INICIAR SESIÓNJane stared at Stephanie whose eyes were wide with hurt and betrayal. "Yeah... We did but Elijah and I weren't so close. I was only friends with him because Elena was friends with him," she replied.Her response seemed to have soothed the hurt in Stephanie's eyes."How close were they?" She asked. "I know it sounds weird to ask, but I just have this weird feeling in my gut." Jane felt bad for the poor lady but still, it wasn't her place to shed light on anything regarding Elijah and Elena's past ties."They were good friends. Nothing more." She rose to her feet, before Stephanie could chip in another question, and excused herself. "I'm really tired. I should get some rest." She offered a smile and slipped back into the house. ——As cold as the night was, Elena was still drenched in sweat. She couldn't sleep and when she eventually did, all she could see was Elijah, Stephanie and the baby bump. She sat up, her throat dry and itchy from dehydratio
Chapter Twenty—Safety?The tires crunched softly over the gravel pathway as Matteo eased the SUV down a dimly lit residential road, lined with sagging telephone wires and flickering street lamps. Rows of modest bungalows, most with peeling paint and slouched old porches sat close together.Elena stared out the window, quiet, her eyes distant. This wasn't the kind of place she’d expected.Not some boring looking bungalow with faded paint. She'd expected something more sophisticated.Matteo pulled into the driveway of the second-to-last house on the block—pale yellow, fenced, lawn slightly overgrown but somewhat cared for, enough to raise questions. Curtains had been drawn and the porch light switched off.In front of the house was a street lamp that flickered.He shut the engine.They sat in silence for a moment.“Doesn’t look like much,” Elena muttered, a bit disappointed.“It’s not supposed to.”Matteo got out and led her to the door, keys jingling in his hand. The lock clicked easil
Chapter Nineteen— Chains and Chaos.The ropes bit into his wrists again but he barely felt it now. It was a dull throb compared to the chaos in his head.He'd been beaten, dragged and assaulted by the one person he once trusted, Viktor. But none of that had burned as much as the moment Elena came bursting through those doors—kicking and ready for a fight. Something he considered stupidly brave.Why the hell did she come back? For him? Matteo sat slouched in the cold metal chair, his face expressionless, eyes trained on the wall across from him. Not on the blood drying on the floor. Not on the door she’d just been dragged through, not on her weak frame passed out on the floor.The problem was Viktor had seen it.That flicker in his eyes when he first saw her.It was a mistake—showing even that much emotion.He couldn’t afford another one.The metal door groaned open. Viktor stepped in with two other men trailed behind, neither of whom Matteo recognized. One carried a black tablet, the
Chapter Eighteen—Ashes and Ruin.Elena ran. Her lungs burned as she followed Gen through the narrow underground passage that fanned out across the estate. As tired as she was, Zoey clutched Elena's arm, dragging her weight, her steps clumsy. The girl still hadn't said much since they'd left. Just wide eyes and trembling fingers. “Can we stop?” Rosa asked, slowing down to catch her breath. Gen slowed. “We can't stop here. If they find this tunnel, we're all dead.”As they pushed deeper into the tunnel, the darkness swallowed them. The smell of mold, earth and murky water enveloped them. Water dripped from somewhere above, and each step echoed around them like a dull scream.Elena’s mind spun. She kept seeing the nurse again—her glassy eyes, the blood. Then the shadow in the hallway. Then… Viktor.He shot them. He shot Matteo’s men—his men.Too many questions swirled around her head. Why would he?Matteo trusted him.Elena clutched her fists, her heart thudded against her ribs like
Chapter Seventeen "Who’re you calling?”Elena glanced over her shoulder at Jane who was watching her with tired eyes from the motel bed. She fought the urge to roll her eyes." No one.”Elena was growing frustrated with every passing day. Not only did she still feel far from being free at last, they had no money, Elijah was out of reach and Jane was still sick.Jane stared at Elena. " Are you sure you're okay? You've been moody all day.”Elena shot her a glare. " I said I'm fine, Jane. Jesus." Weary of being stuck in the dingy motel room, she grabbed her hoodie, the burner phone and a pack of cigarettes.The room was starting to feel suffocating. With no money left, she'd have to sort out lunch and perhaps dinner by herself. She tugged on her hoodie, lit a cigarette stick and walked out of the motel. Her first stop, the little coffee shop by the end of Inn street.With her hood over her head, she pushed the doors open and sucked in the sweet smell of the popular breakfast menu wh
Chapter SixteenThe motel was small, cheap and quite affordable. With nowhere else to go, for the meantime, the ladies were confined to the small room and not long after they'd gotten there, Jane took ill.Every morning, Elena would press a damp towel on her fever-ish body until her raging temperature reduced and then, she'd head out to get some food. Medications were certainly not on the list of things Elena had planned to spend her money on, and with Jane's current state, it was inevitable.Soon, they were on the verge of going broke. That afternoon, while Jane lay fast asleep on the bed, she reached for her burner phone and dug through her bag for the card Elijah had given her.She dialed his number and pressed the phone up to her ear. It rang, but nothing. Her heart dropped. She dialed the number again, slowly this time around. Yet there was nothing. Every failed attempt slowly chipped off the hope in Elena's heart. She stared at the card. No address, just a name and a phone
Chapter Six— Awakening.A cracked skull. Broken ribs.At exactly seven pm, the little girl had been pronounced dead. Elena’s heart squeezed tight, as she watched the medics drape a white sheet over the body. “Move her out to the back.” Viktor said, a solemn expression on his face. “Bury her with t
Chapter Five— Blood and Bone?“What?”“Are you deaf?” The guard took a step closer, his gun swinging by his side. “Take them off.”Elena stood, rooted to the spot in embarrassment and fear. The rest of the girls around her stood in just their underwears—majority of whom looked scared and the others
Chapter Four- Settling In.Jayden.Elena couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him. Two years, maybe? They'd shared a kiss in her bedroom before he snuck back out through the window and that was the last time she'd seen him.Her heart shattered all over again as she recalled his disheveled app
Chapter Three - “ Meet the others…”A gunshot.Elena jolted upright, her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes darted around the dimly lit room, every nerve in her body tense. A sharp rattle shook the doorknob. Then the door creaked open.A woman stepped inside—elegant, cold, and composed, old enou







