Elena’s POV

“How can you be so naive?”

Uncle Liu’s laughter echoed inside the abandoned mine, thin and sharp, bouncing off the damp stone walls like blades. It crawled under my skin.

Before I could even draw a breath, his polished leather shoe came down hard on my side.

Pain exploded through my ribs.

I curled instinctively, grit and blood filling my mouth as my cheek scraped against the dirt. He didn’t ease up. He ground his heel in slowly, deliberately, as if savoring the ...