of the subway station. She swiped her MetroCard and b

opened their eyes to stare at her dripping clothes and her bare, bloody feet. Adelia

ks. She finally stopped in front of a decaying red-brick apartme

g a faded cotton nightgown. When she saw her sister shivering an

narrow hallway. She rushed to the bathroom and brought back

all the noise?" His words died in his throat when he saw Adelia standing there. The irritation vanished instantly, replaced by a w

it to Adelia, rubbing his hands together eagerly. He leaned in and asked

s. The heat burned her skin, but it grounded her. She k

and Dominic were

yes darted around frantically. A cal

millions she got in the settlement. He asked if she

at him. She tol

leave with zero assets. She took not

muscles around his eyes began to twitch violently. The color

y snatched the hot glass of wa

p wooden coffee table. Water splashed

. He called her a mental patient. He said she was a complete idiot for th

she was a useless parasite and that he wasn'

her body as a shield. She screamed at Garry to shut his mouth, t

contempt. He told Elberta she was nothing but a leech living of

rry's face contorted with rage. He raised his hea

ched out and clamped her hand around Garry

s in the cutthroat world of the Thompson family

in a low, dangerous voice that if he ever

linched. He yanked his arm back, cursing under his breath. He turned and

a, pulling Adelia into her arms. She sobbed uncontrollably,

in her throat. She patted her sis

first-aid kit. She knelt on the worn carpet and carefully poured

ng, searing pain shot up Adelia's legs. She c

mixed into her sister's roots. She

into the tiny, cluttered spare room. She gave

Through the thin drywall, she could hear Garry

alized her sister was trapped in a different kind of

al ignited in her chest. She had

e folding bed. She pulled her phone from her

nstead, she strategically leveraged the high-level logistical and translation work she had discreetly handled for his ove

face. Her eyes were sharp and unyielding. Tomorrow w