Prologue
The bruises were already blooming across her ribs, purple and ugly where his fists had landed.
Ally gripped the steering wheel tighter, forcing her foot down on the gas pedal as the rain blurred the deserted highway ahead of her. She could barely see, but it didn’t matter. As long as she was moving — as long as she was getting farther away — she was safe.
She didn’t pack much.
Just a duffel bag crammed with clothes, a cracked photo of her grandparents, and the old locket Cam had given her when they were kids. She hadn’t worn it in years. Tonight, she’d found it in the back of her closet and, without thinking, fastened it around her neck. Like armor.
The wedding ring sat on the passenger seat beside her, glinting coldly every time lightning flashed across the sky.
She hated it.
She hated him.
Michael’s last words to her still echoed in her ears, ugly and venomous.
“You think you can leave me, Allison? You’re nothing without me.”
The worst part was, for a long time, she had believed him.
But not anymore.
Headlights cut through the mist ahead — a green sign loomed on the side of the road.
Crescent Valley – 12 Miles
Home.
She hadn’t been back since she was eighteen.
She wasn’t the girl they remembered. She wasn’t even sure who she was now.
Ally wiped at her eyes, angry at herself for crying.
She would not let them see her broken.
She would rebuild her life. Quietly. Carefully.
And no one would ever know how close she’d come to losing it.
Not even him.
