Chapter 5
My answer left everyone stunned.
They probably thought I'd break down, make a scene, or beg them not to kick me out.
But I didn't.
I just agreed, calm as ever.
Linda's sobs came to an abrupt halt.
Richard's brows knitted together.
Henry was in total disbelief.
Only Emily had a fleeting look of panic in her eyes, so quick that nobody else caught it.
"Sara, I was just upset. Don't take it seriously," Emily said, reaching out to take my hand.
I avoided her hand.
I turned and went upstairs, back to that tiny maid's room.
I didn't have anything to pack.
Just one old backpack stuffed with a couple of ragged clothes.
When I ran away from those traffickers, that backpack was all I had.
I slung the backpack over my shoulder and headed downstairs.
They were still frozen in place, staring at me, stunned.
I walked to the door and slipped on my shoes.
"I'm leaving," I said.
I didn't look back.
Linda called out behind me, her voice tinged with panic.
"Where are you going? It's already so late," she asked.
"Didn't you all tell me to leave?" I interrupted her. "I'm heading back to my so-called foster parents."
I made a point of stressing the words foster parents.
Richard's expression shifted, a mix of annoyance and discomfort flickering across his face.
"Sara, don't make this about pride. You're the one at fault here. Just say sorry to Linda and let's forget about it," he said.
His tone made it sound like he was throwing me a bone.
I let out a cold chuckle.
"Apologize? Save it," I said flatly.
"Mr. Zimmer, Mrs. Zimmer, thanks for letting me crash here these past few days," I said.
"From now on, we're nothing to each other," I added.
With that, I pulled open the door and walked out.
A blast of cold air rushed in, chilling them to the bone.
The door slammed shut behind me with a loud bang.
It was like two worlds had been split apart, separating us.
I didn't look back. Step by step, I walked alone into the boundless night.
I knew they wouldn't come after me.
In their eyes, I was throwing a tantrum.
They were so sure that within three days, I'd come crawling back, tail between my legs, begging them to take me back.
They were waiting for me to swallow my pride, to admit I was wrong.
But I wasn't going to.
Grace died the moment they told me to get lost.
The one standing here now is Sara.
I was like a demon that clawed her way out of hell, living for nothing but revenge.
Going by memory, I caught a bus headed for that remote village.
The bus ticket? I bought it with the money I took from Emily's wallet.
She probably figured I took her money to run away from home.
She was half right.
I was running away from home.
But I wasn't running away to drift. I was heading home.
Back to the only place I could ever call home.
That was a hellhole overflowing with violence, filth, and crime.
That place would forge me into something stronger.
The bus jolted and swayed along the winding mountain road.
Outside, the darkness kept rolling by, endless and unbroken.
With my eyes shut, all I could see were the faces of those two who trafficked me.
Frank Dawson was the man.
Martha Dawson was the woman.
They had a daughter of their own, a year younger than me, named Bella Dawson.
To save up a dowry for their precious daughter, they kidnapped me and sold me to a simple-minded man in the countryside.
I ran away.
They hauled me back and broke my leg.
I ran again.
They threw me into the cellar and left me starving for three days and nights.
For six years, every single day, all I thought about was escaping.
Now, I was back, not as the kidnapped girl I used to be.
But this time, I was coming back as an avenger.
Dawn was breaking as the bus pulled into the station.
I stepped off, my feet sinking into the familiar dirt road.
The air was thick with the stench of manure and rotting plants.
I took a deep breath.
I'd remembered this smell for six long years.
Step by step, I walked straight to that rundown mud-brick shack at the farthest edge of the village.
My hell, I'm back.