Leena's past never truly let her go. Even after she had escaped her uncle's house, Allen refused to leave her alone. Some nights, she would hear the loud, insistent knocking at her door, followed by his slurred voice calling her name. He was always drunk, always begging or threatening—sometimes both.
"Leena, open the damn door!" he would growl, his voice rough with alcohol. "You think you can run from me?"
She never answered. She would sit on her bed, gripping the sheets tightly, heart pounding as she waited for him to give up and leave. Sometimes, he would linger for hours, muttering curses, making promises she never wanted to hear. The nights when he left quietly were rare.
She thought about running—far away, where he would never find her. But New York was all she had ever known. She had a job, a routine, a sense of control here, even if it was fragile.
Then, an opportunity came.
The construction company she worked for had a project in a remote town upstate. They needed someone to handle the final clearance for a major development—paperwork, negotiations, and site inspections. It wasn't glamorous, but it was an escape.
When her manager asked if she was willing to go, she didn't hesitate.
"Yes," she said immediately. "I'll go."
A week later, with just a suitcase and a heart full of uncertainty, she boarded a bus, leaving the towering skyscrapers of New York behind. She didn't know what awaited her in the quiet town ahead, but anything—anything—was better than the nightmare she was trying to escape.