lt like it was lined with sandpaper-a brutal side ef
rdigan, and opened the bedroom door as quietly as possi
r a sliver of pale, bluish light spill
ch's room. Her
the low, suppressed sound of Kian's voice. He was a
ration and anxiety. "And now, the second she gets kicked out by t
oze in th
d, pacing his room. "They will crush us. We are a normal family. We can't
the kitchen doorframe. Her finge
just felt an overwhelming
right to drag this innocent family down with her w
to the kitchen. She turned around and d
the moonlight filtering through the blind
g of her trench coat and pulled
savings and her late grandmother's secret trust-assets the Bartlett family never knew
written note containing the PIN. It was the onl
y on the nightstand, resting her empty w
her bag, took one last look at the warm room, and
klyn. Kian walked out of his room, rubbing his ti
pen the gue
was folded perfectly, as if
rushed into the room and immediately saw
nd read the staggering account balance written on the no
r away into the cold. He remembered how she used to shield him from neighborhood bullies when they were kids, taking the hits so he wouldn't have to. 'Family doesn't abandon family,' his father's roug
self into his desk chair. His fingers flew
frantic coding later, he locked onto her face on a terminal security camera. She had boarded a long-distance Greyhound bus.
g a jacket, and sprinted down the stairs. He thre
ngry beast. Kian slammed his foot o
ocked on the GPS tracker on his phone.
as moving steadily west, finally stopping at a remote coordina
/1/114145/coverbig.jpg?v=d9dfb34ca8295535fb20f2f274fced06&imageMogr2/format/webp)