Bella's POV
My feet carried me through the empty streets without direction, my body still trembling from the encounter. The city lights blurred past me as I wandered, trying to steady my shaking hands before I could trust myself to hail a cab. When I finally managed to wave one down, I collapsed against the worn leather seat, pressing my forehead to the cool window as streetlights streaked by like silent witnesses to my terror.
The nightmare I'd spent years avoiding had finally caught up with me. Every prayer I'd whispered, every precaution I'd taken to stay hidden from that family, all of it had crumbled in a single evening. Now he held the leash, and I was nothing more than a trapped animal.
Hot tears spilled down my cheeks, and I didn't bother stopping them. What was the point? The man knew every detail of my life, had backed me into a corner so tight I couldn't breathe, and worst of all, he'd made it clear that my son was his target.
