Izzy paced her bedroom, chewing on her lower lip as she debated whether to go out with Ron tonight. The idea of going to a club after everything she had been through seemed absurd, but at the same time, she was tired of feeling afraid. She had been hiding from the world since she got out of the hospital, and maybe Ron was right. Maybe she needed to get out and live a little, to remind herself of who she was before everything happened.Her phone buzzed with another message from Ron.**"Come on, Izzy. It’ll be fun. You need this. Trust me."**She sighed and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes still had a hint of wariness, but her face looked better. The bruises were fading, leaving only faint traces of what had happened. She was starting to feel stronger, at least physically. Maybe tonight could be a step toward healing emotionally too.**"Okay,"**she finally replied.**"I’ll go."**Ron sent back a series of excited emojis, making her smile despite herself. She pulled on
Izzy stood outside the gates of her college, clutching the straps of her backpack tightly. Her heart pounded in her chest as she looked up at the familiar brick buildings, their imposing stature somehow more intimidating now than they had ever been before. She had taken a leave of absence after the incident with Ace, needing time to heal both physically and emotionally. But now, after weeks of recovery and therapy, it was time to return to her studies and try to piece her life back together.The decision to come back to college hadn’t been easy. She had agonized over it for days, worried about how people would react, what they would say. Izzy wasn’t sure if she was ready to face the rumors, the whispers, and the judgmental stares. But she knew she couldn’t hide forever. She needed to finish her degree, to move forward and reclaim some semblance of normalcy in her life.Taking a deep breath, she walked through the gates and into the campus grounds. The morning sun was warm on her face,
Izzy had been back at college for a month now. Despite the whispers and the sideways glances, she had thrown herself into her studies, determined to reclaim the life she once had. Her grades were strong, and she found solace in the familiarity of lectures and late-night study sessions at the library. But even as she tried to focus on her future, shadows from her past seemed determined to follow her.It was a Friday afternoon when things began to change. Izzy had just finished a grueling lecture on corporate law and was heading to her next class when her phone buzzed with a new message. She pulled it out, expecting it to be from her mother or Lena, but her heart skipped a beat when she saw it was from an unknown number."You think you can just run away, but I know where you are. I always know. -A"Izzy’s breath hitched in her throat. She stared at the message, her mind racing. Ace. The text had to be from him. A sick feeling churned in her stomach as she read the words again. She had h
Izzy sat in the café, her heart still racing from the unsettling messages. She tried to steady her breath, reminding herself that she had come too far to be dragged back into the chaos that was her life with Ace. But as much as she wanted to ignore the fear, it clung to her like a shadow, a constant reminder that her past was never truly gone.She hadn’t told anyone about the messages, not even Lena or Ron. What could they do? It would only make them worry, and she didn’t want to drag them into this mess. But as she stared at her phone, she knew she couldn’t keep it all inside. She needed help—someone who could actually do something about this.Her mind drifted to the mysterious person who had reached out to her before, sending cryptic but protective messages that had somehow made her feel safer, even if she didn’t understand why. She had saved the number under “D” in her phone, the initial being the only clue she had to his identity. He had warned her about Ace, guided her away from
The following week was a blur for Izzy. She buried herself in her studies, pushing through lectures and assignments with a determination fueled by both fear and a stubborn refusal to let Ace, or whoever was pretending to be him, ruin her life again. She hadn’t heard back from D since his last message, but knowing that someone out there was looking out for her, even from the shadows, gave her a sliver of hope.As the days passed, the tension in her shoulders eased a bit, though the anxiety never completely left her. She found herself glancing over her shoulder more often than she cared to admit, half-expecting to see Ace lurking in the corners of her vision. But he was never there, and the campus remained a safe haven, at least on the surface.Lena had noticed Izzy’s distant behavior but didn’t press her for details. Instead, she provided the comfort of normalcy, dragging Izzy to study sessions and inviting her to lunch with friends. They didn’t talk about Ace or the strange messages,
Izzy had been back at college for a few months, juggling her coursework with the persistent dread of Ace’s threats. One evening, feeling unusually anxious and on edge, she decided to clear her head. She took a walk to a nearby café she hadn’t visited before, hoping the change of scenery might help. As she wandered, she passed a warehouse that had recently been transformed into an upscale lounge. The sign out front read “Blakk’s.” Despite her unease, she was drawn to the place out of curiosity.As she neared the entrance, she noticed an unexpected commotion. The loud noises, a mixture of shouting and grunts, pierced through the thin walls of the warehouse. The sound was alarming, but her curiosity got the better of her. She edged closer, careful to avoid making noise.Peeking through a slightly ajar door, Izzy’s heart sank as she saw a horrifying scene. A man was being beaten severely by a group of men, the violence methodical and brutal. The attacker’s faces were partially obscured, b
Izzy had become hyper-aware of her surroundings since that night with Logan and his men. Everywhere she went, she found herself glancing over her shoulder, her heart quickening at the slightest sound. It was as if her entire world had shifted, the shadows that once held no meaning now seemed to hide potential dangers. The fear had seeped into her daily life, and no matter how much she tried to shake it off, it lingered like a dark cloud. Her friends had noticed the change. Lena, especially, had questioned her about it. "You seem...jumpy," she had said one day, her eyes narrowing with concern. "What's going on, Izzy? You've been acting strange ever since you came back to school." Izzy had brushed it off, offering a weak smile. "I'm fine, Lena. Just stressed with school and everything, you know?" But the excuse didn’t satisfy her friends or her parents, who had also picked up on her unease. "Isabella," her mother had said in that soft, probing tone she used when she knew something wa
Izzy's phone buzzed with a new message, and she hesitated for a moment before picking it up. It was from D, the mysterious figure who had been helping her find her sister. But this message was different. It wasn’t the usual cryptic warning or vague instruction—it was a direct request. "I have something for you. We need to meet. I’ll send the address. – D." Izzy’s brows furrowed in confusion. D had never asked to meet before. Their communication had always been through messages, sporadic and shrouded in mystery. But despite the uneasy feeling gnawing at her, she knew she had to go. This was about her sister. Whatever D had could be crucial. Soon after, another message appeared with an address. As she punched it into her phone’s GPS, Izzy realized it led to one of the city’s most upscale neighborhoods, a place she’d only heard about in passing. Her anxiety spiked, but she steeled herself. She needed answers. The drive through the fancy neighborhood felt surreal. The streets were lin