“Do you know, there was never a Esme Winters, much less an Freya Winters. There’s only Zoe Winters, who’s determined to make you maggots pay for what you’ve done.” On the day of the arrest, the man who had forcibly kept me by his side knelt before me, his eyes red as he begged me not to abort the innocent child. I looked at him with the same contemptuous gaze he once used on me: “The child may be innocent, but what makes you think a maggot like you deserves to have a cFreyahild?” “Boss, this batch of goods is from Colombia, top quality.” When the hood was removed from my head, I found myself in an opulent room. A man sitting on a cream-colored sofa, cigar in hand, was being fawned over by another man who had been beating us for days due to our disobedience. He was eagerly trying to sell his ‘merchandise’ – us, the trafficked people. “These two are virgins, and not bad looking either. Want to take a closer look, Boss?” The trafficker pulled me and another girl out of the line, forcing us to kneel in front of the man called ‘Boss’. The Boss’s calm eyes lit up for a moment when he saw me. Though the spark vanished instantly, I caught it precisely. “Keep her. Do what you want with the rest,” the Boss said, indicating me. The girl brought out with me spoke up, somewhat disgruntled, “Why her? What’s wrong with me?” I remembered this girl. She had sat next to me in the trafficker’s van. According to her, she had sought out these traffickers herself, even paying them some money, all for the chance to be brought before this so-called Boss and potentially become his ‘wife’. Because of this, unlike us, she didn’t have to wear a hood except during mealtimes. The Boss glanced at her, and the girl’s face lit up with a bright smile. But his next words sent her plummeting into an icy hell: “Cut out her tongue and feed her to the dogs.” After the trafficker left with over a dozen young men and women, the Boss gestured for all the bodyguards to leave. In an instant, only the two of us remained in the vast room. He tilted up my chin, his narrow phoenix eyes full of curiosity. “What’s your name?” “Esme Winters.” “‘Esme’ – a flower of purity and rebirth. It seems your parents put some thought into naming you. However, from today on, your name will be Freya Winters.” I nodded in compliance. But he wasn’t satisfied. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why do I get the feeling you’re not really this obedient?” As he spoke, he pointedly looked at the bruises on my arm left by the trafficker. I laughed coldly, “My life is in your hands now. What choice do I have but to obey?” He sneered, “At least you’re sensible.” Then he released my chin and patted it lightly. A man dressed in a butler’s uniform I had only seen in TV dramas before walked in at his signal, head bowed, awaiting orders. “Prepare a room for Miss Winters.” The butler nodded in acknowledgment and led me away. I was bathed and attended to by three maids. Although I tried to engage them in conversation in both English and Spanish, they acted as if they hadn’t heard me, not even sparing me a glance. Ryan didn’t touch me that night, just held me as he slept, reeking of alcohol. This was the first time in a week I had slept in a bed, so I slept particularly soundly. When I woke up the next morning, he was already gone, leaving only a note telling me I could move freely within the villa. Freedom, but not much of it. There were many servants here, but no matter how much I talked, none except the butler would say even a word to me. The butler, however, promptly handed me a glass of water the first time I swallowed. I figured I probably wasn’t the first woman brought into this villa, and certainly wouldn’t be the last. I had to escape. I didn’t believe that a man who had risen to such prominence in this obviously unsavory place would fall in love with me at first sight. I was also well past the age where I might be enticed by the romanticization of bad guys in novels or other literature, like that girl who was killed on his word. The southern border of this state leads to Mexico. This is a hotbed of crime, a paradise for drug dealers and arms traffickers. As a proper, ordinary girl who had been kidnapped by traffickers, I should try to escape. My first chance to escape came soon enough. I don’t know who they had offended, but on the evening of the thirteenth day of my forced stay in this villa, Ryan’s estate suddenly came under heavy attack. Since Ryan wasn’t staying here tonight, the security wasn’t as strict as usual. The attackers came in force, and even the maid assigned to watch me constantly had fled. