Chapter 1

Reunited with my brother Christian after ten years, I was instead sold to the cartel by his rivals.

I tried to run, but every attempt only brought worse punishment.

My fingers were broken, I was electrocuted, locked in an iron cage to fight rabid dogs, and forced to kill other captives to survive.

A year later, I was crippled, intermittently deaf, and blind in one eye.

Everyone thought I had lost the will to live, but I dragged myself back to the Sterling mansion on pure survival instinct.

I thought I was finally going home to my brother.

Instead, I saw Marcus, the cartel leader who kidnapped me, bowing to Christian. "Mr. Sterling, I assure you, we've broken her. She's completely submissive now. She will never trouble Chloe again."

My breath caught. I tried to crawl away, but Marcus spotted me. He grabbed my hair with a sneer. "Come on, sweetheart. Be a good girl and let's go home."

My heart turned to ash as I watched Christian's retreating back.

There was no rival kidnapping.

The person I trusted most had orchestrated my nightmare just to appease his precious adopted sister.

If that's how it is, then let's all burn in hell together!

A year ago, I was reunited with my brother, Christian, after being apart for ten years.

He took time out of his busy schedule to take me to an amusement park. But on the way, our car was violently rammed by his rivals.

Before I lost consciousness, Christian shielded me tightly in his arms.

But I never expected that when I woke up, I would be surrounded by strangers.

And my brother was nowhere to be found.

The men stood over me like predators. Seeing me stir, a brutal, hulking man slapped me hard across the face. "What are you looking at? Your brother ruined my family. I'm going to make him feel what it's like to lose his precious little sister."

Before I could wonder why I was the only one taken, my brain scrambled for a way to escape.

The crowd parted, and a man with a deep scar on his face walked in. He tossed a phone at me.

"You're awake? Then do as you're told if you want to see your brother again. Call him. Tell him to come."

I scrambled forward, grabbing the phone, and tried to dial 911 when they weren't looking.

The next second, the phone was kicked out of my hand.

The scarred man, Marcus, stomped on my hand, snapping my fingers. "Trying to call the cops? There's no signal here, sweetheart."

I rolled on the ground in agony, only then realizing the landline in the corner was completely dead.

Suppressing my terror, I forced myself to look up defiantly. "Kill me if you want. But if you think you can use me to threaten Christian, you're dreaming!"

He stared at me and smirked. "You've got guts."

I was locked up and starved for three days. On the fourth day, someone finally brought me water.

I grabbed her hand, begging, "Please, help me. My brother is a billionaire. If you let me go, I'll give you money. Millions."

The girl, Fiona, hesitated. A flicker of hope rose in my chest. With her support, I struggled to stand.

But then, Marcus burst in and kicked me hard in the stomach. My organs felt like they were rupturing. I curled into a ball, shaking and sweating cold sweat. My brief hope shattered instantly.

Marcus leaned down. "Still bragging about your brother? His billions were built on our blood. I'm going to rip him to shreds."

I lunged forward and bit his ear as hard as I could.

"Let go, you bitch!" he screamed, raining punches down on me.

I was too weak from starvation to hold on for long. Soon, my grip loosened, and I fell limp.

Marcus, free now, kicked me repeatedly in the ribs. "Bitch! Fucking bitch! I'll beat you to death! How dare you bite me!"

I coughed up a pool of blood, my consciousness fading.

Fiona rushed in to hold him back. "Stop! Stop! She's coughing up blood!"

Marcus paused, grunting. "Make sure you patch her up."

I lay on the cold floor for two days. When Fiona came to treat my wounds, I managed to steal a small metal bobby pin from her hair.

In the dead of night, I slipped it into the iron padlock. My broken fingers throbbed with white-hot pain at the slightest movement. I clenched my teeth, tears streaming down my face as I picked at the lock.

The lock fell open with a clear click. It worked.

Heart pounding, I peeked outside.

To my surprise, there was no one guarding the corridor.

I dragged myself along the wall, finally stepping into the moonlight.

I ran. I ran as fast as my battered body could carry me, popping the blisters on my soles, leaving a trail of blood behind.

Suddenly, I slipped and fell into a large body of water. The salt stung my open wounds so badly I almost shrieked.

Under the pale moonlight, I looked around. Despair instantly crushed my soul.

There was nothing but water in every direction. This was a desolate island, surrounded by the ocean.