CHAPTER 2

As I walked up, Emma’s whole face lit up.

Curly hair wild and free now and no more tight prison braid pulling it back.

She yanked me into a hard, fierce hug, arms thick and strong from years of scrubbing floors and lifting heavy shit inside.

“Finally, bitch,” Emma murmured, voice all choked up and thick. “We been out here freezing our damn asses off waiting on your fine ass, babe. Missed you like crazy.”

Sophia stepped up next, wrapped me in a hug so tight it hurt good, holding on longer like she wasn’t letting go ever again.

Her dark eyes still carried that storm shit I never quite figured out.

“Welcome back to the real world,” she said low, voice rumbling deep like thunder in her chest.

We piled into the car—Sophia behind the wheel, Emma in the passenger seat, and me in the back like a kid on a field trip.

Emma turned the radio way up, blasting an old pop song from the years we lost.

She yelled over the music, “Let’s go be bitches!”

Her hands flew up like she’d won a fight.

For the first time in forever, I laughed a real, deep laugh from my stomach that cracked open the tight knot in my chest.

The city flew past in a blur…huge buildings stabbing the sky, billboards shouting ads for lives that didn’t feel like mine anymore, people rushing on the sidewalks with coffee cups in their hands.

Freedom tasted like the hot wind rushing through the cracked window.

But questions kept biting at me, sharp and hungry.

“So what’s next, girl?” Sophia asked, eyes locked on the road, hands steady as steel on the wheel. “Don’t tell me you dumb enough to crawl back to your momma’s crib.”

I stared out the window at the trees and traffic blurring by like my old life.

“Hell fucking no. She picked Evan’s bullshit story over her own blood. Threw me away like yesterday’s trash. I’m done with that weak shit. I just need work. Any damn thing to stand on my own two feet.”

Emma twisted around in her seat, face already twisted in that “bitch please” look.

“Office job?” She let out a hard snort, shaking her head. “Yeah… good fuckin’ luck with that dream, Emily.

Not with ‘attempted murder’ stamped on your papers like a scarlet letter, and let’s not forget your stepdad’s the golden man of Hollywood. Evan John that everyone thinks he’s a saint. One whiff of your name, and doors slam shut.”

Sophia nodded, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. “Let her try, Emma. Experience is the best teacher. But for now, crash with us. We’ve got space.”

The car stopped in front of a shiny apartment building all glass and chrome, catching the afternoon sun like a giant mirror.

It screamed money… clean modern lines, perfect green lawns, a doorman in a uniform nodding hello like we belonged.

I blinked hard and stepped out, staring.

“Wait! where the hell are we? Is this some fancy hotel?”

Sophia chuckled, shaking her head as she grabbed my small bag from the trunk. “Nope. This is home sweet home. Our lodge.”

My mouth fell open.

“You two got out just a few days ago. How the fuck do you pay for this? You said you had zero money saved.”

Emma grinned wide, hooked her arm through mine, and pulled me toward the entrance.

The lobby looked perfect with shiny marble floors, weird modern art on the walls, a light smell of fresh flowers hanging in the air.

“Where we work, they set you up with a place to live. You pick whatever spot you want, and boom rent’s paid. No bills.”

We stepped into the elevator. It hummed soft and quiet as it climbed.

“What kind of job covers all that?” I asked again, pushing harder now.

My voice had suspicion in it, sharp and curious.

Sophia unlocked the door to their apartment.

It was a two big bedrooms with huge windows from floor to ceiling, looking out over the whole city skyline.

Soft plush couches. Kitchen full of shiny new appliances.

Even a balcony with plants moving gently in the wind.

Straight-up worlds away from that stinking shared cell we used to rot in.

“Chill with the questions for now,” Sophia said, tossing her keys on the counter like she didn’t give a fuck.

“It’s that open-minded hustle. Club game. We provide services, you feel me?

Stripping is part of it, but there’s more…dancing, hosting, whatever gets the cash flowing.

“keep the rich cocks fed and drained.”

Emma dropped hard onto the couch and kicked off her shoes.

“Before we try to gas you up on this life, go hit the streets tomorrow and look for a square job like you said.

See how quick they slam the door in your face with ‘attempted murder’ screaming on your papers.

I was fronting too at first, I thought I was too good for the pole and the private rooms.

Reality will smack the taste out your mouth real quick.” Emma said.

I dropped into the fat armchair.

That soft shit felt wild after years of concrete slabs and metal bunks that bruised your ass.

“I want you in with us” Sophia said quietly, pouring me ice-cold water from the fridge like she was offering blood.

“But yeah go chase that ‘straight path’ bullshit first.

Prove it to your damn self.

Ain’t shit out there for folks like us.

They don’t hire killers, even the innocent ones.”

The whole apartment wrapped around me like a sweet lie, whispering promises.

But doubt was already creeping up my spine like a cold hand.

Stripping? Services?

Sounded all glossy when they said it.

Still, that revenge fire was blazing hot in my chest.

Money is power, straight up.

Evan John taught me that lesson with his lies and his cash.

Maybe this hustle was my ticket to flip the script and make him choke on it.

But I’d still go job hunting tomorrow.

Gonna see how the world really treats a bitch like me.

****

My busted old cell phone buzzed at 6:05 a.m. sharp.

Unknown number flashing on the cracked screen.

I stared at it for a second, heart already thumping, then I answered.

“Hello?”

A smooth voice slid through the line like oil, someone I didn’t know.

“Emily? It’s been a long damn time.

We need to talk about Evan John.”

Ice shot straight through my veins.

My grip tightened on the phone so hard I thought it’d crack.

Who the fuck was this?

And how the hell did they already know I was out?