Jade’s POV
“Well,” the largest man said, a cruel grin spreading across his face. “Looks like we found ourselves a lost little lady.”
My heart slamd painfully against my ribs.
Instinctively, my hand flew to my stomach.
Protective, imdiate anf terrified.
The n noticed.
One of them snorted. “What’s that supposed to an?”
I quickly lowered my hand. “I... I’m not looking for trouble,” I said carefully, trying to steady my voice. “I’m just passing through.”
The second man burst out laughing.
“Did you hear that?” he mocked, nudging the others. “She says she’s not looking for trouble.”
The first man looked up and down slowly, amusent glinting in his eyes.
“Even if you were looking for trouble,” he said, stepping closer, “what exactly would your tiny self do to us?”
The other guy laughed again.
I swallowed hard and slowly stepped backward.
“Please,” I whispered. “I don’t want any problems.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” the tallest one said mockingly, “that stopped mattering the second we saw you standing alone in this alley.”
Fear crawled coldly down my spine.
I turned sharply like I was going to run.
Bad idea.
One of them grabbed my arm instantly and slamd back against the wall hard enough to knock the air from my lungs.
Pain shot through my shoulder.
“Where are you going?” he asked softly.
Panic exploded inside .
“Please!” I cried, struggling instinctively. “Please let go!”
“Relax,” another one said lazily. “We’re not going to kill you.”
Yet.
The unspoken word hung heavily in the air.
My breathing beca uneven.
I could not fight them.
There were too strong
And I was alone now.
I pressed my free hand protectively against my stomach again.
Please.
Please don’t hurt my baby.
The man holding noticed the movent and frowned.
“What’s in the bag?”
“N...nothing.”
He ripped it off my shoulder before I could stop him.
“No!” I lunged forward instinctively.
The second man shoved back roughly.
I stumbled and nearly fell.
“Stay down,” he warned.
They began digging through my bag carelessly.
The money Tomas had given .
My spare clothes.
The burner phone Mr. Valerio had handed before I crossed the border.
Everything.
My stomach twisted violently.
“No,” I whispered desperately. “Please don’t take that.”
The largest man pulled out the phone and waved it mockingly.
“This?”
“Please,” I begged. “Please, I need it.”
He laughed.
“Then you should’ve hidden it better.”
I rushed forward again without thinking.
He caught by the throat instantly.
Not hard enough to choke .
Just enough to remind how powerless I was.
“Listen carefully,” he said coldly. “You’re alive because we’re allowing it. Don’t make us regret that.”
Tears burned my eyes.
I stopped fighting.
I had no choice.
Slowly, he released .
The n pocketed the money.
The phone.
Everything valuable they could find.
Then, just like that, they began walking away.
One of them tossed my now empty bag back at .
It landed at my feet.
Pathetic.
Worthless and discarded.
“Try not to die out here,” one of them called over his shoulder before they disappeared into the darkness.
And then I was alone.
Again.
I stood frozen for several seconds.
My entire body trembled violently.
The alley suddenly felt colder.
Bigger.
Emptier.
I slowly sank to the ground.
My hands shook as I clutched my stomach.
“You’re okay,” I whispered shakily. “You’re okay.”
But I did not know if I was saying it for the baby or for myself.
Tears finally spilled down my cheeks.
Hot.
Endless.
I curled into myself beside the alley wall, trying to make myself smaller.
Invisible.
I kept thinking the sa thing over and over.
Did I make a mistake?
The thought hurt more than the robbery.
Because for the first ti since leaving the pack, I had absolutely nothing.
No money.
No phone.
No protection.
No plan.
I imagined the mansion.
Imagined Renzo pacing restlessly.
Imagined Ryder trying to act calm while secretly panicking.
Imagined Ronan searching every room for .
A painful ache spread through my chest.
Would they be worried?
Would they co looking for ?
A small part of wanted them to.
Wanted them to find .
