Wanyin's first night at the shelter was rough.
She kept waking up every hour, heart pounding, thinking she heard footsteps outside her door. Thinking Shen Jingwei had found her already. But it was just other women going to the bathroom or someone having nightmares in another room.
By 6am she gave up on sleep and went downstairs.
Sister Mei was already in the kitchen, making congee in a huge pot. The smell reminded Wanyin of childhood, of her grandmother's cooking before everything got complicated.
"You're up early," Sister Mei said without looking up. "Couldn't sleep?"
"No. I kept thinking he'd find me."
"They all think that the first few nights. But you're safe here. We've had women stay for months without their abusers finding them. The key is following the rules and not getting comfortable."
"Not getting comfortable?"
"Comfortable makes you careless. Careless gets you caught." Sister Mei handed her a bowl of congee. "Eat. You look like you haven't had a real meal in days."
The congee was simple, just rice and a little bit of pork, but it tasted better than any expensive meal Wanyin could remember. Or couldn't remember, technically.
Other women started filtering into the kitchen. Xiao Ling from her room, still looking half asleep. An older woman with a scar across her cheek. A young mother with a baby on her hip. They all moved quietly, efficiently, like they'd done this routine a hundred times.
"New girl," the older woman said, looking at Wanyin. "What's your story?"
"Leave her alone Zhang Mei," Sister Mei said. "She just got here."
"I'm just asking. We all share our stories eventually."
Wanyin set down her bowl. "I was with a man for four years. He controlled everything. I tried to leave and got in a car accident. Now I have amnesia and I don't remember most of the relationship. But everyone says it was bad so I'm here."
Zhang Mei nodded slowly. "Amnesia. That's new. Most of us remember everything we wish we could forget."
"Be grateful," the young mother said quietly. She was rocking her baby, not looking at anyone. "I remember every hit. Every time he said it was my fault. Every promise that he'd change. If I could forget, I would."
The room went quiet.
Sister Mei broke the silence. "Wanyin, after breakfast I need you to fill out some paperwork. Basic information, emergency contacts if you have any, medical history. And we need to set you up with a counselor."
"I don't need a counselor."
"Everyone here sees a counselor. It's not optional. You've been through trauma whether you remember it or not. Your body remembers even if your mind doesn't."
Wanyin wanted to argue but what was the point? She was living in a shelter for abused women. Clearly she needed help.
After breakfast, she spent two hours filling out forms in Sister Mei's tiny office. Name, age, hometown, family information. Medical history - broken ribs, head trauma, amnesia. Previous occupation - model, though that felt like a lifetime ago.
"Do you have any skills?" Sister Mei asked. "Things you can do for work?"
"I was a model. I know how to walk in heels and look pretty for cameras. Not exactly useful skills for normal jobs."
"Can you read and write?"
"Of course."
"Can you use a computer?"
"Yes."
"Then you have skills. We'll find you something. Most women here start with retail or food service but if you have computer skills, maybe we can find something better."
"I don't have any references though. And if he finds out where I'm working—"
"We have partnerships with businesses that hire women in your situation. They understand the need for discretion. And we can provide references, work history under a different name if needed."
A different name. A whole new identity.
"I don't want to lie about who I am."
"Then you want him to find you. Because Wanyin, the first thing men like your ex do is call every business in the area asking if they've hired you. If you use your real name, he'll know exactly where you are within a week."
Wanyin felt sick but she knew Sister Mei was right.
"What name should I use?"
"Something close enough to your real name that you'll respond to it naturally. Maybe... Liu Yin? Keep the Yin part, change the surname."
Liu Yin. It sounded foreign. Wrong. But maybe that was good. Maybe she needed to become someone new.
"Okay. Liu Yin."
Sister Mei made a note. "Good. Now, counseling. We have someone who comes three times a week. Her name is Dr. Wang. She specializes in trauma and abuse recovery. Your first session is tomorrow at 2pm."
"What if I don't have anything to say? I don't remember the relationship."
"Then you talk about how it feels not to remember. You talk about the fear, the confusion, the anger. You don't need to remember everything to process the trauma."
---
The rest of the day, Wanyin explored the shelter more.
