Chapter 4

The confrontation with Liam left Ava feeling hollowed out. But the pain in her heart was soon overshadowed by a different kind of fear. She hadn't heard from Grandma Rose in two days. It wasn't like her.

A knot of dread tightened in her stomach. She rushed back to Martha's apartment to get some money for a taxi, but her stepmother was waiting for her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Martha sneered, blocking the door. "Still trying to ruin Chloe's happiness?"

"I need to see my grandmother," Ava said, her voice tight. "Get out of my way."

"Your grandmother?" Martha laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. "That old hag? You're better off without her."

The cruel words ignited a fire in Ava. "Don't you talk about her like that!"

Martha's face twisted in rage. She shoved Ava hard against the wall. Ava' s head hit the plaster with a sickening thud. Pain exploded behind her eyes, but all she could think about was Rose. She pushed past Martha, grabbed her purse, and ran.

When she got to her grandmother' s small apartment, the door was slightly ajar. A wave of metallic scent hit her. Blood.

She pushed the door open and screamed.

Grandma Rose was on the floor, lying in a pool of her own blood. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow and ragged.

"Grandma!" Ava scrambled to her side, her hands shaking so badly she could barely dial 911.

At the hospital, time became a blur of antiseptic smells and hushed, grim voices. The doctors rushed Rose into the ICU. Ava was left alone in the hallway, her grandmother's bloodstains on her dress, her face streaked with tears. A cold, hard hatred started to grow in her heart, aimed at Martha and at a world that was so relentlessly cruel.

The police had questions. They said it looked like a break-in gone wrong. They asked if Rose had any enemies. Ava could only think of one person who hated them that much.

Her only hope was Liam. He was a lawyer. The best lawyer. He could help. He had to.

She found him at his firm, getting ready to leave for the day. He saw her battered appearance, her tear-stained face, and his expression was one of pure annoyance.

"Ava, I told you-"

"It's my grandmother," she choked out, cutting him off. "She's in the ICU. Someone attacked her. I need a lawyer. I need you."

Liam looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on her cheap, blood-stained clothes. A cynical smile touched his lips. "A lawyer? Can you afford my fees, Ava?"

The question was a slap in the face. It was a clear, calculated insult.

"Please, Liam," she begged, the last of her pride crumbling. "I have no one else."

He crossed his arms, his expression unyielding. "I'm sorry about your grandmother. But I'm not the right person for this. I have a full caseload."

Ava stared at him, her heart sinking. She asked a question that had been haunting her, a desperate, hypothetical plea. "Liam... if the person I suspected was Martha... would you still defend her?"

He didn't even hesitate. "Martha is Chloe's mother. She's my future mother-in-law. Of course, I would. It's my duty."

His duty. The word was a final, crushing blow. It told her everything she needed to know. In his world of duty and propriety, she was worth nothing.