When Mom and Dad went broke—$30K in debt—they let collectors sell me to Nyamara, a lawless border strip full of trafficking, forced labor, and private prisons.

I slept in flooded cells. Ate rotten food. Tried to run. They smashed both my legs with iron rods.

I dragged myself home—and walked in on them planning Nina's sweet eighteen.

Dad flicked his hand and dropped $3 million on a top-tier jewelry set for her.

Mom smiled, then mentioned me. "I heard Talia cries every day, begging to come home. When do we tell her the truth and bring her back?"

Dad shook his head, smug. "What's the rush? This is her gift. Let her tough it out one more month. Otherwise, how's she supposed to inherit our billions?"

I tightened my grip on the medical report—severe infection in both legs.

Mom. Dad. I don't even have a month left.

At dusk, Mom, Dad, and Nina rushed home after a call from the police.

Dad came straight to me, eyes red like he'd been crying. "Talia, you're finally back. You must've suffered a lot over there, right?"

Three months in Nyamara. Before I left, they cried just like this—swore they'd bring me home soon.

Half an hour ago, I saw them feasting at a luxury hotel.

Dad kept going. "If we hadn't sent you there to toughen you up, with your delicate personality, you'd never measure up to your sister."

Mom grabbed his sleeve, shot him a look. "Enough. She's back. It'd be the same if she stayed home."

Dad nodded, then shoved a bag into my hands. "You must be starving. Hurry and eat."

I opened it. A sour stench hit me.

Chunks of bread, yellow-green with mold.

The only clean spot had a muddy footprint stamped into it.

***

Third-Person POV

Time rewinds—Gregory and Helen at the hotel when the police call hits.

They'd told the waiter to pack the leftovers for Talia.

Nina stared at the scraps, frowning. "She's never eaten this good. Won't that give us away..."

Gregory hesitated.

Nina pointed out the window. "That man looks so pitiful. The bread he's holding's already gone bad."

She curled into Helen's arms, soft and fragile. "Mom, Dad, can we help him?"

Gregory's eyes lit up. He told the waiter to trade the leftovers for the stale chunks of bread.

When he told Nina to take it, her hand shook.

The bread slipped. Hit the ground.

She stomped on it. Hard.

***

Talia's POV

I grabbed the bag. No hesitation. Pulled out a piece and shoved it into my mouth. Big bites.

In Nyamara, they didn't feed me. When I got hungry, I dug through the dump for scraps.

If they caught me, they saved the leftovers till they went sour, tossed them in the bathroom trash, and made me crawl and eat off the floor like a dog.

Moldy bread? That was good food to me.

But my stomach had shrunk from starving. Two bites in, my face went pale.

I hit the floor and threw up.

Dad's eyes locked on me. "Talia, you too good for the bread I brought? Your mom and I have to collect a whole sack of bottles just to afford it. Don't grow up chasing better food and clothes."

He shoved another piece into my mouth.

I stumbled back. Pain ripped through my left leg—the one I braced with a tree branch. I hit the ground hard.

Dad lifted his hand. The color drained from my face.

I curled up, arms over my head. "Don't hit me, don't hit me! I was wrong. I'm sorry."

In Nyamara, one mistake meant getting hung up and whipped with thorny branches.

I'd learned.

I lay there, choking down the bread in desperate gulps.

Dad frowned at me shaking. "Talia, what's wrong with you—"

Nina rushed in, hugging me like she cared. "Talia, I know you're timid, but it was just a fall. You're fine."

Dad's face went dark. "You're scared over this? How are you ever gonna amount to anything?"

He kicked me. Hard. "No backbone. You need discipline."

I slammed into the ground. A sharp ring burst in my ears.

This time, I clamped my hand over my mouth. No sound.

Dad's expression eased.

He stared at me. "Talia, forgetting something?"

I nodded, pulled five thousand dollars from inside my clothes, and handed it over. "I'm sorry, Dad. That's all I saved in Nyamara."

He looked a little disappointed, then pocketed it anyway with a smug look.

"Now you get how hard money is. We can't compare to the rich. We're counting on you to grow up fast and help out."

His tone softened. "It's fine. You're back now. Go work construction tomorrow. Help pay off our debts."

He glanced at Mom. "Give her that."

Mom pulled a wrinkled dress from a plastic bag. "Talia, this is a new dress to welcome you home."

I knew it was one of Nina's old dresses—Dad must've told her to dig it out on the way back. Worn a few times, then tossed once it lost its shape.

I usually wore faded, torn uniforms. Never anything this nice.

I held it carefully, breathing in the detergent.

But my left leg was gone. My right one was wrecked. I couldn't wear something like this.

I opened my mouth to ask for money to treat my leg—

Dad cut in, counting the cash. "Talia, why is it five hundred short?"

His brows pulled tight, eyes on me like I'd already lied.

"Dad, I went to the hospital—"

Nina cut in. "Talia, you didn't hide five hundred for yourself, did you?"

Dad glared. "Talia, did you steal?"

I tried to explain—

Nina tugged his arm, all soft and innocent. "Dad, don't hit her. Even if she always steals, she's so timid. If you just scold her, she won't do it again."

That lit him up.

"Seriously? You're that scared and still stealing? What are you—a coward or a crook? I raised you for nothing!"

He slammed me into the wall and kept whipping me with an electrical cord until my skin split.

He didn't stop until midnight.

I lay limp on the freezing balcony, my body burning with fever.

A sheet of cardboard was my bed. Cold concrete dug into my wounds, sending sharp pain through me.