The first floor had the kitchen, common room with an old TV, and Sister Mei's office. Second floor was bedrooms - four rooms with four beds each. Third floor was more bedrooms plus a small library that was really just a room with donated books on cheap shelves.
There was a courtyard out back, small and concrete but with a few struggling plants in pots. Some of the women were out there, sitting in the weak sunlight, talking quietly.
Wanyin joined them.
"You settling in okay?" Xiao Ling asked. She was painting her nails a bright red color that seemed too cheerful for this place.
"I guess. It's a lot to process."
"Wait till you've been here a week. Then it starts feeling normal. That's when you know you're healing."
A woman Wanyin hadn't met yet spoke up. She was maybe forty, thin, with nervous hands that never stopped moving. "Don't get too comfortable though. My ex found me at the last shelter I was at. I had to move here, start over again."
"How did he find you?"
"I posted on social media. Just one picture, didn't even tag the location. But he recognized the building in the background. Showed up the next day."
"Jesus."
"Yeah. So no social media, no contact with old friends, no using your real name anywhere. You want to survive? You become a ghost."
Wanyin thought about her phone, the one she'd left at the hospital. All her photos, her contacts, her entire digital life. Gone.
She'd brought nothing with her. No memories, no possessions, no proof she'd ever been anyone important.
Maybe that was the point.
"How long have you been here?" Wanyin asked the nervous woman.
"Three months. Saving money for my own place. Once I have enough for first and last month's rent plus deposit, I'm out. Start completely fresh somewhere he'll never think to look."
"Where will you go?"
"Not telling. The fewer people who know, the better."
That made sense. Trust no one. Tell no one. Disappear completely.
Wanyin could do that. She'd already started.
---
That night, Xiao Ling asked if Wanyin wanted to watch TV in the common room.
"What's on?"
"Who cares? It's just nice to do something normal. Pretend we're regular people for a while."
They ended up watching some variety show, mindless and loud. Other women joined them. The young mother with her baby. Zhang Mei with her scar. A teenager who couldn't have been more than nineteen, so thin Wanyin could see her bones.
"That's An An," Xiao Ling whispered. "Her boyfriend was a drug dealer. Got her hooked too. She's been clean for two weeks now but it's hard."
Wanyin watched An An fidget and scratch at her arms. Watched the baby cry and his mother try to soothe him with shaking hands. Watched Zhang Mei stare at the TV without really seeing it.
These were her people now. Women who'd survived monsters. Women who were trying to build new lives from nothing.
She belonged here. Even if she didn't remember her own monster, she belonged.
Around 9pm, Sister Mei came into the common room. "Wanyin, you have a phone call."
Her heart stopped. "What? Who—"
"Relax. It's Chen Li. She's checking in."
Wanyin followed Sister Mei to the office where an old corded phone sat on the desk.
"Make it quick," Sister Mei said. "And don't tell her anything specific about your location."
Wanyin picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Wanyin. It's Chen Li. How are you settling in?"
"I'm okay. The shelter is... it's good. Safe."
"Good. Listen, I need to warn you about something. Shen Jingwei has been making calls. He's contacted every modeling agency in Shanghai and Hangzhou, claiming you're mentally unstable and might try to get work under false pretenses. He's basically blacklisting you preemptively."
"Can he do that?"
"He's doing it. Whether it's legal is another question. But Wanyin, it means you can't go back to modeling. Not under your real name. Probably not for a long time."
Her career. The one thing she'd had before him. Gone.
"What am I supposed to do then?"
"Build a new career. Under a new name. It won't be glamorous but it'll be yours. No one controlling you, no one owning you."
"I don't know how to be anyone other than a model."
"Then you'll learn. Wanyin, I know this is hard. I know it feels like he's taking everything from you. But you're alive. You're free. That's what matters."
After she hung up, Wanyin sat in Sister Mei's office for a long time.
She'd lost her memories. Lost her family's respect. Lost her career. Lost any chance of going back to the life she'd had before Shen Jingwei.
But Chen Li was right. She was alive. She was free.
And maybe that was enough.
Maybe she could build something new from the ashes.
She just had to figure out who Liu Yin was going to be.