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I slipped out of the villa and jumped into the river that ran through the estate. I had been swimming since I was young, earning national athlete certification at sixteen. Although an accident later cost me the chance to become a professional athlete, I had never let this skill lapse. I had noticed this river on my first day of being held here. Over the past few days, I had feigned exceptional obedience, and occasionally the butler would allow me to get some fresh air in the garden under the watchful eyes of the servants. Today, I had just ‘strolled’ to the northernmost part of the estate and discovered that this river connected to the outside. However, the estate’s fence didn’t seem to stop at the water’s surface but extended straight into the riverbed. Sure enough, there was a fence underwater just like above. But fortunately, I was slender enough that, although it took some effort, I managed to squeeze through. Once out of the estate, I didn’t dare relax. I held my breath and swam hard, only daring to surface and rest when the sound of gunfire and explosions was no longer intense. Ryan had lived up to his criminal status; even after swimming for so long after leaving his estate, I was still in the midst of a dense forest. Thanks to the relatively low pollution here, I could see the stars in the sky. If I followed the North Star, I would eventually make it home, or at worst, back to the States. In my haste to leave, I had brought nothing but the clothes on my back. Although I was hungry and tired, I didn’t dare slack off. After all, the firefight on the other side might stop at any moment. If the troublemakers won, that would be fine. But if the butler won, he would surely come looking for me first thing when he discovered I was missing. I don’t know how long I walked, but as dawn was breaking, a hand suddenly grabbed my ankle, and then someone struggled to crawl out from under the fallen leaves on the ground. I struggled, kicking hard at the person’s body with my free foot. “Stop kicking, stop kicking, it’s me,” the person finally poked their head out, speaking in a somewhat familiar voice. I calmed myself and managed to make out the person’s identity from that dirt-covered face – it was the girl who Ryan had ordered to be fed to the dogs that day. “What are you doing here?” I asked. She rolled her eyes at me, “Escaped, of course. Who knew Ryan Carter could be so ruthless, actually having someone take me to feed the dogs. Luckily, that trafficker thought I still had some value and could be sold again, so he secretly saved me.” “Ryan Carter?” I frowned. She rolled her eyes at me again, her tone sour: “You’ve been by his side for so long and don’t even know his real name? Looks like he doesn’t like you as much as it seemed.” I remained silent. Seeing my lack of response, she waved her hand and spoke again, “Well, I won’t say more about what’s between you two. But for you to escape from Ryan’s heavily guarded villa, seems you’re not as weak as you look.” I spoke flatly, “Just lucky, that’s all.” She pulled out a bag from a nearby pile of leaves, taking out an unopened package of compressed biscuits and offering it to me. Seeing that I didn’t take it, she opened it, broke off a piece, and put it in her mouth. “It’s not poisoned. I stole these from the trafficker’s car.” I hadn’t seen a grain of rice since yesterday afternoon, and after walking all night, I was starving. Once I was sure the biscuit was edible, I promptly took it and wolfed it down. Honestly, I had never found compressed biscuits so delicious before. A rustling sound of leaves being stepped on came from the distance. The girl and I exchanged a glance, quickly pocketed the biscuits, and climbed a tree. The trees here were lush and leafy; as long as we controlled ourselves and didn’t make a sound, the people below wouldn’t discover us. Soon, several men in camouflage carrying guns stood in the spot where we had briefly rested. “How did that damn woman run so fast? Just wait till I catch her, I’ll teach her a lesson,” a bald man said through gritted teeth. “She’s the boss’s woman. If you rough her up, won’t we be the ones in trouble?” another man cautioned. The bald man snorted coldly, “She’s just a plaything. You think she means more to the boss than us brothers who’ve been through thick and thin with him?” The man who had cautioned him patted his shoulder, “You’d better give up on that idea. I was in the room that day when Aiden brought them in. Her face, it’s almost identical to Miss Freya Winters’.” The bald man’s attitude changed instantly upon hearing the name Freya Winters. “Really?” The man nodded, “Why else do you think the boss would send us out to look for a woman? Come on, it’s dawn already. That woman’s probably exhausted after running for so long. If we keep going, we’ll likely find her soon.” The bald man stopped complaining and led the small team forward with the other man. Once we could no longer hear their footsteps, the girl and I carefully climbed down from the tree. She scanned me up and down with a strange look. Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, I took the initiative to ask where she planned to go next. She sighed, “Try to get back to the States, I guess. What else can I do, stay here and run phone scams? What about you?” “I’m going home.” Our goals were the same, but we disagreed on which direction to take. Although any direction would eventually lead to a road if we walked long enough, given her knowledge of Ryan and her idiotic decision to voluntarily get trafficked, I didn’t trust her to lead us out. So we walked in the direction I had originally planned. We encountered that group of men once more, again using the tree-climbing method to avoid them. After walking for two days, we finally heard the sound of car horns. We had finally made it out. But as soon as we emerged from the forest, I saw that familiar face. Surrounded by a group of bodyguards, the scene was identical to when we first met, except for the setting and the characters’ actions. Including his visibly aristocratic demeanor and my disheveled state. He looked at us with a half-smile, merely beckoning with his hand. The girl who had walked with me for two days immediately ran to his side. “Boss, I brought her out safely as you ordered. How are you going to reward me?” Her face no longer bore the bitter resentment she had shown while recounting her escape from the traffickers. Instead, it was full of ingratiating obedience. Ryan nodded to her, “Well done. Go see Butler Brown for your reward.” She pouted, somewhat dissatisfied, but said nothing more. I felt my whole body turn cold, as if all my blood had reversed its flow. Running away now would only anger him and serve no other purpose. I could only stand there, watching as he approached me step by step. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his eyes nearly drowning me in their displeasure. “Didn’t I tell you that you could only move around within the villa? Why are you being so disobedient?” As he spoke, the hand that had tucked my hair suddenly gripped my neck. An intense feeling of suffocation enveloped me. But I didn’t try to beg for mercy. I just quietly closed my eyes – dying like this would be fine, at least better than living without freedom. But he wasn’t willing to let me go so easily. Just as I was about to lose consciousness, he released his hand. Taking a handkerchief from Butler Brown, he meticulously wiped the entire hand that had touched me, then carelessly tossed the handkerchief to the ground. “Bring Miss Winters back intact. I’ll deal with her personally when I return.” He particularly emphasized the word ‘intact’. The men who had been chasing us for two days immediately understood his meaning. They beat me at the roadside until I was nearly unconscious before tying me up and stuffing me into the car. Back at the villa, the butler dragged me to a room they had previously forbidden me to enter. Opening the door, I realized it wasn’t a room at all, but a dungeon. There was only a small window opposite the door, letting in a sliver of sunlight so those inside could distinguish day from night. There were four cages in the dungeon. Butler Brown locked me in the one nearest to the door. Fortunately, he didn’t turn off the small lamp that barely provided illumination when he left. I could clearly see the scene in the dungeon. All four cells were covered in mottled bloodstains. Mine was the cleanest, but even here, the remaining bloodstains showed that the previous occupants had suffered no small amount of torture. Various instruments of torture, some familiar and some not, hung on the wall opposite the door. In contrast to the dirty and messy environment here, these torture devices looked spotlessly clean. “Where did you come from?” A woman’s startled cry brought me back to reality. I looked up and saw a person suddenly appear in the diagonal cell. I forced a smile and greeted her. But when she saw my face, she unexpectedly fell to her knees, tears instantly flowing down her face, repeating: “Miss Winters, I was wrong. I’ll never dare to frame you again. Miss Winters, I was wrong…” She seemed to have completely lost the normal demeanor she had when asking where I came from. Unable to get any useful information from her, I walked to the corner straw pile and closed my eyes to rest. After running for so long, I was truly exhausted. I was awakened by cold water. Opening my eyes, I saw Ryan standing in front of me with a cold expression, a wooden bucket that had held water at his feet. He yanked me up from the straw pile, gripping my chin and crouching in front of me, his eyes nearly drowning me in impatience. “I told you that you could only move around within the villa. Didn’t you understand?” I suppressed the unease in my heart and answered word by word: “Those people came so fiercely, how was I to know your men would definitely win? Besides, didn’t you already arrange people to intercept me on the road? Whether I ran or not, what difference did it make to you?” He flung my