The plane touched down with a soft jolt, but it felt like a crash landing in my chest. The island was behind us—its golden sands, its secrets, its lies. Ahead loomed home. Carl’s world. My prison. And now, I was no longer just trapped. I was carrying a lie thick as blood on my skin.

I couldn't even look at him as we exited the jet. He walked ahead, phone pressed to his ear, barking orders like the world bent for him. The staff hovered, taking bags, nodding at his every command. My silence ...