CHAPTER 146.

Kristina’s POV.

I didn’t know how long I had been running. Everything felt like a blur—the woods, the gravel road and the cold wind scraping my skin. My feet ached. My throat burned. But none of that mattered. I was out. Finally free. After months of being locked away, drugged, silenced, and forgotten by the people who were supposed to love me, I had slipped through their grasp.

The retreat they called it. A private place tucked in the mountains. A place for healing, my mother said. But there was no healing in that place. Just white walls, locked doors, and endless silence.

No phones, no visitors. Just me, my regrets, and the ghosts of who I used to be.

By the time I made it to the city, my knees gave out. Right there—on the curb outside a neon-lit building that pulsed with music and cigarette smoke—I collapsed. No strength left to fake dignity.

I heard someone call my name. At first, I thought I imagined it. But then she crouched beside me. Big hair, bold makeup and a worried look