The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 662

Chapter 662 Abandoned In Shadows

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Dawn was not afraid of being cast aside; she feared that her mother would never receive the treatment she needed.

But if I’m stuck here, how can I get back?

I still have to go back to Mom. I promised.

A slick, mocking voice sliced through the night. “Well, look what I stumbled on. A pretty little mouse hiding in the gutter.”

Dawn looked up; two men wearing greasy grins were closing in, their footsteps slow and deliberate. Their eyes crawled over her as though already bartering her price.

Despite her age, Dawn could read hearts; what she saw in theirs was nothing but harm.

“Come on, sweetheart. I will take you someplace fun. They love kids as cute as you.” The man extended a grimy hand toward her.

She ducked low, slipping beneath the man’s outstretched fingers, then sprinted toward the far end of the alley.

“How dare you run? I’ll catch you and beat the stuffing out of you!” one of them bellowed, pounding after her.

“Don’t mess up her face, idiot! An exotic beauty like that will fetch real money,” the other snarled.

The two men advanced with the easy assurance of seasoned trappers. In their minds, snatching a child no taller than their belts would take no longer than flicking ash from a cigarette.

What they had not anticipated was Dawn’s speed–fast as a startled deer–and the liquid grace that let her slide between crates, gutters, and half–shut doors before adult fingers could even close.

For a full three minutes, the

hand on her.

ase rattled through the alleyways, yet they never once managed to lay a

Still, this maze of streets was foreign to Dawn. She did not know which turns led to safety and which to dead ends, so no matter how quickly her feet flew, she could not shake two grown men forever.

Every sprinting breath tore more strength from her small lungs, and she could feel her reserves shrinking with alarming speed.

Just as the pounding footsteps closed in, a hand shot from a shadowed corner, caught her wrist, and yanked her behind a rank pile of trash bags.

The men barreled around the corner and thundered straight ahead, never noticing the tiny figure now pressed into darkness behind the reeking heap.

Only when their footsteps faded did Dawn peel back a black plastic bag, gulp in several ragged brens, and turn to the boy who had pulled her to safety.

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10:20 Thu, Jan 1 M

Chapter 662 Abandoned In Shadows

“Bowen, what are you doing here?” Dawn whispered, confusion and relief tangling in her voice.

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“I should be the one asking,” Bowen replied, his expression stern despite the grime on his checks. “Did no one at the orphanage ever tell you this is no place for kids?”

“This is the red–light district the adults warn us about, isn’t it?”

Bowen’s cheeks flushed with shame. “Yes, and that’s exactly why you shouldn’t be here. It’s not a playground, Dawn.”

“I didn’t choose to come,” she blurted. “When I woke up, I was already here.”

Bowen’s brow knit tighter. “What do you mean?”

Keeping her voice low, Dawn recounted–step by trembling step–how she had opened her eyes in a strange apartment, fled the unfamiliar adults, and ended up running for her life through these alleys.

Only then did Bowen notice her satin princess dress and the neat braid glinting with pink ribbons–worlds away from the tattered clothes she usually wore.

Had she not just crawled through garbage, she would have looked like a doll.

“Were you adopted by Mr. Arnold?” Bowen asked, lowering his voice as though the name itself carried weight.

“Yes! Do you know Mr. Arnold?” Dawn’s eyes shone with sudden hope.

Bowen shook his head. At nine, he had never met anyone that wealthy; their worlds shared no crossroads.

“First, I’m getting you someplace safe. It’s already dark. Tomorrow, when the sun is up, I’ll walk you back to the orphanage. They can call Mr. Arnold to fetch you.”

“All right,” Dawn agreed without hesitation.

Hand in hand, Bowen guided her deeper into the district he reluctantly called home.

His family’s room sat above the neon glow because his mother earned her living downstairs as a prostitute.

Everyone said that those born in the red–light district spent their whole lives trapped beneath its lights.

Bowen swore, every night and every morning, that he would prove them wrong and claw his way out.

But the moment he pushed open the door, he froze. His mother lay on the floor, limbs askew, her eyes wide and unblinking, her mouth caught mid–cry.

She was–irrevocably–dead.

10:20 Thu, Jan 1 @ M

Chapter 662 Abandoned In Shadows

“Bowen, what are you doing here?” Dawn whispered, confusion and relief tangling in her voice.

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“I should be the one asking.” Bowen replied, his expression stern despite the grime on his cheeks. “Did no one at the orphanage ever tell you this is no place for kids?”

“This is the red–light district the adults warn us about, isn’t it?”

Bowen’s cheeks flushed with shame. “Yes, and that’s exactly why you shouldn’t be here. It’s not a playground, Dawn.”

“I didn’t choose to come,” she blurted. “When I woke up, I was already here.”

Bowen’s brow knit tighter. “What do you mean?”

Keeping her voice low, Dawn recounted–step by trembling step–how she had opened her eyes in a strange apartment, fled the unfamiliar adults, and ended up running for her life through these alleys.

Only then did Bowen notice her satin princess dress and the neat braid glinting with pink ribbons–worlds away from the tattered clothes she usually wore.

Had she not just crawled through garbage, she would have looked like a doll.

“Were you adopted by Mr. Arnold?” Bowen asked, lowering his voice as though the name itself carried weight.

“Yes! Do you know Mr. Arnold?” Dawn’s eyes shone with sudden hope.

Bowen shook his head. At nine, he had never met anyone that wealthy; their worlds shared no crossroads.

“First, I’m getting you someplace safe. It’s already dark. Tomorrow, when the sun is up, I’ll walk you back to the orphanage. They can call Mr. Arnold to fetch you.”

“All right,” Dawn agreed without hesitation.

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