The scent of sizzling cheese and warm bread filled the small, dilapidated cabin, a familiar comfort in a world full of harsh realities. Nicole slipped into the kitchen, her long black hair, unkempt and wild, trailing behind her. Her mother, Courtney, hummed softly by the stove, her silhouette etched against the single window that let in the meager morning light.

"Morning mamma," Nicole murmured, pressing a kiss to her mother's cheek, her eyes drifting to the bubbling pan of cheesy scrambled eggs. Her mother's smile, though tinged with weariness, was the only true warmth Nicole knew.

They ate in comfortable silence, a fragile peace before the day's inevitable torments began. But the quiet was shattered by the brutal slam of the cabin door, ripped from its hinges by a hulking enforcer. "Let's go," he grunted, his hand clamping around Nicole's arm, yanking her from her seat and her mother's embrace. Courtney lunged, a desperate cry tearing from her throat as Nicole was thrown over the man's shoulder. "I love you!" Nicole screamed, her voice hoarse, as she was dragged away, the image of her mother's tear-streaked face in the doorway burning into her mind.