Her Limbs were bound, and she felt like a sack of bones, probably thanks to the drug they'd pumped into her.

She struggled against the ropes, but they might as well have been made of steel. Frustrated, she stopped, conserving her energy while scanning her surroundings and tuning in to the sounds beyond the walls.

From what she could gather, there were likely two goons on watch duty, trading shifts. Ten minutes ago, she'd overheard chatter outside, followed by silence. Now, only one set of footsteps echoed in the darkness.

Before long, the wooden door of the shack groaned open.

In stepped a man with a bandage wrapped around his head. It was the driver who'd snatched Nicole that night.

He barged in and slammed the door shut, his eyes blazing with rage.

"You fucking bitch!" he spat, venom dripping from his words. “I've been hauling people around for years, but never have I taken such a hit. I'm goddamn furious!"

Nicole figured this person was deep in the human trafficking game.

His words hinted at years of experience of ruining Lives. Countless souls had been screwed over because of scum like him.

“Why are you doing this? I don't even know you," Nicole questioned, feigning fear.

Being aggressive wouldn't help her now. Nicole knew she needed to be smart, evade getting hurt, and conserve her energy for a possible escape attempt.

"Of course, you don't know me. If you did, I wouldn't be in this line of work," the man retorted, rubbing his hands together as he approached. Without warning, he delivered a harsh kick to Nicole.

“Remember what I said? About breaking your legs that night? It's time to make good on that promise," he declared.

Nicole winced from the pain of the kick to her leg bone. "Please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean any harm. I just want to live..."

The man glared at her with malice. "You still think you deserve to live? You'd be better off sold to a place where death would be a mercy," he sneered.

Terrified, Nicole inquired, "What kind of place is that?"

Cautiously, the man replied, "You don't need to know."

After a moment's thought, Nicole asked, "Then who sold me? Please, kind sir, tell me. I don't want to die without knowing..."

The man smirked at being called ‘kind sir.’ “We have rules. Everyone has their role. We just sell people. We don't question where they come from," he explained.

Nicole realized the man probably didn't know who sold her. If even a minion knew everything, they'd have been caught by now.