ella

oat, my lungs gasping for air as if I were dro

ollow ache, the scar tissue, the emptiness where my son had been ripped away by a bu

a? Miss

ry. Sunlight, bright and mocking, streamed through the window. It wasn't the grey,

art hammered against my ribs like a tr

ten years-no, the *next* ten years-assaulted me. The smell of antiseptic. The dust on the velvet chair

ma

s my heart stopped, I had felt his hand on mine-rough, calloused, and trembling. He had wept. While Jaret

tried to ask, but dea

g back at me was nineteen. My cheeks were flushed with life, not gaunt wi

Jaret Frazier was still just

r. I would not be the bird in his gilded cage. I would not be the *ama

of the lock. Inside lay the Wilder family heirlooms, the fortune Jaret was so desperate to control. I

It was expensive.

" I whispered to the empty

ce, a mask of sweet innocence plastered onto my face. I found my aunt

rough a fashion magazine, while Bethany was aggressively buffing her nails. They were the gat

hy. Bethany," I said, m

slightly. "You're up late, Isabell

elvet boxes. "I felt so terrible about my headache

fluently. Bethany snatched the smaller box, popping it op

e turned it in the light, admiring the shimmer. "This will look perf

went de

g in the air. She looked at her

s sharpening my knives. "Alexandria? You m

a sharp snap. She stood up, smoothing her skirt, her

you. The invitation... it was very specific. The Kanes are so exclusive, you know. They only

s sixteenth birthday, a debutante ball for the criminal underworld. Jaret needed to

eyes to hide the gleam of triumph. "I wou

e there,* I v

idn't exist. The battlefield had been revealed, and thanks to Bet

"Since you're up, make yourself useful and tell the cook

se, Aunt

he diamond earrings for Cathy-tightly in my hand. I didn

future self whispered in my ear: *Burn them