Dulce Guzman had never known what it felt like to truly belong. Her life had been one of instability, of constant change, of being passed from one foster home to another, never quite fitting in, never quite finding the safety or love she so desperately needed. For the first fifteen years of her life, "home" was just a place to sleep-sometimes a roof over her head, sometimes not. No matter where she went, there was always the yelling. The shoving. The verbal and physical abuse that wore down her spirit, each new family making promises they never intended to keep. At thirteen, her world had shattered completely when she was kidnapped. The man took her by force in broad daylight and pulled her into his life like she was nothing. The days she spent locked away with him left her with scars deeper than the ones on her body. Her trust, once fragile, was now nonexistent. The terror she felt then still haunted her every waking moment. But now, for the first time, Dulce had something resembling peace. She'd been placed with the Sandoval's, an older couple who had little to give but warmth and love-things Dulce had never experienced in foster care. They didn't have much in the way of material wealth, but they had hearts big enough to fill the empty spaces Dulce had carried for so long. Their encouragement, their gentle way of showing affection, made Dulce start to wonder if maybe-just maybe-she could have a future. A life that wasn't defined by pain. She started high school in Brownsville, Texas, keeping to herself, as usual. But something was different. She had a job at Walmart, ringing up customers and stocking shelves, and it felt like the first time in her life that she was actually doing something for herself. She wasn't the odd girl who kept to the corners anymore; she had a few friends, people who didn't ask questions about her past and accepted her silence. Life, for once, was calm. She was starting to believe that she might just make it. But then the car broke down. And with it, everything changed. Francisco, a guy she knew from work, offered to help. At first, it seemed like a simple favor, something anyone would do. But Francisco wasn't like everyone else. The way he looked at her, the way he manipulated her trust, it quickly became clear that he had darker intentions. When Dulce found herself trapped in his world, there was no easy way out. He thought he could control her, make her bend to his will-but Dulce wasn't the same scared, vulnerable girl she had been before. She had survived so much. She would survive this too. But would she? Maybe she could escape him. Or maybe she couldn't. The truth was, Dulce didn't know. The only thing she did know was that she wasn't going down without a fight. Her story wasn't over yet. Not by a long shot.