Hold .
Tell everything would be okay.
But reality crushed that hope quickly.
Lydia had everyone wrapped around her finger.
Every single ti it ca down to her word against mine, I lost.
And now I had a baby to protect.
My hand pressed firmly against my stomach again.
“I’ll survive,” I whispered through tears. “I’ll do anything to protect you.”
Anything.
Eventually I dragged myself toward a dark corner beside a large trash bin.
It slled horrible.
Rotten food.
Damp waste.
Decay.
But it was hidden.
Quiet.
Safe enough.
I pulled my knees to my chest and cried until my body physically could not anymore.
At so point exhaustion swallowed whole.
I did not even realize I had fallen asleep.
A sudden and loud thud exploded in my ears.
Pain exploded across my head.
I jerked awake with a gasp.
Sothing wet and disgusting slid down my shoulder.
“What the hell?” a woman’s voice exclaid.
I blinked blearily.
A trash bag had burst open all over .
Rotten leftovers.
Sticky liquid.
Filthy napkins.
The woman holding another trash bag stared at for a second.
Then she laughed.
Actually laughed.
“Well,” she said mockingly, “that’s what you get for sleeping beside a bin.”
I slowly pushed myself upright.
Trash slid off my clothes.
The sll was unbearable.
The woman wrinkled her nose dramatically.
“Go find a job,” she scoffed. “At least then you might afford a roof over your head.”
Then she turned and walked away like I was nothing.
I stood there silently for a mont.
Covered in garbage.
Humiliated.
Hungry.
And completely alone.
My eyes burned again, but I forced the tears back this ti.
Crying would not save .
I brushed off as much trash as I could and picked up my empty bag.
Then I started walking.
The city looked different during daylight.
Louder.
Busier.
Crueler.
I searched desperately for work.
Any work.
The first shop had a vacancy sign hanging in the window.
Hope flickered weakly inside as I stepped in.
The woman behind the counter looked up.
Her expression changed instantly when she slled .
“Oh my God.”
“I’m looking for work,” I said quickly.
She physically recoiled.
“No.”
“Please, I can clean, organize, anything....”
“Get out.”
Her voice was sharp enough to make everyone inside the shop turn toward .
Heat flooded my face.
“I just need....”
“OUT.”
The second place was worse.
The man there laughed openly when I asked if they were hiring.
“You look like you climbed out of a sewer,” he sneered.
The third place did not even let inside.
The fourth manager told I was “bad for business.”
By then my legs felt heavy.
My throat was dry.
And the hot afternoon sun felt like it was slowly draining the remaining strength from my body.
I was starving.
Actually starving.
I pressed a trembling hand against my stomach again.
I had to eat.
Not for .
For the baby.
The thought alone pushed forward.
By evening, desperation had swallowed my pride entirely.
I began approaching strangers quietly.
“Please,” I whispered. “Do you have spare change?”
Most people ignored .
So looked disgusted.
Others waved away imdiately because of the sll still clinging to my clothes.
One woman pulled her child behind her like I was dangerous.
Humiliation settled into my bones.
But hunger hurt more.
As darkness slowly returned, my vision began blurring slightly from exhaustion.
I felt weak.
Dizzy.
Like I might collapse.
And finally, with absolutely no options left, I found myself standing in front of another garbage bin.
My stomach twisted painfully.
I stared at it for a long mont.
Then slowly lifted the lid.
Rotten sll hit instantly.
I gagged.
But I kept going.
My hands shook as I searched through the trash desperately.
Anything.
Anything edible.
Anything that could keep going.
Tears blurred my vision as I found half a sandwich still wrapped loosely in paper.
I grabbed it imdiately.
My entire body trembled with sha as I ate quickly beside the bin.
Desperate.
Hungry.
Broken.
Then suddenly....
“Jade?”
My entire body froze.
The piece of bread slipped from my fingers.
I turned slowly.
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