana's parents died, they had taken control of her family's company and wanted her out of the way. The correctional facility had been their solution.

Lily had never forgotten that. She had spent nine years collecting memories, names, faces, and secrets. And now she was finally free.

Roselyn opened the car door. "Get in."

Lily looked at her mother, then smiled faintly. For the first time in nine years, Roselyn had invited her daughter back into her life.

She had no idea what she was bringing home.

Lily got into the car, and Luciana followed. The door closed.

As the car pulled away, Lily looked through the window at the facility disappearing behind them. She had waited nine years for this moment, and now she was going home.

And this time, she was not the victim.

She was the secret her mother should have been afraid of.