Chapter 3

On the day I was discharged, Hayden had to leave town on short notice.

He said there was an incident at the Gardner family's cold-storage facility and promised to pick me up by that evening at the latest.

Before he left, Hayden brought me an access card.

"Our new home is still being set up. You can stay at the apartment in South Bay for now. This card opens every door on Gardner family property."

I took the card.

He looked at my bandaged arm and said softly, "I've already warned Bailey. She won't show up in front of you again."

Half an hour after Hayden left, I got a message from Bailey.

It contained only a photo that showed the round pendant marked 0716. There was also a yellowed thank-you letter beside it.

She said she had decided to leave behind everything that had to do with Hayden.

"Sienna, I'm already on my way to the airport. I've left these things in a locker at the South Bay cold-storage facility. Could you give them to Hayden for me? Once he has them, I won't come back."

I showed the message to Layla Tucker. She was someone Dad had assigned to stay by my side.

Layla had only two jobs. One was to remind me to eat, and the other was to check me for new injuries.

She shook her head as soon as she finished reading the message. "I'll get them for you."

"Bailey specifically asked me to go."

"Which means it's definitely a trap," she said.

I stared at the pendant in the photo. "I've seen that thank-you letter before."

When I was fifteen years old, I spent two months in the hospital.

I couldn't feel pain, and my family worried that routine exams might miss an injury. So they had me stay in the hospital for a full checkup every year.

That year, the bone marrow registry contacted us. I was a match for a boy who was in critical condition. My bone marrow could save his life.

Dad was firmly against it, but Conrad said the protection spell would protect me if I acted with good intentions.

I signed the consent form in secret.

After the donation, the hospital passed along an unsigned thank-you letter.

At the end of the letter was one sentence. It read, "Once I survive, I'll come find you."

The handwriting in the photo was exactly the same as the letter I had received.

Layla looked taken aback. "Was Hayden the boy who received your donation?"

"I don't know," I replied.

"Then you definitely can't go."

I picked up my coat. "You're coming with me."

Before Conrad died, he had given me one last warning.

The protection spell could shield me from other people's malice, but it couldn't stop me from walking into danger myself.

I had never been one to take chances, but that letter was tied to the life Hayden had owed someone for ten years.

It might also explain why Bailey kept daring to provoke me.

I had to see for myself.

-

The South Bay cold-storage facility had just been built, and the place was eerily empty.

When Layla drove up to the entrance, a security guard stopped her.

"Only Ms. Warner is registered in the system."

I showed him the access card Hayden had given me. The gates opened at once.

Layla fastened a temperature-monitoring wristband around my wrist.

"I'll wait at the entrance," she said. "If you're not out in five minutes, I'll call for help."

I nodded.

Bailey was standing beside the warehouse door. She hadn't gone to the airport. Both her hands were still wrapped in bandages, and the pendant was no longer around her neck.

"I knew you'd come, Sienna."

I looked past her. "Where are the things?"

"Inside." She pointed to a heavy silver door. "My hands are still injured. You'll have to get them yourself."

Behind the door was a huge walk-in freezer. A cardboard box sat at the end of the shelves.

I stayed where I was. "Bring the box out here."

Bailey smiled. "Are you afraid of me, Sienna?"

"I'm avoiding trouble."

"There are security cameras here, and you have your protection spell. What could I possibly do to you?" She raised her heavily bandaged hands. "I've already learned my lesson."

I looked up at the security camera. Its indicator light was on. The freezer door was wide open, too.

I swiped my access card anyway and walked over to the box.

There was only a white scarf inside.

Suddenly, a dull bang rang out behind me.

The silver door had shut.

Bailey waved at me through the observation window.

I walked over and pressed the emergency door release, but nothing happened.

"You unplugged the power source?" I asked.

She smiled and held up a black power plug. "Sienna, your protection spell only punishes people who touch you with bad intentions, but I haven't touched you."

Suddenly, cold air poured from overhead.

The numbers on the wall thermometer dropped fast. The temperature fell from 14°F to 0°F.

Bailey took out her phone and pointed it at me through the observation window.

"You used Hayden's card, then walked right into the Gardner family's freezer. By the time anyone finds you, the cameras will have recorded you stealing from them. As for why the door closed, that was just an equipment malfunction."

I touched my arm. I couldn't feel the cold or any pain.

However, my fingertips were turning white.

"Bailey, are you trying to freeze me to death?" I asked.

She leaned closer to the glass. "Let's see if your spell can hear you now."