Chapter 25

Connor stood frozen, as though gravity had shifted within him, dragging his heart downward, deeper and deeper. A silent kind of pain filled him—dense, suffocating, impossible to name.

Was there really no way back for them?

Hannah's face had been ruined.

She had gone to the hospital. The doctor had said it was too severe—no hope of restoration.

Once, her life had been smooth-sailing. Now it was a wreck.

And all of it, she believed, was because of Samantha.

So she decided: she would kill Samantha.

Once Samantha was truly gone, Connor would stop thinking about her. Then—then she would be Mrs. Parker.

For several days, Hannah staked out Samantha's office building, studying Samantha's schedule, learning the rhythm of her comings and goings.

One morning, she put on a stolen janitor's uniform and slipped inside the building, clutching a bundle of cleaning tools. Head down, gait slow. No one stopped her. She walked with steady intent straight toward Samantha's office.

Samantha was re