Chapter 53 The Silent Escape

• Evangelina couldn't breathe. Her chest tightened with every passing second, her heart thudding so loudly she feared it would give her away. She pressed her back against the cold stone wall of the shed, willing herself to disappear, to become as invisible as she felt in this place. The night was still, but the sounds of her escape echoed in her ears: the creak of a floorboard, the soft rustle of leaves, the faint clink of metal as she dodged the guards.
• This time had to be different. This time she would escape.
• She had decided that earlier that evening, while watching the men move crates of drugs into the house. It was a sight she had grown accustomed to over time, but that night, something snapped inside her. She couldn't stand it anymore—the corruption, the violence, the hollow promises of a life that would never be hers. This wasn't the life she wanted. She had endured enough. The time to leave was now.