Chapter 15
B35 vouchers
I made it barely ten feet down the hallway before my hand brushed my collar–and panic hit like a slap.
The locket.
Ery
I stopped dead, checked my pockets, then checked them again. Nothing. My fingers moved to my neckline, frantic, hoping I’d just missed it. But I knew the weight of it. I knew what it felt like when it was gone.
I must’ve dropped it. Back in the lounge. Right before everything exploded.
“I left something.” I said quickly to Nathan, already turning on my heel.
“Want me to grab it?” he asked, but I was already hurrying away.
The door was still ajar. I pushed it open carefully, trying not to make a sound.
But they were still there.
Richard stood with his back to me, arms crossed tightly. Jenny was pacing near the window, arms flailing slightly, her face flushed and
tense.
“You didn’t even tell me she was staying here!” Jenny was saying, voice sharp and shaking. “How am I supposed to feel about that?”
Richard didn’t flinch. “I didn’t think it was something you needed to weigh in on.”
“She’s my best friend. Or she was. And now you’re hiding her in our house?”
I stepped inside quietly, eyes scanning the room. The locket wasn’t on the armrest. Not on the table. My eyes flicked to the floor.
There. Just under the edge of the chair. I moved toward it fast.
Jenny saw me. “Of course. Of course you came back.”
I froze, halfway to the floor. “I just–I left something.”
“Let me guess,” she said, voice like venom. “Your sad little necklace?”
1 didn’t answer. Just knelt and reached for it.
But Jenny moved faster.
She swooped down, snatched it up before I could touch it. Her eyes blazed. “You and your secrets. You and your timing.”
Jenny, please don’t-
She didn’t even wait for me to finish. In one fluid motion, she crossed to the window, snapped it open, and hurled the locket out into the
air.
1 gasped and rushed to the window. The metal flashed in the sunlight as it tumbled, bounced off a hedge, and disappeared into the bushes below.
The room was silent except for the faint rustle of leaves.
Jenny didn’t look back. She shoved past Richard and stormed out the door, slamming it behind her so hard the frame rattled.
My breath shook as I stared out the window.
“It’s my fault.” I whispered. “I shouldn’t have come back in. I should’ve left her alone.”
“No.” Richard said firmly “This time, she crossed the line. I wouldn’t have even known what was happening if Nathan hadn’t reached
out
I turned toward him, sull trembling. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”
D
Chapter 15
35 vouchers
hto need s
space. But yeah. She’ll be fine.”
Richard sighed. “She’s got her driver. And she’s pissed off enough
I nodded slowly, gaze drifting back toward the window.
“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go find it.”
Outside, the sun had just begun to lower. The bushes lining the west side of the building were dense, spiny, and filled with old mulch.
I crouched near the first hedge, pushing branches aside, trying to catch a glimpse of silver. My hands were already scratched.
Behind me, I heard a rustle and looked up to see Richard slipping off his blazer. Without a word, he rolled up his sleeves and stepped into the thickest patch of shrubs.
You don’t have to do this,” I said. “Really. It’s not that important.”
“You wear it every day,” he said. “That makes it important.”
I blinked, caught off guard. He noticed that? I hadn’t realized anyone had. The idea that he’d been paying that much attention made my chest tighten in a way I really wasn’t ready to unpack.
“It’s just old,” Imumbled. “I’ve just had it forever.”
He glanced over at me. “That sounds like the exact definition of important.”
I tried to smile, but it didn’t reach. I turned back to the bushes, hands brushing through leaves and branches. “You’re going to ruin your
suit.
“It’s just a suit, Amelia. I’ll survive.”
I exhaled through my nose. “It’s not valuable or anything.”
He paused. “But someone gave it to you?”
I didn’t answer right away. Finally, I said, “It’s the only thing I have left from my family. My real family, My parents. There’s a little- picture inside. That’s all.”
Richard didn’t say anything. He just kept searching.
We scoured the bushes for what felt like forever. My knees were damp. My hair clung to my face. My hands were covered in dirt.
“I don’t think we’ll find it. I said, finally sinking to sit on the edge of the sidewalk.
Richard didn’t answer. His head turned sharply, eyes narrowing.
Then he reached into the base of a shrub and pulled back a low–hanging branch.
“There,” he said.
He crouched low and reached between two rocks. When he stood again, the locket dangled from his fingers.
It was scratched and the gemstone was gone.
But it was mine
1 rushed forward, my breath catching. “Oh my god. You found it.”
“Barely, he said, brushing a leaf from the chain. “You sure it’s not expensive?”
“Positive,” I said, taking it in both hands like it might shatter. “It’s never been about the worth. It’s just… familiar,”
He nodded once, slowly, watching my face.
I swallowed hard. “Thank you”
“Don’t mention it
351 PM P P ·
Chapter 15
019
35 Vouchers
The next few days were… tense. I tried testing Jenny. Once. Twice, A third.
Each more careful than the last.
No response.
I saw her in the hallway outside the commns office. She looked right at
I scribbled a note and asked one of the aides to pass it along. Short, ape
other direction.
She threw it away without reading it. I knew because I saw it crumpled in the bin outside her door.
I stopped trying.
A week later, I got a message from the apartment manager. Apparently, Adam couldn’t even tell me himself he had Mr. Grant do it for him. There were still a few of my things in the closet, and I needed to pick them up.
I didn’t want to go. But I needed to. It felt like one more loose thread I could finally cut.
When I got there, I realized I’d forgotten my key, I stood on the steps, debating whether to knock or just leave.
Mr. Grant, the manager, poked his head out the office door. “You looking for Adam?”
No, I said, “Just here to grab a few things. I used to live here.”
He nodded, recognition dawning. “Right, right. You’re the one who moved out fast. Want the spare key? I know he’s usually out this time of day”
“Yeah, I said quietly. “Thanks.”
He handed it over, and I walked up the steps. My heart thudded with every one.
I let myself in gently. The place looked the same. Lived in. Slightly messier,
1 moved toward the hall closet.
Then I stopped.
A sound.
Rhythmic, wet. A gasp–punctuated and breathy, like it was meant to be heard.
A low male groan followed, rough and lazy. Then a high–pitched laugh. Moaning. The creak of bed springs in motion.
I went cold.
No
No, no, no
1 backed up slowly, every footstep muffled under the weight of dread.
Another moan, louder this time. Higher–pitched, a little too perfect. Practiced. The kind of noise meant to be overheard.
And I knew
I didn’t want to believe it, but I already knew.
I stood frozen in the living room, not breathing.
Adam’s voice and her.
Jenny’s
The name clanged through my skull like a dropped bell.
I didn’t cry, I didn’t scream. I just stood there as the betrayal bled through my chest like something physical
3/4
3:51 PM P P.
Chapter 15
I dropped the key on the floor.
35 vouchers
I didn’t even know what I was doing. I stood there, frozen in the middle of the living room, the sounds from the bedroom still echoing like a sickness in my ears. My feet wouldn’t move. My breath came shallow, shaky. I couldn’t bring myself to walk out–not yet. Not while Jenny’s laugh was still bleeding through the walls.
AD
