“Suzy? What do you think you are doing?” He asked aggressively, already raising the gun towards me. I had been caught; now I would be killed. “You had so many chances to escape, Suzy, you fool,” I fought with myself in my thoughts. “Now you’re going to die like an idiot!” “What do you mean? What
Laura I tried to free myself from my bonds again; I had to find a way to save my daughter. That's when I heard voices arguing loudly in the compartment where my daughter was, and then the sound of a gunshot made me freeze. "Annie? My God, my daughter," I screamed in shock. My eyes were wide as I
“My mom doesn't like cutting her hair,” said Annie, and reflexively, I shielded her with my body. Richard and his partner laughed. “I think your Mommy is used to getting her hair cut in those fancy salons where the price of a session there would be enough to support all the homeless people in New
Laura When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was my head throbbing with pain. I realized that I was tied to the chair again, but now so tightly that I couldn't even move. I grunted in pain, slowly lifting my head and seeing Richard sitting in front of me. There was blood on his clothes and his h
“Oh, my love, I'm so sorry,” he said, hugging me and kissing my cheek. “But you know that you were the only one to blame for your daughter's death. I mean, how could you trust a whore like Suzy? So she was the one who kidnapped Annie for me in exchange for money? That girl was an opportunist; she kn
Suzy I never had a mother. Certainly, those nuns who were daughters of the devil and took care of the children in the orphanage where I grew up were not an example of a mother. I had to grow my way by surviving one day at a time, and even my happiest memory from my childhood could never replace the
I could finally breathe a sigh of relief even though my shoulder was throbbing, I realized that the rear wheel of my car was damaged, probably that son of a bitch Richard had shot that wheel too, but I couldn't stop now to check until I knew for sure that he wasn't following us. “Annie? Annie, dar
Jason I was looking for Laura and my daughter, like I was completely crazy. Wasn't that right? A person didn't disappear like that without leaving a trace. When I called Annie's school, they said that her mom had sent someone to pick her up early, but even if Laura had left, she would have told Ava
“Why do you keep hanging out with them, Abby?” he asked, and now there was a note of concern that annoyed me even more. “You know Madison’s not good for you. She uses you, and you let her.” “It’s none of your business,” I shot back, my voice sharp. “I do what I want, Caleb. Bye.” I hung up before h
Abby POV It was a lazy Sunday, and I was at the mall’s food court, waiting at the counter to pick up snacks for myself and the “new friends” I’d managed to latch onto. The smell of grease and cheap coffee filled the air, and the hum of conversations mixed with the muffled pop music from the speaker
Caleb, Abby, Madison, Nadia—they all spun through my head like a broken carousel. I wanted to tell my parents everything, collapse and ask for help, but the thought of seeing disappointment in their eyes—or worse, them trying to intervene at Oxwell to “save” me—made me swallow the words. I had to fi
Annie POV It was the weekend, and I was at home, trying to take deep breaths and pretend everything was okay. The Oxwell campus was a few hours away, giving me temporary relief from the chaos my life had become. Here, with my parents and the twins, I could at least try to be the old Annie—the exc
Max POV Walking beside someone who’d once meant so much to me felt strange. I couldn’t stop thinking that our breakup had been a waste, couldn’t stop remembering how happy I’d been with this guy, only to ruin it all because of my ego, because of a toxic fixation I had on Albert. Conrad Adams walke
Max POV was stunned when Albert told me that, my mouth even went dry because I wasn’t expecting to hear it. Conrad Adams was back. He was my boyfriend in my early twenties. I met him through Albert, who was close friends with him during the dark days of his family’s company. Conrad was a good guy
Max POV I was driving through the city with the radio on low, just a background murmur to keep the silence from swallowing me whole, when my phone buzzed on the dashboard. Zoey. Of course it was her. The girl had already wormed her way into my house like a high-heeled parasite, and now, apparently,
Annie POV After the moment at the mall, I returned to the dorm with a tight chest, carrying the bags with the blue dress Summer had insisted I buy. The plan was to distract myself, but Madison’s words—“racist,” “canceled piece of trash”—spun in my head like a broken record, mingling with Nadia’s re
When I met her last week at a council meeting, I could tell she’d be a challenge—confident, charismatic, the type who knew how to play the game. “Ugh, Madison Goodwin is here too. What a rotten day,” I grumbled, rolling my eyes. Of course Abby would get close to Madison—she was her adopted cousin.