?Chapter 7:


    With that, he grabbed the suitcase and stormed downstairs.


    Hadley’s lip quivered as pain gripped her heart. Tears cascaded down her cheeks, which she wiped away with the back of her hand.


    She might as well leave.


    Whether here or somewhere foreign, did it really matter?


    Isted, unloved—her plight seemed invisible to others, her existence negligible.


    At the airport, Eric was nowhere to be seen. Instead, his assistant, Phillips Brown, took care of the check-in process and walked Hadley to the security checkpoint.


    “Have a safe trip, ma’am,” Phillips said as he handed her the passport and boarding pass. “Please call Mrs. Flynn upon yournding. Your living expenses will be forwarded to you each month.”


    Hadley responded with a subdued nod.


    “I understand. Thank you.”


    She then proceeded through the boarding gate.


    A month had passed. Now, deep into the night in an apartment in downtown the, Hadley was hunched over in bed, too terrified to turn on any lights or make noise.


    “Bang! Bang! Bang!”


    The sound of forceful knocking jolted the door. Outside, her fat, middle-agedndlord shouted,


    “Se?orita! Are you there? Your rent is overdue! I know you’re inside! Respond!”


    Hadley pressed her hands over her ears, squeezed her eyes shut, and shook her head, silently wishing thendlord would just go away.


    After enduring the quiet for a while, it seemed thendlord finally gave up.


    “Thinking you can avoid paying by hiding? Oh, sweetheart, that’s just naive! Are you really not there?”


    He continued muttering to himself,


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    “It’s gettingte. I hope she’s safe.”


    The pounding at the door eventually ceased, and the sound of thendlord’s footsteps slowly faded away.


    Hadley took her hands away from her ears, breathing out a lengthy sigh of relief.


    She had managed to avoid thendlord today, but the question of what to do tomorrow lingered in her mind.


    Gently pulling her phone from beneath her pillow, Hadley scrolled through her contacts to find N’s number.


    It had been nearly a month since she arrived in the, yet the living expenses she was promised had not been sent. She had been trying to reach N for days now, but all her calls had gone unanswered.


    She inhaled deeply and pressed the call button once more.


    Still, no one answered.


    Feeling more isted, Hadley wondered who else she could turn to.


    Eric was her only option left.


    With a moment’s hesitation, she found Eric’s number, dialed, and the call connected.


    The familiar deep and slightly hoarse voice of Eric answered.


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