st her ribs, a sharp, throbbing pain shooting up her right leg-her injured ankle, still swollen and tender from the brutal twist days earlier, protesting even the slight pressure of her foo

aching with every small movement. She walked quickly toward the hotel, her gait slightly uneven, each

ts with earpieces patrolled the steps. News vans were parked bumper-to-bumper along the curb, their

t go throug

he narrow, foul-smelling alleyway behind the hotel kitchens. The uneven cobblestones in the alley tormented her

s here, she used to sneak out back to smoke. She knew there was an old HVAC ven

ken wooden pallets. Her right ankle throbbed relentlessly as

ear the full force of her body weight. The grate groaned but didn't budge. She gritted her teeth, her left leg tensing, and yanked again with all her strength, the s

bars again, shifting her weight carefully to avoid jarring her ankle. With a final, agonizin

into the pitch-black, metallic tunnel, keeping her right ankle as elevated as possible, dragging herself forward on her elbows and he

nd back. Panic flared in her chest, the claustrophobia threatening to choke her. She closed her eyes, forced herself to take shallow brea

ared ahead. Her left knee ached from the constant pressure, and her

a bench. The room was empty. Chloe kicked the vent cover hard with her left foot-using he

wering her right, wincing as her ankle took even the smallest amount of weight. She coughed quietly as

ed off her ruined blazer, careful not to jar her ankle, and pulled the shapeless gray dress over her

of her weight on her left foot as she pushed it out into the second-floor hallway. The cart's wheels squeaked, and

he patterned carpet, pushing the heavy cart forward, her right ankle aching with every step. Her heart pounded so hard she

er as the pain in her ankle intensified. She paused for a split second,

she heard a voice that made her bloo

s wall sconce near the door, shifting her weight to her left foot to

ow," Mia's high-pitched, venomous

ed through

woman sitting at the vanity. The woman was wearing Chloe's wedding dress. From

t a chill down Chloe's spine. Jenny was acti

icked up a heavy, diamond-encrusted veil and dropped

the aisle and say 'I do.' Once the papers are filed, Chloe is legally tied to D

so tightly her knuckles popped, the pain in her ankle forgotten for a moment in t

echoed from the

aught, all was lost. She abandoned the cart, shifting quickly to her left foot, and grabbed the handle of the nearest linen closet, prayed it was un

throbbing fiercely. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a box cutter she had found on the cart.

loset rattled. Sean w

strike, shifting her weight to her left foot

ptain, we have a situation in the lobby. A

ly. "Leave the c

teps hurr

of pain from her ankle washed over her. She pulled out her phone and opened the hotel's flo

The central AV and s

and headed toward the staff stairs. Each step was slow