Someone passing by noticed. A little girl shrank into her mom's arms. "Mom, there's a girl on that balcony!"

Her mom hushed her. "Silly. What kind of family makes their daughter sleep outside? That's their dog."

I let out a bitter laugh.

I pulled Grandpa's photo from inside my clothes.

Before they brought me to Northport City, I lived in the countryside with him.

I wiped my tears. They fell onto his gentle smile. "Grandpa, why haven't you come to take me home yet? It hurts so much."

Morning hit. I dragged myself off the balcony floor and limped out. Before school, I had to haul cement at a construction site just to make some cash.

A whole morning of that got me, what, ten bucks.

My busted leg slowed me down. The wooden stick jammed into my thigh. Every step with a cement sack felt like knives.

By the time I made it to class, I reeked. Sweat stuck to me, sour and thick. Kids clustered up, whispering.

"What is that smell? Talia, you that broke you can't even shower?"

"It's not just that—she hasn't changed either. Last gym class, her socks had holes everywhere."

Nina stood in the middle, all sweet and fake. "Guys, stop. Even if Talia spent the summer working like a dog, we shouldn't laugh at her."

The second she said it, the room blew up.

"No way—Talia got shipped off to Nyamara? What, she sold a kidney?"

"I knew it. She smells worse every day. Bet she got forced into that kinda work, haha."

I tuned it out and kept my head down, flipping through my notes.

I promised Grandpa I'd study hard. I was getting into college.

Nina wasn't done. She tapped my shoulder. "Talia, why are you ignoring me? I asked if this is yours."

I turned. Grandpa's photo was clenched in her hand.

My eyes snapped wide. I pushed up and lunged. "How'd you get that? Give it back!"

I barely touched her, but Nina screamed and dropped. Her forehead smacked the desk corner. Blood seeped out.

She looked at me like she'd won. Then her eyes dipped. Her voice went small. "Talia, if you need money, I can give you some. Just... don't steal, okay?"

Between her sobs, Dad, Mom, and Ms. Anderson rushed in.

Dad grabbed my hair and yanked me up. "You disgusting brat! I knew you wouldn't change! You even stole the class money?!"

Mom apologized to Ms. Anderson. "I'm so sorry. Our kid caused trouble."

Ms. Anderson stepped in front of Dad. "Don't hit her yet. What if this is a misunderstanding?"

Nina spoke up, all sweet. "Yeah. Talia only took five hundred from Mom and Dad. That doesn't mean she took the class money. It's probably a misunderstanding."

Ms. Anderson's voice softened. "Even if she messed up, you can't hit her like this."

Dad didn't listen. His fist slammed into my face. "Ungrateful girl! You'll steal anything! If I don't fix you now, you'll get worse!"

Everything went black. I hit the floor.

Then hands yanked me up. Another hit came.

The class went quiet for a second. Then the whispers started.

"Her parents really came here to beat her. That's so embarrassing."

"Talia's so pathetic. If I got caught stealing at school, I couldn't show my face."

Every word hit hard. I felt small. I felt ashamed.

Right before everything went dark, I heard Nina lean in close.

"Talia, sorry you had to take it. I already spent the class money."

When I woke up, something warm touched my hand.

I forced my eyes open. Outside the balcony bars, Rusty was licking my hand where it hung down.

He kept licking, like he knew I was burning up.

I reached over and touched his head. My voice came out rough. "Rusty... did you come to take me home?"

He barked.

Grandpa didn't leave much.

Just me. And Rusty.

He was a mutt from back home. My only friend.

I didn't know how he found me here, but I knew why he came. To take me home.

Footsteps came. I rushed him off.

Dad stormed in, face twisted. He yanked me up. "You're awake? Then get up. You've got the nerve to steal, don't play dead!"

He stood there, hands on his hips, and told me to go work. I had to earn double the class money back.

My throat burned. "I didn't take it. Nina did."

He froze for a second, then dragged me to the door. "You still lying? Talia Tayler, you know how disappointed I am?"

I grabbed the doorframe and held on. He slapped me hard.

My ears rang. I heard Nina's voice. "Talia, why is there a hole in the back of your uniform?"

Mom looked and screamed. "Talia, you're going out like that?"

I stumbled to the mirror. The back of my uniform was ripped open from hauling cement.

Nina spoke soft. "Talia, be careful. Ms. Anderson already warned us. They're cracking down on cut uniforms. I heard girls who do that mess around with guys outside school... some even get pregnant."

Dad shoved me down. "Shameless girl! No wonder you've been acting up. So that's what you're thinking about."

He kicked me.

Nina stepped in, acting nice. "Dad, don't hit her anymore. Just let her change."

Maybe it was my swollen face. He backed off and let me go.

My "closet" was just a ripped plastic bag. The clothes inside were even worse.

Nina smiled. "You can borrow my jacket."

Mom hesitated. "But it's almost a hundred degrees. She'll overheat."

Dad cut her off. "Good. Maybe she'll learn."

He wrapped me up like a cotton ball and sent me out to the burning construction site.

People stared at me like I'd lost it.

After they left, a worker leaned in and told me I could take the jacket off.

I shook my head, dizzy. "I can't. My dad might come back. If he sees, he'll beat me to death."

The sun felt like it was melting me. The cement sacks crushed my shoulders. Pain stabbed through my thigh.

My leg kept getting worse. I tasted blood in my throat.

On break, I pulled out Grandpa's wrinkled photo. Tears blurred everything. "Grandpa, I'll see you soon. Wait for me."