I didn't leave my room for the rest of the day.Couldn't. Every time I thought about going downstairs, about facing what I'd done, my chest got tight and my hands started shaking.I'd just exiled my own mother.Fuck.What kind of person does that?Around six PM, someone knocked. Soft. Hesitant."Elena?" My mother's voice. "Can I come in? Please?"I sat up, stared at the door. Part of me wanted to throw it open, take it all back, tell her I was sorry. But the other part, the part that was learning to survive in this world, stayed quiet."You have five minutes," I said.She opened the door slowly. Her eyes were red, makeup smudged. She looked smaller somehow. Broken."I'm leaving tonight," she said. "Silas is sending me to Portland. To my sister's. He's given me enough money to start over.""Good for you.""Elena, please don't do this. Don't shut me out. I'm still your mother.""Are you?" I looked at her. Really looked. "Because mothers don't sell their daughters. They don't set traps.
Last Updated : 2026-03-14 Read more