Shadows in the House - Part 3: The Chains That Bind
Sophia stared at the empty doorway, her hands trembling as Mr. Lee’s words echoed in her mind: “Some legacies demand blood.” There was a chill in the room that no amount of tea or warmth could shake, a shadow that seemed to cling to the corners of her mind.
She sat back down, her tea untouched, the past creeping up on her like a slow, suffocating wave.
---
The Past That Haunts
Nigeria. The heat, the dust, and the sound of her aunt’s sharp voice filled her memory.
“You’re useless,” her aunt had hissed, her grip like iron on Sophia’s arm. “Do you think you can eat and sleep under my roof for free? You’ll work. And when you’re done, you’ll work more. Maybe then you’ll be worth something.”
Sophia had just turned seventeen , but she remembered every word, every bruise, every time her aunt locked her out of the house for being “too slow” or “too stubborn.” She had hoped, prayed, that one day she’d escape.
But when that day came, it wasn’t the salvation she’d imagined.
Her aunt’s sharp smile had twisted into something crueler the night she sold Sophia to the traffickers.
“You’ll fetch a good price,” she had said, her voice cold. “Better than wasting away here.”
The faces of the men who took her blurred in her memory, but the smell of sweat and cigarette smoke clung to her like a second skin. The van ride, the locked doors, the whispers of other girls trapped with her—all of it was a nightmare she thought she’d never wake up from.
But in that darkness, there was Rose.
° Only if one day my long waited dream will come to reality°
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Rose’s Light
“You’re not alone,” Rose had whispered, her voice trembling but determined. “They don’t get to take that from us.”
Sophia had clung to those words, to Rose’s hand, to the hope that somewhere, somehow, they’d survive together.
For months—maybe years— Rose had endured, trading stories to keep the fear at bay. Rose talked about her best friend, Alex, a boy with wild blonde hair and a laugh that made the world feel brighter.
“He’ll come for me,” Rose had said one night, her green eyes shining in the dark. “He promised. And when he does, I’ll come for you too. Maybe if he has enough funding he could likewise buy us both”
° I just hope so°
Sophia had wanted to believe her, but the day they were separated shattered her hope. Sophia didn't even know when Rose was being sold.
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The Deal That Saved Her
And then there was Mr. Lee.
He wasn’t like the others. He didn’t touch her, didn’t chain her, didn’t even raise his voice. He looked at her with an unreadable expression and said, “You’re mine now. But I have no use for a prisoner.”
Confused and desperate, Sophia had stared at him, unsure if he was her savior or her captor.
“You’ll work for me,” he said simply. “As my secretary. And in return, I’ll give you what you want most.”
“What I want most?” she had asked, her voice trembling.
“To be free,” he replied.
But Sophia hadn’t trusted his words. Not yet.
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SMITTEN BY HER (unedited)
Storie d'amore"Beyond Shadows" In a world where darkness whispers secrets and power knows no bounds, a young orphan's dreams of becoming a veterinarian are crushed by the cruel betrayal of her own blood. Sold into an unforgiving fate, she finds herself in the eni...
