on the edge of Cedarwo

man with grease in his hair and nicotine stains

iven her on the scratched laminate counter. Comb

d a brass key a

ad had cigarette burns near the pillows. Crysta closed the

t heaved. Oxygen rushed into her lungs so fast it made her dizzy. A door th

he manila envelope. It landed with a dull t

brain was wired. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. If she closed her eyes, s

iles were cracked. She turned the s

gray clothes. She ste

houlders bright red. She did not turn it down. She wanted it to burn. She want

he sound of the rushin

images. They clawed their way to the

dlights. The sickening sou

year

elebrating. Asha Reese, the biological daughter they had finally found, was

gne flute trembling in her hand. Her memory of that night wa

sports car tearing through the rain. The impact. A heavy, sickenin

lins pulling up in his SUV. The family lawyer app

he fall for this DUI. We will get you a minimum security facility

ing at her adoptive

. He squeezed her hand. "I will w

d. She tr

down like an executioner's axe. Maximum sentence. Three years. Maximum security. No protection. No comfortab

er knees on the hard fiberglass floor. Her hands gripped

otect her. They

grabbed a thin, scratchy towel

back had hollow cheeks and dark, bruised skin under her

e thin, cigarette-burned bedspread up to her chin. She curled her knees to her chest, her body trembling violently. The silence of the room was deafening, but every time she clos

wept until there were no tears left, her breaths coming in ragged, shallow gas

leaving behind a hollow, gnawing ache in her stomach. Hunger. It was a p

the bed, her hands still shaking slightly, but her mind sharpening with the absolute ne

shes. She would survive. Because surviving was the only way she would