Chapter 29 Dexter's Memories

• Dexter Norman returned to his bedroom with a single-minded resolve—he was leaving the Norman family mansion for good. At just eleven years old, he moved with a quiet determination far beyond his years. He slipped a few possessions into his small backpack, along with whatever allowance and gift money he had saved. To anyone else his age, it would have been a terrifying leap into the unknown. But Dexter had long since learned to rely on himself.
• That night, he barely slept. His mind replayed the hurt and indifference he’d experienced in that huge, cold house. In the dim hours before dawn, Dexter silently crept down the endless corridors and let himself out a side door. The estate’s security lights shone on his small figure for only a moment before he vanished into the early morning shadows. At first, he waited, half-hoping some adult might catch him—someone who would actually care where he was going. But, predictably, no one came.
• Outside the mansion gates, he adjusted the straps of his backpack and set off. His goal was the nearest bus station, though he had no real plan and no destination in mind. All he knew was that he wanted to be far from the Norman family, far from a house that had never felt like a home.