They Poisoned My Voice So She Could Steal My Future, Not Knowing I Already Chose a Different One Chapter 02

They Poisoned My Voice So She Could Steal My Future, Not Knowing I Already Chose a Different One Chapter 02

The bald driver, Cletus Ray, was slouched behind the wheel, smoking. When he saw me being hauled over, his eyes lit up. “Hey Buck, this one’s a good catch!”

Buck pulled open the door and roughly shoved me into the back seat. “Cost me eighteen grand, she better be good.”

“Put your hands out!”

When I didn’t move, he grunted angrily and kicked me hard. Then he jumped in and tied my hands behind my back.

“Behave. The drugs will keep you quiet for a few days, but that won’t stop you from jumping out of a moving truck. When we get to Raven Hollow, I’ll have plenty of time to teach you some manners.”

The van rumbled away, bouncing down the rutted dirt road.

Through the dusty window, I took one last look at that house.

Sophia was standing in the yard, taking a selfie with my license. My parents were laughing and talking around her, not even sparing a glance for their daughter who was being sent off to hell.

I turned back and began to feel behind my back. Sewn into the waistband of my jeans was a small metal button the size of a fingernail.

It had come with my acceptance letter from Fort Morrison Academy. Pressing it hard three times would trigger a Code Black emergency ping.

But I wouldn’t press it now. If I did, it would just be a missing person case, they’d catch a few low-level creeps.

No, I would wait. I would wait for Sophia to walk into that restricted facility with my ID. Wait for her to land the charge of attempting to infiltrate a federal security zone squarely on herself.

“How much longer on this crappy road?” Cletus yanked the wheel to avoid a pothole.

“Relax, it’s four more hours until we hit the highway, and the mountain roads are even worse.”

I was jolted against the door, my shoulder throbbing.

The side effects of the injection were starting. My stomach churned and my vision blurred. I bit my lip, letting the taste of blood keep me conscious.

Buck’s phone rang. On the other end, I heard my father’s groveling voice. “Hey Buck, she giving you any trouble?”

Buck grunted. “She wants to. But she’s tied up and just making gurgling noises. It’s annoying.”

My father sounded relieved. “Good, good. She’s got a temper, but she’s a hard worker. Just starve her for three days when you get there. She’ll fall in line.”

Buck cut him off. “Alright, alright. You and your family clean up on your end. Make sure no one comes looking.”

Sophia’s laugh crackled through the phone. “Don’t worry, Buck. We’re telling everyone she ran off with some trucker.”

The call ended.

I remembered my sister’s comment about a toy, and my father teaching a human trafficker how to break my spirit. A cold ache spread through my chest.

The van fell silent except for the engine’s drone.

Cletus tossed Buck a bottle of water. “You scored big this time, Buck.”

“An eighteen-grand college girl. You could flip her to some old hermit in the holler for…” He laughed.

Buck let out a lewd chuckle. “I’ve been single for fifty years. I’m not flipping this pretty thing. I want a taste myself.”

He reached his calloused hand toward my thigh.

My eyes snapped open and I stared him down.

Buck flinched at my look, then his face twisted in anger. “You little bitch!”

He slapped me hard across the face. My ears rang and my mouth filled with the coppery taste of blood.