ina

leaving behind a damp, earthy smell. I was abrupt

y wrinkled, and dark circles were prominent under her eyes. She clearly had not slept

ipping with venom. "I will be downstairs. If there are an

ts. Downstairs, Susan and the driver, Mike, were huddled over a GPS ma

we will have to take the back roads. The conditions might not be

lked up. "This is all your fault. If you had not insisted on dawdling at that stupid coffee shop y

ame. "Take the secondary Route 23 to the north. I heard th

I had seen the horrifying news on the TV while lying half dead in the ICU. Since I had successfully avoided yes

country bumpkin from Flint. Yesterday you delayed us with your ridiculous excuses, and today you wan

ing news video and deliberately turned the volume all th

cars occurred on the Interstate 90 yesterday evening. Due to the severe storm and zero visibility, several cars were completely

ghost. Her mouth hung open, and she made a strangled sound, exactly like a duck grabbed by the neck, unab

dly, my eyes cold and piercing. "It seems my 'ridiculous excuse' yesterday just s

is phone screen. "Ma'am! The young lady is right! The weather app just issued a red alert. A massive mudslide

tch possessing dark magic. Unable to refute the harsh reality and the double humiliation of being saved by the

uds to drown out her toxic complaints. My heart was perfectly c

f Weston. Manicured lawns and beautiful, sprawling mansions l

only dream of. With your garbage grades from the countryside, you would never survive in a real, competitive college environment anyway. Giving you a high school education so you don't completely embarrass us is already the utmost charity from

n once. I knew perfectly well that William did not actually care about my education or my future. He just knew that if I went to a terrible public school, it would completely humiliate th

g with a deep, aggressive growl, and drove parallel to our Lincoln. The heavy

ue eyes flashed

was a heavy, dangerous, and undeniably predatory stare that made the air between the two speeding cars crackle with invisible electricity. It felt exactly

is ear, his eyes never leaving mine until the angle broke.

t from an un

to Weston

ng the edge of my phone. There was no signature. Some

alive. But this time, I slipped the phone back into my pocket and let out a cold, soft chuckle. Let Elizabeth and Caleb bring their worst. I was no longer a prey walking into a trap; I was the hunter c