oe

alked numbly up the stairs, each step feeling l

voice called after me from the bottom of the stairs. "Don't give the Carli

ed my steps, escaping back to my

the unmistakable, disgusting stench of their betrayal still hung heavy in the air of my ro

off the mattress with shaking hands, and shoved them aggressively into a black

ng on the cold floor. I buried my face in my knees, and the raw, agonizi

nt they brought Emma home from the hospital, everything in my life changed permanently. Emma instantly became the

to my room, pointed a manicured finger in my burning face, and called me a useless, lazy burden. Fred, my father, had just stood in the door

rn a tiny sliver of their parental affection. Instead, they systematically d

I had no more illusions about this family, about this twisted thing they ca

details and Carlisle family legal loopholes. The results brought a fresh wave of despair. Blake's medical records were sealed tight. M

st basement apartment in this freezing city. But the suffocating feeling

ieces of clothing inside. I was going to run away into the freezing Chicago night. I

. The house was dead silent. But just as my hand touched the

ter?" Emma's sickenin

nd Lucas were standing in the livin

the door. "Told you she would try to run.

ght. In her hand, she held a small glass bottle filled with white pi

I backed away, my hear

sedatives. You are going to swallow them. We will tie you up and deliver you directly to Blake Carlisle's hospital

is kidnapping!" I scream

nd my back with brutal force, his fingers digging painfully

ively pinched my jaw, trying to pry my mouth open. "Swallow it! You belong to the brain-dead

my lips. In a surge of desperate, blinding adrenaline, I bit down hard on Emma's

I dove to the floor, grabbed a jagged, bloody shard of

n. "The Carlisles are paying a fortune for a perfect, beautiful bride to save their public image! If I

om her face. She knew I was right.

hands raised. "Freya, stop! If she ruins her fa

inted a trembling finger at me. "Lock her in the attic! Do n

rowing me into my dark room and lockin

clutched in my bleeding hand. The sky outside the skylight dark

up together in my bed, his arm slung possessively around her. The caption read: "Some people just don't kn

eadbolt on my door clicked, trapping me in the dark, but Freya didn't realize one crucial detail. B