That night, Esther finally steeled her heart.

She stepped out wearing a T-shirt, jeans, her warmest jacket, and a pair of sneakers. Inside her backpack, she had packed her phone, a power bank, all the cash she owned, spare clothes, bottled water, and most importantly, her passport.

Esther was about to do something she had never imagined herself doing before. Leaving the country alone.

After returning from the Maxwell siblings’ house that afternoon, it did not take long for her resolve to ...