face to the side and stood up, no longer looking at me. “Since you don’t realize you’ve done wrong, then just stay here until you’re willing to admit your mistake.” With that, he left without looking back. Perhaps fearing I would starve to death, Butler Brown came to bring me food at regular intervals. On his tenth visit with a tray, I asked him to let Ryan come see me. When Ryan came, he seemed to be in a good mood. He looked down at me and asked if I realized what I had done wrong. I said my mistake was going to Mexico for vacation and not immediately jumping out of the car when I realized I had been kidnapped. He left in a rage, turning off the small lamp that had been on day and night, and taking away the crazy woman who had been staying with me. The sky outside brightened and darkened seven more times. My psychological defenses had truly reached their limit. When Butler Brown came to deliver lunch, I begged him again. His response was, “The last time you angered the master, I also suffered and had a month’s salary deducted. This time, I dare not so easily pass on your message.” Without a word, I knelt down on the spot, earnestly promising him that I would never think of escaping again and would stay here to serve Ryan well. Only then did he agree to plead my case when Ryan returned that night. Ryan came back in the evening. As soon as he turned on the light, the tears I had been preparing all afternoon gushed out. My hands frantically reached for his body. He frowned slightly in disgust and turned to instruct Butler Brown to take me out of the dungeon. That night, he no longer just held me and muttered those words of love he hadn’t had a chance to say to the real Freya. Instead, he tore off my dress and vented his desires on my body. Before leaving, he put on his clothes and instructed me without turning back: “Have Butler Brown take you to remove that mole on your left cheek later.” Without that mole, I would truly be identical to the former Freya Winters. Knowing I couldn’t successfully escape on my own, I became increasingly obedient. After being a caged bird in the villa for two years, he finally decided to take me out to meet people. I deliberately acted according to what the servants who finally agreed to talk to me described as Freya’s behavior. The wariness in his eyes towards me decreased day by day, replaced by surging love. When he proposed having a child, I also made the most ‘outrageous’ request in two years. “I want to see the company.” He hesitated for a moment before agreeing. The next afternoon, I went to the company with him. His company was located in the courtyard behind a bank. To get there, one had to pass through the bank’s VIP room. Who would have thought that the headquarters of Mexico’s largest drug trafficking organization would be right behind Mexico’s largest bank? Some people in the company recognized my face. They looked at me with eyes full of pity, yet had to respectfully call me ‘Mrs. Carter’. Although I was just a substitute, Ryan’s willingness to bring me to the company already proved that this substitute held no small place in his heart. Ryan held my shoulders and introduced me to their company’s R&D base. With some pride in his voice, he told me that in recent years, many new drugs had been born in this R&D base. He even said that after I gave birth to our baby, he would name a new drug after the baby. I wore a harmless smile on my face, but inside I couldn’t help feeling sick. Naming a drug after my child? What a vicious idea. Yet he could say it so seriously, as if he thought it was some great honor. The moral compass of these drug dealers truly made me, a normal person, unable to comprehend. As he was talking enthusiastically, a middle-aged man ran over breathlessly. He looked at Ryan, then at me, with a troubled expression. I spoke up tactfully: “You two talk. I should head back anyway.” Ryan handed me over to Butler Brown, who had been accompanying us on the side, instructing him to take me back safely. When we reached the bank’s entrance, I suddenly heard someone call out that name I had almost forgotten myself. “Esme Winters?” I froze for two seconds before turning around. The person who called me ran to my side excitedly. It was Ethan White, my nominal brother. “Esme, it really is you. I just called out on a hunch because your back looked familiar.” He scanned me up and down, and seeing I wasn’t missing any limbs, he tentatively asked: “Why haven’t you called home for so long? Uncle Mark and Mom have been looking everywhere for you.” I glanced at Butler Brown, and seeing he was keeping his head down without any intention of intervening, I replied, “I’ve been out of the country and it wasn’t convenient. Now that we’ve run into each other, help me tell them I’m doing well here and they don’t need to worry. I’ll visit when I have the chance.”
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