Reborn From Oblivion by Christia Muray

She'd caught the eye of some dangerous men. One afternoon, walking home from school along a lonely back road, she barely had time to react-a shadow darted out from the tangled bushes. Rough hands clamped over her mouth, cutting off her scream. Her eyes went wide with panic as she struggled and kicked, but she didn't stand a chance. He dragged her away, out of sight, all the way to an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town.

Inside, she found herself in a nightmare. Teenagers, boys and girls, trapped together—each one enduring horrors no one should ever face. Fear gripped her like a vice. On her first day, she hadn't been through their "inspection," so she was spared the worst of it, at least for the moment. But pain is pain, and humiliation cuts deep.

Her ribs were stomped until she heard something crack. She was forced to strip, her dignity crushed alongside her body. The pain was almost unbearable, but the shame was worse. And it didn't end there-she watched as other kids were abused by thugs in slick suits, their cruelty on full display. It was too much. She broke down completely, her face drained of color, her mind blank with terror.

Then, just when it seemed hope was gone, Nathan burst in with the police. They were saved.

But after two days locked in that warehouse-after seeing so much horror-she couldn't shake the trauma. Nightmares haunted her every night.

Nathan apologized again and again, his voice thick with guilt. "I'm sorry, sis. This is all my fault. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been there. I'll make it up to you, I swear."

He didn't really understand.

time heals all

Nathan leaned on each other, the only family they had

quiet courage built a

the sharp tongue of an unforgiving mother. But after what

Nathalie's heart-tiny needles, each one sharp and fresh. The worst of

saw the calm in his eyes. It wasn't peace. It was the emptiness that follows

wonder he could

far Nathan had come, the old wounds from

Nathan and the pain he'd carried

"Nathalie."

mirror that showed their shared past and walked over.