Chapter 2

The leather seats of Noah' s Mercedes were cold. We drove in silence, the city lights blurring into streaks of color. I clutched the fake passport Julian had made, my heart pounding with a mix of terror and gratitude.

Noah was my savior. He was getting me out.

His phone buzzed on the center console, the screen lighting up with a group call. Carter' s name flashed. Noah answered, putting it on speaker.

"Is she with you?" Carter' s voice was sharp.

"Yes," Noah said. "We're about forty minutes out from the airstrip."

"Good," Blake cut in. "We're already at the rest stop. Did you tell her?"

"Tell me what?" I asked, my voice small.

Noah glanced at me, his expression unreadable. He didn't answer.

Julian' s voice, smooth and cold, came through the speaker. "It's better she doesn't know. Just get her here, Noah. We need to tie up the loose end. Permanently."

Tie up the loose end.

The words hit me like a physical blow. The air left my lungs. It wasn't a rescue. It was an execution. Noah wasn't my savior, he was my executioner, delivering me to them. The promise, the look in his eyes-it was all a lie.

"We can't have her talking, ever," Carter said. "Father would be ruined. Scarlett would be ruined."

My mind screamed. As Noah slowed for the upcoming exit, I didn't think. I just acted. I unbuckled my seatbelt, threw open the passenger door, and scrambled out of the moving car.

I hit the gravel shoulder, pain shooting up my arm, and ran. I ran into the dark woods that bordered the highway, ignoring Noah' s shouts behind me.

"Ava, wait! It's not what you think!"

His voice was a lie. Everything was a lie.

I crashed through the underbrush, branches tearing at my dress and skin. Ahead, I saw the faint lights of the rest stop they mentioned. I had to get away. I had to find someone, anyone.

But as I stumbled out of the woods and into the dimly lit parking area, a car's headlights flashed on, blinding me.

Three figures got out. Carter, Blake, and Julian. They were waiting. Just like they said.

"Well, look what we have here," Carter said with a smirk. "Tried to run, little mouse?"

I backed away, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Stay away from me."

Blake laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. "Noah couldn't even handle one simple job. Now we have to get our hands dirty."

They closed in on me. I saw the glint of something in Blake' s hand. I opened my mouth to scream, but Julian was too fast. He clamped a cloth over my face. A sweet, chemical smell filled my nose and mouth. My legs gave out, and the world went black.

My last thought was of Noah' s face. The betrayer.

I woke up to a strange floating sensation. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. But I could see. I was outside my own body, watching them.

They thought I was dead. The poison Julian used was obscure, designed to mimic death perfectly.

"Is she gone?" Carter asked, poking my motionless form with his shoe.

"Completely," Julian confirmed, checking my pulse. "No heartbeat."

They dragged my body to their car. I watched, a silent, helpless passenger in my own horror story. They drove to a discreet, 24-hour crematorium Julian knew. They paid in cash.

"The ashes," Blake said, holding the small, heavy box. "What now?"

"I have an idea," Carter said, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "A permanent solution. A monument to our success."

They took my ashes back to the mansion. The next day, construction workers arrived to build a new, state-of-the-art panic room in the basement. I watched, a powerless ghost, as they mixed my ashes into the wet concrete for the walls. I was to be a part of the house, buried forever in its foundation.

But they didn't burn everything. They had kept my skull.

Julian, with his technical skills, had it professionally cleaned and preserved. Then, Carter commissioned a famous artist to create a bespoke sculpture for the foyer-a chaotic, abstract piece of twisted metal.

And hidden deep inside its core, they placed my skull. A trophy. A constant, secret reminder of the girl they erased.