In a world bound by merciless rules and debts that weighed heavy on their souls, Stellar Harbor’s life had become an unending battle to shield her family from the crushing oppression of the state-run Office of Financial Affairs. In this dystopian society, the vulnerable bore the brunt of suffering.
Parents, shackled by insurmountable debts, were often left with no recourse but to surrender their own flesh and blood to the unforgiving bureaucracy. Children became pawns in the hands of the state, mere assets to be traded until they reached the age of 18. The collectors, ruthless enforcers of the state’s will, wielded the legal authority to seize these children through any means necessary.
Stellar had fought with all her might to resist this fate. She had filed every financial extension document available, sold every valuable possession that she and her now-deceased husband had owned. But it was a never-ending struggle. The debt loomed over her like an unyielding specter, and no matter how tirelessly she toiled, she couldn’t break free from its grip.
Today, the day she had always dreaded, had finally arrived. She stood at her doorstep, facing the collector, a heartless emblem of authority flanked by two stern security guards. Her eight-year-old son, Ethan, clung to her, his tear-stained face a portrait of anguish as he begged not to be taken away. His small voice trembled with fear, and he pleaded with his mother to keep him safe.
Stellar’s heart ached as she was forcibly restrained by one of the guards, while the other guard grabbed Ethan and thrust him into the back of a truck. Powerless and devastated, her world crumbled around her. She couldn’t bear to watch her child being ripped away from her. In that moment, she longed for death. The collector’s cold eyes held no hint of mercy or compassion.
But desperation surged within Stellar, and she shouted her son’s name amidst choked sobs. “Ethan! I’ll find you!” Her promise resounded in the harsh, unforgiving air, a vow made in the face of unbearable pain and loss. She clung to the hope that, someday, somehow, she would be reunited with her beloved son and free him from the clutches of this heartless system.