Chapter 165

ARIANA'S POV

I paced the living room, my heart pounding with anxiety. The silence of the house only amplified my unease. I couldn’t believe that Odette had managed to escape from jail. The sheer improbability of it was staggering. Who had helped her, and why? Questions swirled in my mind, each one more unsettling than the last.

The clock on the wall ticked steadily, each second dragging by like an eternity. I glanced out the window for the hundredth time, hoping to see Sylvia or Rob and Josh pulling into the driveway. Instead, darkness greeted me, the empty street offering no solace.

The sound of a car approaching broke the stillness, and I rushed to the door. I flung it open just a