Masuk‘Dear President Austin,
‘I sure hope this email finds you well in your kingdom. I’m formally requesting to present my project to the executive board. You know, the contract I managed to secure in less than a week? Yeah. Fix me a nice date for the presentation.Very sincerely,Your dear Vice President & Stepsis’Wren read Charlotte’s email with an annoyed look on her face. What sort of email was even this? She imagined the sneer on Charlott"Everything alright?” Dean asked when Wren found the courage to return to him and pretend like everything was fine. Even when she wanted to point a gun at his chest and fire the trigger.“Sorry about that,” she said, slipping the phone back into her pocket.“No problem at all. Everything okay?”“Yeah,” she said.He accepted the answer with a nod. “Dinner is probably ready by now. We should go in.”Crossing that threshold back into the house felt like descending into a dungeon. The house no longer felt cozy, but everything about it made her neck hairs stand on end; even in its warmth.It was stifling.There was no sign of Stefan , or the ones who supposedly cooked the dinner that was already set for both of them.He uncovered the dishes. It was a rich stew, buttery noodles, glazed vegetables. It looked and smelled divine. Her stomach, which should have been growling, clenched in revulsion.
FLASHBACK TO BEFORE THE INCIDENTThe last coherent thought Wren had before her phone rang was the image of herself returning to this farmhouse many years later with the excuse of seeing a tree she’d planted.She took out her phone from her jacket and saw Grace’s name.She answered the call, mouthing ‘excuse me’ to Dean.“Hey,” Wren answered Grace.Grace’s voice was all sharp and urgent. “Wren, where are you right now?” And then she lowered the volume of her voice. “Is Dean there with you, right now? Just say yes or no.”The specificity in Grace’s tone already set off an alarm bell in Wren’s head.She turned her eyes slowly to Dean and then answered, “Yes.”“Act cool, don’t act like I’m talking about him,” Grace hissed. “If you can, you need to excuse yourself from there now.”Although confused and already worried,
For several seconds William didn’t respond at all, and Grace nearly lost all hope until William’s eyelids fluttered and slowly opened.“William…” Grace gasped with relief.“Oh thank god, you’re okay.”William was breathing heavily, “Wren…”“She’s okay, I'm getting her out right now.”Grace immediately ran to the bed and started working the restraints holding Wren's wrists.“I’m so sorry I didn't get here on time, oh god Wren….” She was pulling and tugging at the cuff but it wouldn’t.“Shit, it won’t open…The police are on their way…they're coming,” she assured Wren who was still shivering like a leaf.Grace turned back to Dean who was still on the ground recovering from being tased.She approached him slowly, ready to tase him again if necessary, and began searching his pockets for the keys t
Wren’s heart was almost in her throat as she scrambled for the lights and slapped them on with her uninjured hand.The lights flooded the room and Dean was on the floor beside the bed. He was curled on his side, one hand clutched to the side of his head. Dark blood welled between his fingers, streaking down his temple, down to his shirt, even to the white bedding beneath him in streams.The shards from the broken vase were scattered all over the bed and the floor, but Wren didn't think twice about them before running from the bed and immediately jumped off it, landing on pieces of broken glass.She cried out but didn’t stop her race out of the room, not even waiting to pick the glass out of her skin because Dean was already following behind her. Her feet left bloody footprints on the floor behind her as she fled.“Wren!” Dean bellowed after her.Gasping heavily, she continued to run. Terror flooded her entire system and her vision nea
This night, the cold air had full possession of the atmosphere and temperature. The sky opened up into vastness and filled up with stars.Wren stood on the stone-flagged terrace, which looked out over the sloping, snow-dusted meadow. The wool of her thick sweater and the down-filled lining of her parka created a barrier against the absolute quiet.The night was moonless but far from dark.She had come out here under the guise of needing air. But all she wanted was temporary loneliness. Wren was still absorbed in contemplating her surroundings when she heard footsteps approaching from the direction of the house.She didn’t startle; some part of her had been waiting for it.Wren turned to see Dean walking from the shadowed path that led around the side of the house. His own frame was bundled in a heavy jacket as his breath plumed continuously in soft clouds.“I didn’t know you were out here,” he said and stopped a few feet away. &l
“I’ll have you know that we can do both of those things for you. We can both sort out your bills and clear your criminal record, which means you’re not actually giving up financial security by cutting ties with Felix, you’re just exchanging one source of support for another source that comes with the added benefit of legal protection. So which would you choose?”The offer was almost too good to be true. She was offering him a life where he would no longer have to look over his shoulder for cops.“I want proof,” Frank barked, clutching the papers. “How do I know these aren’t just fake? Or that you can actually do what you say?”“You could stroll into the 14th Precinct station house right after you leave here. Ask for Sergeant Miller. Show him that waiver. See what he says.”Her certainty was more convincing than any boast.What followed was a 20-minute back-and-forth between the two of th
Ruth was now looking directly at Felix, her expression as hard, showing the anger and pain she felt.“I was fifteen years old. Mom had just died, and suddenly there was this woman in her place, wearing her jewelry, sleeping in her bed, redecorating the house like my mother never existe
The men were loud, and obnoxiously so. Wren and Grace could literally hear everything they were saying despite actively trying not to.“….marriage is what really closes the deal, man. That's what I’m saying.”“A girl like that doesn’t look like she&r
“What?!” Grace’s voice blasted through the phone. “Are you serious right now?”“Just calm down.”“I’m coming right over."“Wait, don’t you have…” Wren looked at her phone screen, shaking her head. &ldquo
Dinner unfolded in the cavernous Ellington dining room, and amidst it, under the eyes of everyone else she had hoped to forever escape from, Wren felt like an exhibit pinned under their glares.Jonathan, carving the roast beef on his plate, started, “Omar made sure to brief me about ho







