When Sabrina’s eyes fluttered open, the first thing she felt was a stab of pain in her temples and a soreness between her thighs.“Fuck,” she muttered, sitting up and rubbing a hand over her eyes, trying to soothe the ache spreading through her skull.When she dropped her palm, she frowned, scanning the unfamiliar room with growing confusion. The confusion quickly turned into panic when she looked down and realized she was—without a doubt—naked. Her pale skin was littered with red marks, suspiciously resembling hickeys.What exactly happened last night?Yanking the blanket higher over her chest, she frantically searched the room for clues, racking her brain for any memories. But she was drawing a significant blank.She remembered returning to Archwood Mansion—her father’s accusations, the slap across her face, the humiliation of being thrown out. Checking into the hotel, the bar…Her memories of the bar were hazy, fragmented at best, and at some point, they just faded to black.Her mo
“Who are—?” Before the words could slip out, a warm hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her inside. The door slammed shut behind her. Even in her inebriated state, something sharp and cold sliced through the haze of alcohol. Panic. She didn’t know anyone else on this floor. The rooms were soundproofed. If something happened, no one would hear her screams and even if they did… would they care? “Hey!” Sabrina wrenched her hand free, stumbling back, her gait unsteady. The man didn’t move. He just watched her, his eyes and most of his face hidden in the shadows of the darkened room, but she didn’t need to see them to feel the weight of his stare. Her pulse pounded in her ears as she forced her spine straight. “What are you doing in my room?” She looked around surreptitiously for something to defend herself with, but the room was barely illuminated by the moonlight and nothing more. In her short scan of the room, something about the space around her felt off. Maybe if she were
Sabrina wasn’t sure how long she sat there crying, but eventually, her tears dried up, and the rain stopped, leaving behind only a pounding headache and the scent of damp earth. She knew she had to leave before her father actually followed through on his threat to call the police.She opened the envelope Reliana had given her and managed to salvage $900—enough to book a cab and find a cheap hotel room for a few nights. What would happen once the money ran out? Sabrina didn’t know, but that was a problem for future Sabrina.She rifled through her suitcase, relieved to find that Reliana hadn’t shredded the clothes before tossing them inside. She pulled out a simple T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and some comfortable shoes.Slipping into a corner, she changed out of her ruined clothes and into the fresh ones, then gathered her tangled hair into a ponytail.Without sparing Archwood Mansion a final glance, she walked away. A dull ache throbbed in her chest, and the echoes of her father and step
Harrison Archwood’s hand struck his daughter’s face, sending her stumbling backward. She fell onto the ground, too tired to hold herself up and too dazed to even attempt standing. Sabrina’s hand instinctively touched her stinging cheek, her mind reeling. Through the rain blurring her vision, she could still see the anger on her father’s face as clearly as the lightning flashing across the sky. “I… I don’t understa—” she began, but Harrison’s booming voice cut her off. “You had the audacity—the fucking audacity—to come back here after all the shame you’ve brought to this family?!” he bellowed, his face twisted with more malice than Sabrina had ever seen before. Confusion and pain swirled in her mind. She staggered to her feet, ignoring the protest of her aching muscles. “I didn’t… What are you talking about?” “Shameless girl!” Mira Archwood’s voice rang out. She marched forward, her heels clicking sharply against the floor as she scrutinized Sabrina with disgust. “How dare you sho
~ Days before. Sabrina was falling—endlessly falling. Air whipped at her clothes and past her ears, her lips parted in a noiseless scream as she twisted mid-air, tears streaming down her cheeks. She plummeted fast, but for her, time felt unbearably slow. There was nothing to grab onto, nothing to break her fall. She was going to die. At that thought, Sabrina gave up. She accepted this reality, her inevitable end. What other choice did she have? Her will to live had already been stripped away. Everything she’d ever cared about—her mother, her trust, her family’s legacy—was gone. Now her life would be taken, too. Sabrina thought of her mother and smiled weakly at the thought of seeing her again. Tears slid down her face, and just as she was about to let her body go limp and accept the jagged rocks below, she saw it—a branch jutting out from the side of the mountain. With one last burst of determination, she reached for it. Her scream tore through the air as her body slammed agains
The search party had combed most of Greenvyle, and so far, nothing had been found—not even Sabrina’s body. Kyler continued to stand for interviews alongside Charlotte, both of them wearing sad expressions, with Charlotte even breaking down a few times. The Archwoods chose to remain silent on the matter, Harrison only showing up for a short interview to express his grief and disappointment, but nothing more. The next phase of their plan was to bribe the police into declaring her dead so they could all move on. Kyler and Charlotte would assume ownership of the company, and Reliana would be left all alone… again. The two had stopped responding to her messages since that day and, in public, kept her at arm’s length. They were trying to disassociate from her now that they didn’t need her anymore, but Reliana wasn’t going to let that happen—not by a long shot. “Lia?” Mira Archwood’s voice called from downstairs. “It’s time for dinner!” Reliana folded the papers in her hand—papers that