LOGINTatianaMy mouth almost dropped open at the figure written across the cheque, the number stretching across the paper in a way that didn’t feel real, as though it belonged in someone else’s life. But I held myself back, forcing my expression into something steadier even as my thoughts betrayed me.Because I could see it what it meant. A clean way out with no questions asked.My fingers curled slightly against my lap as my gaze lingered on the cheque, and despite everything sitting heavy in my chest, despite the confusion, the lingering ache in my head, the fragments of memory that refused to piece together, I couldn’t stop the thoughts from forming.I could leave.Just like that.Take the money and disappear into a life that didn’t know my name, into a city where no one would look twice at me, where no one would ask questions I didn’t want to answer, where I wouldn’t have to keep looking over my shoulder, wondering when something I couldn’t remember would come back to find me.I could
TATIANAThe first thing that returned to me was the pain.It wasn’t sharp enough to make me gasp, nor sudden enough to jolt me upright. It settled instead, slow and heavy, like something that had been waiting patiently for me to wake so it could make itself known.My hand moved before I fully registered the motion, fingers pressing against my temple, then dragging slightly upward as if the pressure alone could quiet the ache.It didn’t and if anything, it made me more aware of it.I inhaled slowly, my eyes still closed, my thoughts slow to gather, slipping in and out of coherence like fragments that refused to settle into something whole. For a moment, I remained like that, suspended between sleep and wakefulness, unsure whether I wanted to open my eyes and confront whatever waited on the other side.Because something felt wrong. Not in a way I could immediately define, but enough that my body registered it before my mind could catch up.Still, I opened my eyes and they landed on the
HASANAs soon as I stepped further into the brothel, something in me recoiled so sharply it almost translated into movement. For a fleeting second, I was ready to turn around, walk straight out, get into my car, and leave this place behind as if I had never set foot in it. The instinct wasn’t subtle, nor was it something I had to think through. It rose from somewhere deeper, something instinctive and unfiltered, like my body had already judged the environment and found it unworthy of my presence.But Tatiana was here.Or at least, she was supposed to be.And that alone forced my feet to keep moving.The smell of cheap, stale whiskey clung to the air with an almost aggressive persistence, as though the walls themselves had absorbed years of it and were now exhaling it back into the room. I could taste it at the back of my throat before I even took a full breath. It coated my tongue, settled into my lungs, and I knew—without doubt—that it would follow me out of here, seep into my clothe
HASANThe ringing of my phone forced its way in the air, slicing through the stillness of the night with a persistence that refused to be ignored. For a brief moment, my mind resisted waking, clinging to the remnants of sleep, but the ringing continued without mercy, dragging me out of unconsciousness with a steady, unrelenting pull.My eyes opened slowly at first, unfocused, staring at nothing in particular as awareness began to return in fragments. The ceiling above me came into view, dimly lit by the faint glow of the bedside lamp that cast long, stretched shadows across the room. I didn’t remember leaving it on, and for a second, that detail lingered in my mind, as though my thoughts were searching for something simple to hold onto before confronting whatever had disturbed the night.The ringing continued.My head turned slightly, my gaze landing on the bedside cupboard where my phone lay vibrating against the wood, its screen lighting up in intervals that punctuated the darkness.
TATIANAIt wasn’t the kind of silence that soothed. It pressed in from all sides, thick and contained, like the air itself had been stripped of anything unnecessary. My head throbbed faintly as awareness sharpened, my breathing uneven for a moment before I forced it to steady.I tried to move.My hands didn’t.The realization settled heavily, not as panic, but as something more measured. My wrists were bound tightly behind a post, the position pulling my shoulders back just enough to make every slight movement strain against the restraints.There was something in my mouth.Cloth.Rough enough to dry out my tongue, to make swallowing uncomfortable.I exhaled slowly through my nose, grounding myself in the sensation rather than fighting it immediately. Panic would only make this worse. It always did.So I stayed still.Listened.Waited.Footsteps broke through the silence.Slow. Deliberate.They didn’t rush. Didn’t hesitate. Each step carried a quiet certainty that made something uneasy
TATIANAA breath left my lungs quietly, controlled, like my body was trying to hold itself together despite what my mind had already understood.Out of everything they could have used—They chose her.Because they knew. They knew exactly where to aim.Emily, who had already paid for my mistakes once. Emily, who had struggled on her own to rebuild her life after everything fell apart. Emily, who had nothing to do with any of this.I locked my phone, the image still burned into my mind, and pushed myself off the shelf.The bottle remained where I left it and moved toward the door without hesitation.The hallway felt colder when I stepped out, quieter in a way that made everything seem more deliberate. Like the house itself had withdrawn from me the moment I crossed that threshold, leaving me to stand in the open with nothing but the weight of my own decisions pressing down on my shoulders.And then I saw the van sat just beyond the gates, exactly where the message said it would be. The







