The once beautiful charcoal car fell into an inferno of fire, as Maria and Thomas lay on the ground unconscious. An unmarked silver van pulled up. Two tall and muscular men who were dressed in monochrome suits came out, and approached their limp forms.  Thomas did his best to open his heavy and throbbing eyes as he heard the voices of men around him. His mind felt grogy, he couldn't clear the fog forming over his thoughts. The last thing he recalled was talking with Maria before his car had exploded, knocking them both back and out cold. His eyes snapped open at that, his vision cleared as the memory sobbered him. He looked to his left and saw two men carrying Maria's body over to their van. He tried to yell, but only a crackly grunt came out. He pushed himself upward trying to move, to do anything to stop the men from leaving but his legs gave out causing him to fall onto his face. He pushed his head up hearing the van speed off into the distance. He spat

 The shadowy valley with a maze of twists and turns that bled into one as the hours past wiith no end in sight. Thomas kept a visual, stalking the van without being noticed. He wondered how further they would go before this trip was over. He yearned to get this over with and go home with Maria safely in his arms. So, lost within his musings he missed it when the van took a sharp right turn into the bushes. He heard the sound of doors closing loudly which caused him to slam on the breaks. He jerked forward, his grip on the steering wheel slipping away as the energy vanished from his hands. He unbuckled his seat and stared at the men as they appeared to be carrying Maria somewhere.  He rushed out of the car and followed the men as they carried Maria into the bushes. Thomas did his best not to step on any leaves or twigs. The me stop at a cave and vanished. He moved closer following them. Inside the cave, the walls resembled that of a sewer not an

Minutes shifted into hours as they finally made it out of the valley and miles away from the middle of nowhere.   Thomas became drenched in relief when he saw skyscrapers and modern looking buildings surrounding them. During this time, Maria had decided to occupy herself with a book she had found in the glovebox. From what he could tell, it was a beginner's guide to economics but like himself she had a tendency to be eclectic. Whilst they waited in traffic, he stole a quick kiss from her. Her mind was absorbed in the book so she didn't move an inch but he did catch a look of mischief in her eyes as a light of dusting of heat covered her cheeks.&nb

Chapter 1 – Dagger In The Ashes Of A RoseEach red pill was an alternative pathway, a route to freedom, the illusion of a drugged-up mind but the comfort blanket for a broken soul. Only in the morning did remorse and guilt pummel Audrey and that was only because of her sons. Her husband, a dreadfully plain workaholic never acknowledged her struggles or maybe he pretended not to know. Either way, Audrey Willow,  detested her domestic prison and yearned to leave behind the laundry, the tantrums, the school runs, and just go to a nightclub or take a drive into the desert. Audrey took three pills with a tequila sunrise, the void that burrowed a chasm into her heart, and soul was locked into its cage. She felt her mind stir as her thoughts floated away, butterflies of someone else, a version of her that would never truly belong to her.

Audrey had her identity changed to Katherine Hardier. She felt liberated but it was strange hearing other people address her this way. Gabriel was the only one who still called her Audrey amongst other nicknames. She was living in a cottage with him, and life had straightforward so far. Audrey thought of her boys now, and again, there were times she wanted to hold them but she couldn't go back. The hurt looks she had seen from the pictures taken at the funeral was enough to convince her that aside from her idea being hurtful in the first place, if she went back that would be unfair to her former children, and husband. In regards to Gabriel, she knew that as much as she adored him, she didn't want kids or marriage. At first, he seemed sad about the revelation but understood her reasoning. However, the pain they had both endured wa