Chapter 1: Ghosts in the Hallway
The cardboard box in my arms felt heavier with every step I climbed up the narrow stairwell of St. Jude’s off-campus housing. My muscles burned, but for the first time in three years, the weight on my chest felt a little lighter.
New city. New university. A tiny apartment on the fourth floor where no one knew my name, my history, or the nightmare I had barely survived.
I paused on the landing, setting the box down to catch my breath. Reaching into my coat pocket, I pulled out the brass key labeled 4B. This key represented freedom. It meant no more looking over my shoulder, no more shivering whenever a dark car idled too long at a red light, and no more ties to the Rossi family.
I stepped down the quiet corridor, the worn carpet swallowing the sound of my sneakers. Stopping in front of door 4B, I slid the key into the lock.
Click.
Relief washed through me so fast it made my knees weak. I leaned my forehead against the cool wood of the door, taking a deep, steadying breath. You made it, I whispered to myself. You’re finally safe.
"You always were terrible at running, little mouse."
The voice came from directly behind me. Low, velvet-smooth, and laced with a deadly, familiar arrogance that instantly turned the blood in my veins to ice.
My heart slammed against my ribs. I turned around slowly, praying to whatever god was listening that my mind was playing tricks on me.
He was leaning against the doorframe of apartment 4A, right across the narrow hall.
Julian Rossi.
He was taller than I remembered, his broad shoulders easily filling the frame. Black hair fell loosely over his forehead, and a dark tattoo crept up the side of his neck, disappearing beneath his collar. But it was his eyes that stripped the air right out of my lungs—sharp, obsidian, and utterly devoid of mercy.
"Julian," my voice cracked, barely a whisper.
A slow, terrifying smirk spread across his lips as he pushed off the doorframe and took a single, deliberate step toward me.
"Did you really think moving three hundred miles away would hide you from me?"
Julian stepped closer, towering over me until his shadow completely swallowed mine. He reached out, his leather-gloved thumb gently tracing the line of my jaw—a touch that felt like a threat and a promise all at once. "Three years ago, my crew took the fall for your mistakes. Did you honestly believe I'd let you live happily ever after?"
He leaned in, his breath warm against my ear, sending a shudder straight down my spine.
"Welcome home, Elena. Your sentence starts today."
