The Girl He Sold Returned As The King’s Mate Chapter 24
I set the little green paper boat on the water.
The current caught it and quickly pulled it away from the shore.
This time, I didn’t wait for it to come back.
The lights of the new identity recovery center beside the dock were already on.
Inside, there was hot water, clean clothes, two female investigators on rotation, and a Healer.
The notice on the wall read:
*No matter which Pack you come from, no matter how many times your name has been changed, you can find help here. No one will take you away until your own wishes are confirmed.*
I used to think that returning to the capital and stopping Adrian’s appointment would be the end of the road.
Later, I realized that surviving wasn’t just about watching the people who hurt me lose everything.
It was also about leaving a door open for the ones who came after me.
As night fell, the ferry horn sounded three times.
Thirteen years ago, that third blast signaled my departure to a place with no name.
Now, at that same sound, a girl who had just escaped a cargo ship stumbled into the identity recovery center.
She was too weak to shift, with no Pack she could contact. The investigator on duty caught her before she fell. She didn’t ask for work papers. She didn’t ask who her guardian was.
She just asked, “What’s your name?”
The girl burst into tears and said she didn’t know.
“That’s okay.”
“Come inside first. You can take your time thinking of one.”
I stood outside the door and watched the warm light fall across her face.
Evelyn Hawthorne did not die in the river at Riverbend.
And Naomi Sutton is no longer Seventeen of the Starlight Carnival.
Once, I was something that could be priced and sold.
Now, my name is back in the public record, and back in my own hands.
As for Adrian’s future, Isla’s stolen approval, and Daniel’s belated remorse—all of that remains outside this door.
I turned and walked into the identity recovery center.
This time, I decide where the ferry goes.