LOGINAurora’s POV“They’re here,” she whispered.The words pressed down on ys, almost suffocating me. I almost stumbled, nearly loosing my balance.This was actually happening right now. For a second, no one moved. Then the door at the far end opened.“Bring them.”My heart slammed into my chest. The same woman with the clipboard didn’t even raise her voice. She didn’t need to. The guards moved immediately, stepping forward, ushering us into motion before hesitation could take root.My heart started pounding frantically, my fingers digging into my palms as my legs moved. Each beat felt deliberate, like my body was bracing for something it already understood.We were led out of the room in a line.To be honest, I almost apllauded them.. almost. They didn’t need a chain or rope. But we did exacrly ewhat they wanted. Fear was more than enough for tbis. The hallway stretched longer this time, or maybe it only felt that way because every step forward felt like stepping deeper into some
_Aurora’s POV_They didn’t give us time to process anything that was happening. The moment the realization settled in, my chest was heavy and I felt like I was suffocating. We were moved again, pushed further down the hallway and into another room. Of course they didn’t bother explaining what was happening to us. I hissed when one of the guards grabbed my arm tightly and without thinking I smacked his hand away. “Watch it!” I cried, glaring hard at me.I heard him click his Anf game a threatening step towards me, but a loud cough interrupted us.“Bring them in.” The woman from earlier said, her eyes pinned on us. Everything happened so quickly, and soon we were lined up in a white room. The room was colder than the rest we had been to, with white bright lights threatening to blind me. Everything looked too clean, the walls bare and floor spotless. The air carried thag same sharp scent of antiseptic like someone had washed the entire place with it. My stomach twisted.“Line u
_Aurora’s POV_The van didn’t stop all at once.It slowed first, gradually easing out of speed in a way that made us nervous. The movement inside changed with it, bodies subtly leaning forward, breaths catching, tension thickening without a single word needing to be said.We were close.I didn’t know to what exactly, but my body knew before my mind did.The girl beside me tightened her hold on my arm, her fingers digging in slightly as if I were the only solid thing in a space that was starting to feel too small.“Are we there?” she whispered, her voice barely holding together.I didn’t answer her immediately. I was just as nervous as she was. Instead, I leaned forward just enough to angle my head toward one of the narrow slits near the top of the van. It wasn’t meant for looking through, but if you strained just enough. Light.Not the scattered glow of streetlights.Something stronger. Brighter. Controlled.It looked like the type you eould see in an underground parking lot or so
_Aurora’s POV_They moved us without warning.One minute the room was heavy with silence, the next the door burst open and everything shifted into motion so fast it felt unreal. Orders were barked. Names weren’t used. Hands grabbed, pulled, pushed.No one asked questions.No one dared.I barely had time to sit up properly before someone yanked me down from the bunk. Pain shot through my leg the moment my weight hit the floor, sharp enough to blur my vision for a second.“Move.”I stumbled forward, biting down on the inside of my cheek to stop the sound that threatened to escape. Around me, the others were being dragged out too. Some crying quietly, some too shocked to react, some already numb.The girl from the opposite bunk—the loud one—was suddenly very quiet.Interesting how quickly that changed.We were herded through the hallway like we were nothing more than cargo. No explanations. No reassurance. Just movement.Always movement.And somehow, that made everything worse.Because i
_Damien’s POV_I didn’t bother with greetings when I walked into Mr Kingston’s office.There was no point dressing this up with politeness or pretending this was a normal conversation. Nothing about the last few days had been normal, and nothing about what I was feeling could be contained behind courtesy.The moment his secretary let me in, I shut the door behind me harder than necessary.He looked up from his desk, mildly surprised, like my presence was an inconvenience he hadn’t scheduled into his day. Papers were spread neatly in front of him, a pen resting beside a document he hadn’t even finished reading. He didn’t stand. He didn’t ask me to sit either.That alone already told me enough.“Where is your daughter?” I asked immediately.No softening of tone. No easing into it. Straight to the point.His brow lifted slightly, and he leaned back in his chair like I had just asked something trivial.“Aurora?” he repeated, as if confirming I meant the obvious. Then he exhaled slowly, al
_Aurora’s POV_The second time they moved me, I stopped trying to understand where I was going.It didn’t make it easier, but it made it quieter in my head.My body still ached from everything before—every impact, every fall, every time I had been dragged when I couldn’t walk properly—but now there was a dull resignation layered over the pain. Not acceptance. Not peace. Just… exhaustion.They didn’t even bother being gentle anymore.One of them grabbed my arm, the other supported my weight only when I nearly collapsed, and together they guided me through a corridor that smelled like antiseptic and something metallic I didn’t want to identify. The building looked nothing like the place I had escaped from. This one was larger, more structured, too organized in a way that made it worse.Doors lined the hallway at intervals. Some closed. Some slightly open. And from behind a few of them, I heard voices.Girls’ voices.That was the first thing that made my chest tighten in a different wa







