Chapter 4

The next morning, Sadie woke up to searing pain. A thug kicked her lightly with his boot, his tone sharp and impatient. "Hey, get up!" Sadie lay limp on the ground, her body battered and broken. Her fair skin was now a tapestry of deep bruises and bloodied welts, as if a demon had taken a brush and painted her suffering. Her clothes hung in tatters, caked with dirt and dried blood. Her hair, tangled and matted with sweat and crimson streaks, clung to her face like lifeless straw. The thug...