Queens was a sheet of gray,

stone was new, the earth freshly turned. She wor

llowed, her lake-blue eyes holding

e'd been taken to a shelter like a piece of refuse. It was the old famil

daisies on the grave. Her fingers traced th

, Mom," sh

venomous promise, "Jonas Slater, Corie Reeves, and e

ain soaked her to the bone. Then she turned

d the last thing her mother had ever given

or food or shelter. It was for a weapon.

val knife. The cold steel of th

the Slater estate. She knew Jonas's routine. He fi

e cold rain and the knife in her h

Jonas got out. He didn't use an umbrella, letting the

tion on his face. Even through the downpour, Amelie cou

It was a rhythm of hatred and fear.

for the gate, Amelie

ain, her loss, her despair into that sin

f physical training, twisted instinctively. A flash of shock

his left shoulder. Fabric tore. Blood bloomed in

g around Amelie's wrist like a steel vise. The pr

r lips, and the knife cl

y trapping her completely. "Are you insane?" he roar

k, rain and tears mixing on her pale face. "You made me insa

laced by a deeper disgust. "Your baby? I don't care about that

ng against his grip and instead lunged, try

cornered, desperate animal-futil

ehind her back, pinning her against the cold,

lared. Guards rushed

a discarded doll. He glanced at his bleeding s

Throw her in

was escorted through the gate, his back straight

ion had ended in comple

oward a separate, cellar-like structure deep within the gro