Inside the dark room, Iris kept knocking.
First with desperation.
Then with trembling hands.
Then with tears soaking her cheeks.
"Please," she whispered. "Please open the door. Someone... please..."
No one answered.
No footsteps. No voices. No light under the door.
Just silence.
She kept praying, kept begging, until her arms ached and her strength gave out. She slid down to the cold floor and curled into herself — knees to chest, arms wrapped tight.
Her entire body throbbed. Her cheek burned from the slap. Her neck stung where he'd grabbed her. Her arms, her back, her ribs — everything ached from the way she'd been dragged, thrown, tossed like nothing.
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"Why... why me?"
Her voice cracked in the darkness, so small it felt like even the shadows didn't hear it.
Her stomach growled loud enough to echo. She winced at the sound.
Of course she was hungry. She hadn't eaten all day. Her stepmother had punished her for something stupid that morning — something as small as leaving a cup on the table — and her punishment had been no food.
Not one bite.
And now she was here. Alone. Starving. In pain.
"Will I die in this place...?" she whispered.
Her chest tightened.
No one would come for her. Not her stepmother. Not Rei. Not Trevor.
Especially not Trevor.
Her father had looked her dead in the eyes and left her behind without hesitation. He didn't even flinch. He'd just run — like she meant nothing.
"...He'll never come to save me."
That thought hurt the most.
Her tears came faster.
She hugged herself tighter.
She didn't know when sleep took her.
Or if it was even sleep — maybe just her body shutting down from exhaustion.
The girl who was once invisible in her own home... disappeared completely into the dark.