LOGINYvonne took a deep breath and forced down her panic.Then she looked at the two men and deliberately softened her voice.“Excuse me. Do you know the way down the mountain?“Could you take me to the nearest town?”The two men exchanged a look.A knowing smile passed between them as they slowly walked closer.The taller one raised an eyebrow and openly looked her over.Her clothes were torn and filthy, but even after everything she had been through, it was obvious she was attractive.“Sure, we can take you down,” he said with a smirk. “But nothing’s free.”The shorter man laughed and let his gaze linger on her.“We’ve got motorcycles. We could get you into town pretty fast. But we’re not in the habit of doing favors for nothing.”Yvonne gave a strange, bitter smile.Of course she understood what they meant.She understood perfectly.Before either of them could say anything else, she raised a hand to the torn neckline of her clothes.Her fingers tightened.Then she slowly
After two days of struggling through the cave, Yvonne finally found a way out.She crawled on her hands and knees through a narrow gap between the rocks. The moment she reached the weeds outside, the last of her strength gave out and she collapsed onto the ground.Sunlight fell across her pale, battered face for the first time in two days, so bright that she could barely open her eyes.Then, without warning, she started laughing.The wild, almost hysterical sound echoed through the empty mountains.A moment later, the laughter turned into sobbing.She laughed and cried uncontrollably, looking completely unhinged.Every minute of the past two days had been torture.But worse than the hunger, cold, and fear was the way those two days had slowly destroyed every hope she had been clinging to.On her first night in the cave, Yvonne had curled up against the cold rock wall, terrified but still certain that James would come for her.She had grown up with him.She was his adopted si
But Susan didn’t have much choice.With Liam involved, she couldn’t simply ignore the situation, so she got in her car and headed out into the night.The moment she stepped through the front door of James’s house, Liam’s shrill, miserable crying reached her from the living room.Susan immediately felt a headache coming on.She frowned and hurried over to him, forcing herself to soften her voice.“Liam, sweetheart, stop crying, okay? Mommy just has something to take care of. She’ll be back soon.”But Liam was far too upset to listen.Once he got something into his head, it was nearly impossible to reason with him.He grabbed tightly at Susan’s clothes and cried even harder.“That’s not true! Mommy’s been gone forever! I want Mommy! I want her now!”His cries echoed through the otherwise quiet house.Within minutes, Susan’s patience was gone.She pulled out her phone and called James.“When exactly is Yvonne coming back?” she demanded. “Liam’s been crying since this afternoo
Yvonne was surrounded by complete darkness.She couldn’t see a thing, not even enough to tell whether it was day or night. With no light and no sense of time, the silence slowly began to wear her down.Just as she started feeling dizzy and thought she couldn’t take much more, she heard a faint rustling beside her.It was a tiny sound, but in the absolute quiet of the cave, it made her whole body tense.Yvonne froze.In the dark, every little noise felt threatening.Her hand was numb, but she slowly reached toward the sound, trying to figure out what was there.Her fingertips brushed against something cold and damp.Then it moved.Something small and warm squirmed under her hand.“Ah!”Yvonne screamed and jerked away.A mouse.There had been a small field mouse right beside her, and the second she touched it, it darted away.A wave of nausea hit her.She yanked her hand back and began trembling violently, her empty stomach twisting as though she might throw up.Yvonne ha
Leo frowned, but he had already guessed why Nina was asking.“Caleb’s scared of me, isn’t he?”Yesterday, the kid had barely looked at him. Whenever he spoke, it was always to Nina or Alan.Was he really that intimidating?Leo didn’t think he looked particularly frightening.And if anything, he was the one who had a reason to be annoyed.His brows remained drawn together. He wasn’t exactly angry, but he clearly wasn’t thrilled either.“He doesn’t need to be scared of me. I was perfectly nice to him yesterday.”Nina had expected him to be offended, or at least embarrassed.After all, Leo Taylor was the kind of man most people went out of their way to please. Being personally asked not to come back was probably a first.That was why she had been so careful with her wording.What she hadn’t expected was for him to look almost aggrieved and a little helpless.Still, Nina couldn’t exactly blame Caleb.“You do come across as pretty serious,” she said carefully. “He’s just a kid.
The chickens were still settled quietly in the yard, and for once, Leo found them almost endearing.A farm dog was dozing by the doorway, looking perfectly harmless.Even the faint sounds coming from the pigpen in the distance somehow made the place feel warm and lived-in.Overnight, everything seemed completely different.Leo wandered slowly around the yard, looking more relaxed than usual.Then a voice came from behind him.“Mr. Taylor?”Leo turned around.It was Daniel.He gave him a nod.Daniel was visibly surprised to find Leo outside this early.He still remembered Leo’s expression the day they arrived. One look at the chickens, dogs, and general surroundings had been enough to make him frown as though he wanted to turn around and leave immediately.Yet here he was now, casually strolling around the yard before sunrise.“Mr. Taylor, you’re up early today,” Daniel said. “It’s barely light out.”Leo felt inexplicably awkward.He hadn’t expected anyone to catch him wa







