a's

iny needles digging into my skin, but the

e Adrian's car exploded on live television. Two days since Julian looked

op at the edge of a tiny, forgotten town three states away from Manhattan. My shoes were s

ontrollably as I reached into my pocket. I pulled out a simple silver chain, the last piece of j

asked, my voic

chain with dirty fingers, weighed it casually, and tossed a crumpled fi

sir. It's real silver. I just need enough for a

ess of wet hair and dirt-stained clothes. "You look like a runaway

was run through any system, the Sterling family's

y credit cards were blocked. My phone number was disconnected. They had stripped me of my

af of stale bread sitting on the counter by the d

ir bus station, hidden in the shadows where t

o my mouth. But the moment the food hit my stomach,

w up until my ribs ached. I leaned my head against the cold b

ark, my tears falling fast onto my knees. "I

wall, Julian's voice echoed in my hea

had neve

n nothin

? How could he believe I was a thief without even giving me a

e a girl like me? The emotional weight of his rejection felt heavier than the freezing cold, cr

unching sound cut th

holding m

heavily tinted windows glided to a slow

ackets stepped out. They weren't police officers. They moved with quiet, dea

erling family's private secur

the street. "The boss wants her brought back in piec

rned into pure ice. They weren't just

ropped my small bag, kicked off my ruined shoes so my footsteps woul

voice shouted from

inst the wet pavement,

than I ever h

my bare feet, painting the ice with bright

corner, ducking behind a row of overflowing industrial dumpsters just

dumpster, squeezing my eyes shut and clamping both

way did

toward the ma

vy boots faded i

nt, gasping for air. My feet were bleeding heavily, staining the slush

shivering violently in the dark, and

le pictures, wear pretty silk dresses, and

r into the rain, hunted her like an anima

e in my chest didn't disappear, but it transformed

nst my lower stomach, feeling the tiny

my voice cold, steady, and full of dangerous resolve. "I w

y wrapping my bleeding feet. I stood up on the frozen pavemen

ld be someone else. Someone strong enough to survive. Someone powerf