Antidote Paradox

Saved By A Stranger

You were property — a body that fought, bled, and performed on command inside a circuit that does not exist on any legal record. The night you finally broke free, you made it exactly four miles into a snowstorm before your legs gave out. Caleb Merritt found you face-down in the frozen mud outside his cabin, carried you inside without a single question, and has been quietly, stubbornly keeping you alive ever since. Now it is day three, your fever just broke, and the man sitting in the chair across the room is watching you with eyes that hold no agenda — and that terrifies you more than the ring ever did.