Chapter 1

Rain hammered the windshield, blurring the world outside into a smear of gray and neon. The smell of gasoline choked the air, mixing with the thick, copper scent of blood until it coated the back of her throat.

Annalise gasped, her lungs fighting for air that wouldn't come. The steering wheel was a solid bar of crushing weight against her chest, pinning her to the leather seat. Every breath sent a sharp, tear pain through her ribs.

She tried to move her arms. Her fingers twitched against the soaked fabric of her dress. Warm. Sticky. She looked down and saw the dark stain spreading across the red silk, dripping onto the ruined console.

This wasn't how it was supposed to end. She was supposed to be at the manor. She was supposed to be celebrating.

A sudden chime cut through the deafening drumming of the rain. The screen of her phone, sitting on the passenger seat amid the shattered glass, lit up. The harsh white glow stabbed at her eyes.

The phone vibrated, skittering across the seat until it rested against the gear shift. The screen flashed an incoming call. It automatically connected to the car's Bluetooth system, the speakers crackling to life.

"Is it done?"

Greggory's voice filled the crushed cabin. It was a tone she had never heard him use before. There was no warmth, no practiced tenderness. Just a raw, hungry impatience that made her blood run colder than the rain outside.

Annalise's fingers spasmed. She tried to reach for the phone, to scream his name, but her arm felt like it was filled with lead. Her nails scraped against the wet leather, leaving smears of red.

A soft, girlish laugh echoed through the speakers. Alta. The sound was sweet, poisoned honey.

"The brakes failed perfectly, didn't they?" Alta said, her voice dripping with satisfaction. "She never suspected a thing."

Annalise's eyes widened. The air left her lungs completely, not from the pressure on her chest, but from the sudden, freezing realization that froze her heart solid.

Brakes. They cut the brakes.

"She was always too trusting," Greggory said, a smirk evident in his voice. "She handed me the keys herself."

Annalise's hand finally found the phone. Her trembling fingers smeared blood across the screen, but she couldn't grip it. It slipped, falling back to the console. The speakerphone stayed on.

"By the time they find her, we'll be in the clear," Alta continued, the sound of clinking glass in the background. "The Knowles media shares will finally be ours."

A tear slipped down Annalise's cheek, cutting a clean line through the blood and grime. It dripped off her chin, joining the pool forming on the seat.

She remembered the way Greggory had looked at her when he proposed. The way his eyes had shone with what she thought was love. It was all a calculation. Every touch, every whispered promise, was just a step toward her inheritance.

She remembered Alta clinging to her arm, calling her 'Anna' with that wide, innocent smile. It was the smile of a viper waiting to strike.

The sound of crystal clinking together came through the speaker, sharp and cheerful. They were drinking. They were celebrating her death.

Despair washed over her, a physical weight that pressed down on her chest harder than the steering wheel. It was a freezing tide that started in her stomach and rushed up to her throat, choking her.

A high-pitched whine started in her ears, overriding the sound of the rain. Beep. Beep. Beep. It was the sound of a heart monitor, echoing in her fading mind.

Her vision blurred at the edges. The flashing lights of the highway outside fractured into a thousand blinding stars. She couldn't feel her legs anymore. She couldn't feel the pain.

The only thing left was the sound of Greggory's breathing, followed by the click of the call disconnecting. The dial tone was a long, unbroken drone that echoed in the darkness.

Her chest rose one last time, a shallow, useless gasp. Then, it stopped.

The hatred in her eyes remained, frozen in place as the world went black.

The darkness was absolute. There was no pain here, no cold rain, no smell of blood. Just an endless void where time didn't exist.

Then, a sharp ringing pierced the silence. It was a high, irritating sound that clawed at her consciousness.

A shape flickered at the edge of the darkness. A blurry figure, running toward her. She couldn't make out his face, but she could see the frantic way he moved. He was reaching out for the crushed metal, his hands pounding against the door.

He was trying to save her.

But it was too late. The void was already pulling her down, dragging her away from the light and the sound of his voice.

A violent force grabbed her core, yanking her backward into the abyss.