were empty, meaningless words from a man who had already

rment her. She would "accidentally" spill coffee on Sarah's clothes, then apologize with a sickeningly sweet smil

cloying sweetness and Sarah' s quiet withdrawal and interpreted it as Sarah bein

l tied to Sarah. A lingering sense of responsibility, a ghost of their shared past. She needed to seve

oon, her voice bright and cheerful. "I'

ing would only cause more conflict.

ge men suddenly grabbed Sarah. A hand clamped over her mouth, stifling

Linda standing there, watching, a

the van. Linda got in after her, s

Sarah managed to ask

y a little game. I want to s

Sarah out and tied her to a chair. Across from her, the men tied

We've been kidnapped! They want a ransom!" she cr

rehouse, his face pale with panic. He saw the tw

r the role, shouted, pointing a fake gun at him. "We

ared at hi

with a cruel grin. "The other one... well, m

at was coming. She knew who he would

was sobbing, her face a mask of pitiful fear. "Micha

livered with p

is eyes vanished, replaced by a fierce, protective

firm. "Take me instead. Do whatev

works. We're not interested in you. We w

ng in on Sarah. He took a decisive step towards Linda, untying her

made hi

abandon

tmarish blur, a memory from her past life surfaced. The eight

solute abandonment, washed over her. He

illed the warehouse. Michael's real security team, the ones he'd

irst thing she saw was Michael's fac

his voice hoarse

he did was check her own body, a frantic, des

quickly, seeing her panic. "My me

word was

'm dirty now." She was talking about the emotional violation, the

pleaded. "Please,

Sarah, you have to understand. Linda... she was terrified. She sa

d perfectly. He would always choose

" she said, he

tions," he said, his tone shifting back to that of a disappointed guardian.

to get his attention. The injustice of i

to go check on Lind

e with the shattered pieces of her heart an