Semua Bab WillowRidge: Bab 31 - Bab 33

Beatrix My hands trembled as I stared at the message. My breath hitched, and for a moment, I felt like I was eighteen again, trapped in that bathroom, helpless and bleeding. The memories came flooding back Tanya’s cruel laughter, the pain, the humiliation. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the panic away. No. I wasn’t that girl anymore. I wasn’t weak. I forced myself to take a deep breath. I needed to think. Tanya was back. And she wasn’t here for reconciliation. I stood abruptly, pacing my room, gripping my phone so tightly my knuckles turned white. This had to be a joke. A sick, twisted joke. Her family had disappeared after that night. She had vanished. And now, after all these years, she had the audacity to crawl back? I couldn’t ignore this. I wouldn’t ignore this. My fingers hovered over my phone. I could call the police. No, Tanya wasn’t stupid. She hadn’t threatened me directly. There was nothing concrete. I could call Sebastian. No. He was already teetering on the ed

Beatrix I couldn’t sleep. Even after Adam and Sebastian had forced me back home, even after they tripled the security outside my door, my mind refused to shut down. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Tanya’s smirk, heard her venomous whisper: We’re just getting started. I curled up under my blanket, my ribs aching from the attack, my body stiff from exhaustion, but my mind was still racing. She knew something. Not just about me, but about the bond, the prophecy, everything that had been kept from me for years. And that scared me more than the physical pain. A soft knock at my door startled me. My breath hitched. For a second, my paranoia flared—had she come back? Had Tanya sent someone? But then a voice, low and laced with tension, spoke. “It’s me.” Sebastian. I hesitated. I wasn’t sure I could handle seeing him right now, not after everything that had happened. Not after the way his touch had lingered on my skin after the attack, after the way Adam had looked at me like I