o of her, Cameron, and Anderson, smiling on a yacht during a summer trip years ago. They looked so happy,

and Cameron at their engagement party had once sat, there was now one of Cameron and Bailey, laughing at some charity

a dull, heavy pain.

ameron, a tech mogul in his own right, had designed it for her. It was their privat

es blurring with tears as

ou tonight, my love. C

ul today. I' m the luck

date she was taken.

t one written afte

out you. I' m so sorry. I should have protecte

e, frantic search. He described a car accident he got into while chasing a fals

of torture. A part of her ached for

new name

She cried, saying she feels so helpless. She'

f Bailey becam

e only one who can get him to eat.

e mountains today. Bailey came wit

t companionship. Alanna felt a knot of dread tighten in her stomach, but she couldn't s

love with her sist

nt. Instead, they were filled with places he had gone wit

y wall, the laptop feeling heavy in her lap.

last entry, dated

I' m betraying you, Alanna, wherever you are.

t was over. The love she had held onto like a beacon in

ron stood there, a silhouet

e dropping to the laptop screen. He d

lanna' s hand shot out, stopping him. She loo

rettes from his pocket and lit one, a habit he' d picked up after sh

said, the words quiet but

ther to hear him say it. The confirmati

ng on a gentler, persuasive tone. "I will honor my pro

take it out on Bailey. She's innocent in all this. Once

throat. He was asking her, the victim, to be pat

she slowly stood up. Without a wor

torso was a roadmap of cruelty. Livid scars, old and new, crisscrossed

was too damaged. The buyers would complain. So they'd send me back. An

took a step back, his hand coming up as if to

cars. He couldn't even look at her face. He looked at the wall behind her.

f disgust in his eyes. He was a man obsessed with perfection. His cars, his sui

her lips. "I'm callin

d shocke

ith someone else," she said, her voic

everything, you're talking about pride? What more do y

insult. The love he had for her was gone, replaced by a

couldn't break any further, f

the door op

there, wearing a breathtaking evening gown of pale blue silk. It shimmered

f-a-kind couture piece from a famed designer.

or a queen. It was made for you, Alanna.

it was

osphere. She did a little twirl. "Isn't it beautiful, Al

tal blow. It was a declaration of war. A statement that

lanna's lips. It was a sound of

Bailey's triumphant one. Without another word

the other side, and then his footsteps walk

on the cold, hard floor of the storage room, surrounded by the

oto, every letter, every gift from Cameron and Anderson and sealed them in a single,