LOGIN[BRIAN]The prison smells like rust, sweat, and something faintly rotten—like the walls themselves have absorbed decades of violence and regret.I hate it already.A guard leads me down a long corridor lined with thick steel bars. The heavy clang of each gate opening and closing echoes through the h
[AVA]I drift in and out of consciousness, a series of disjointed images and sounds flashing through my mind like a broken film reel.The cold. So much cold. The metallic taste of blood in my mouth.A man’s voice. Cold. Cruel. Laughing.“Good girl,” he whispers, his voice terrifying. “Stay still. Ju
[BRIAN]I give myself only two seconds to take in everything before I decide someone is going to pay with their life for this.I rush to Ava’s side, my body working solely on autopilot as I pick her up from the hard, cold floor and put her down on the couch.Max appears with a blanket that I’m not s
“Someone has been threatening Ava?” He stands up so fast it almost makes me dizzy. “Who the fuck would do that? And why? What did she do?”“Your guess is as good as mine,” I say, shaking my head and running a hand through my hair, already tired of this whole messed-up situation. “I don’t know why sh
[BRIAN]Brooke leads me to her apartment next door—apparently, that’s her name, as she told me before she allowed me to follow her.She opens the door and steps inside. But just as I take a step in, a big, fluffy thing barks and growls at me from inside.Alright. One thing about me: I’m not very con
[BRIAN]When I pull up at Ava’s old address, I have only one goal in mind.To find Max and get the hell out.Why? Because this place always gave me the creeps. Not only is it the most notorious part of the city, but it’s also slightly dangerous.When Dean and his family went bankrupt years ago, I di
"Sean? Aren't you Beau Edwards' son?" Mom's voice broke the silence. Well, double shit. Sean glanced at me and then turned his attention to Mom, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Yes, that's right. I'm so sorry about what happened, Mrs. Monroe. What are the doctors saying? Will Ma
[BRIAN] The light in Kian's room is still on, so I'm assuming he's awake, and the fact that I can see the read sign in the voice message that I sent him using this app that he typically uses for texting—the one that he installed on my phone a month ago—means he heard my apology as well. Yet, an ho
Ali wasn't the issue, nor were the teachers at school. Everyone spoke highly of Kian, and his academic performance was still outstanding, with top grades in all his exams. Georgina and Ali sat me down and confronted me about Kian's recent behavior, placing the blame squarely on my shoulders. Even d
I knew he would say the same thing, yet something in my chest fluttered anyway. How could anybody imagine this man could hurt me? Why were Brian and Mom so determined to split us up? I knew our relationship was a sham and only existed to save him from confronting his parents, but we were still frie







