as heavy, thick, and suffocating. The only sound was the soft, rhythmic h

Abbey sat perfectly still in the corner. She looked like a wax figure, completely devoid of life, her dark

f the narrative. He needed to re-establish his dominance, to remind

at. The sound was l

e pitched his voice to sound authoritative and slightly exhausted, like a parent sco

in the air, a

She locked her gaze onto Brecken's eyes in the rearview mirror. She

sed

th completely flat. There was no anger. There was no sa

ned. Her tone felt l

's been emotionally exhausted dealing with the fallout of your act

for a second longe

of her throat and spilled into the cabin. It was a

eavy SUV jerked violently, the tires screeching ag

? You cold-blooded freak!" Brecken

g. She grabbed the headrest of the passenger seat with both hands.

oft, sliding into his ear like a venomous snake. "Then why did

from her. "Prison is a filthy place. Mom's health is

voice dropped an octa

y-five days. Not a single visit on visiting day. No

ection. Brecken tried to look awa

Nothing," Abbey stated. The facts f

oved excuse, a lie he could use to cover the gaping hole in h

as three years ago. You sent a corporate lawyer to slide a liability waiver and a severance agr

ell dead si

ng wheel. He had spent five years convincing himself that his family was suffering, that they were t

e steering wheel with his palm. "You brought this on yourself! You

le back up to the moral high ground. He needed her to be the mons

art rate did not spike. She had spent five years being beaten blo

oice dropping to a dead whisper. "I didn't push

at. She closed her eyes, completely shutting off her presence. She severed

e horn blared, a long, aggressive wail

nal sitting in his backseat had just stripped

gine roaring as the speedometer climbed well past the legal limit. He drove re

the car swerved through lanes. Her stomach churned violently, but she clamped her

astle-like silhouette of the Dudl

gates of the gilded cage that had destroyed her life.