ye

ow long i

the rain outside the crumbling facade

ing he had gained. He wore a suit that probably cost more than this entire bui

ration, a woman ready to fall into the arms of the man

t-shirt and shorts. My hair was a mess, and I didn't care. In my arms, a sma

face twisted into a mask

What is

the same voice that once wh

ook like, Mark?

ments slow and deliberate. I didn't

n on the child.

s mi

re, the faint smell of baby powder in the air. "I mean, who' s the father? My god, Ava. I

hung in the air,

the eye. "You have a lot of ne

ruined, your father and brother were heading to prison. Chl

ill felt like a du

e, Ava. She' s not strong like you. She woul

oice softening into the mani

pent the last six years building an empire, becoming powerful en

if it were a pile of trash he

, a soft, trembl

everythin

innocent as she did six years ago, her wide eyes fixed on me with a mixture of fe

ng. Oh, Ava... i

my arms, and a flicker of something ugly-something triumphan

stroking his arm soothingly. "She' s been through so much.

I was a stray dog they'

way she held onto Mark' s arm, it was

lways, fell fo

ied face back to my defiant one

Chloe. Look at her. This

erously quiet. "The Ava you knew d