ended up babysitting Abby for the night—and it was hell.
She refused to sleep until she made sure I was completely exhausted. We played hide-and-seek for what felt like hours, her laughter echoing through the house as I chased after her tiredly. Just as I was starting to think she might finally settle down, we heard it.
A sharp crash.
At first, I told myself it was my imagination. My paranoia had always had a habit of running wild—especially when it was just two girls alone in a massive house. Anything could sound dangerous at night.
But when I went to check, my stomach dropped.
The window near the back door was shattered completely, glass scattered across the floor as if a stone had been hurled straight through it.
Fear crawled up my spine.
I turned to rush back to Abby when I heard voices.
Male voices.
"Get the girl and kill any witnesses."
My blood ran cold.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me to Abby's room. She was waiting for me, smiling, ready to continue our game.
"Mimi! You found—"
"Abby, honey, come with me," I whispered urgently, grabbing her hand.
I took her to the guest room and opened the closet, ushering her inside. "Okay, change of game plan," I said softly, forcing a smile. "Don't come out of this closet until you hear my voice or your mummy's. Alright, sweetheart?"
She nodded happily, unaware of the danger, and smiled.
I closed the closet door, then the bedroom door, and ran.
I hid in the pantry, crouching between shelves, silently praying that the men wouldn't get hungry enough to wander in there.
My luck, however, had other plans.
Something shifted as I moved, and an object fell to the floor with a loud crash.
That was all it took.
Rough hands grabbed my hair, yanking me forward as I screamed. I was dragged toward the others, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.
"I got her!" the man shouted.
The others stared at him like he'd lost his mind.
"Are you blind or stupid? Choose one," another man said. He was the scariest of them all—a deep scar stretched across his face. Despite his words sounding almost mocking, there was no humor in his eyes. "The girl is eight. Does she look anything like that description?"
The man holding my hair shrugged.
Anyone else might've felt relief hearing that. I didn't.
Because if they weren't talking about me, then they were talking about Abby.
And she was just a child.
I couldn't let them take her.
I prayed they wouldn't find her—because if they didn't, maybe they wouldn't kill me. Maybe they'd just leave.
After a while, they gave up searching. The scarred man muttered something to the others, then turned back to me.
"Since we didn't get the brat, we'll take you instead."
My heart sank.
I couldn't let myself be kidnapped. I had no idea what they'd do to me. So the moment we stepped outside, I ran.
That was a mistake.
A loud bang echoed through the night, and pain exploded through my leg. I collapsed instantly, screaming. One of them had shot me to stop me from running.
They dragged me back, injected something into my arm, and the world began to blur.
The last thing I remember was darkness swallowing me whole.
Then—nothing.