/1/116885/coverbig.jpg?v=0aafc35306756382d810f5f75d8d2258&imageMogr2/format/webp)
lade sliced th
cles seized violently against the heavy iron chains binding her to
blood bag, watching the dark red liquid fill the tu
a mobile blood bank,
tightened until her ribs ached, but she could not spea
nose with a pristine white handkerchief.
rable," Bryton mutt
ancé. Her stomach dropped. A hollow ache spread through
r expensive perfume mixed
didn't die of a heart attack. My father poison
reme fury flooded her veins. She thrashed against the metal chair. The irone swore to herself, feeling the last beat of her heart, that
emitted a long,
kness swa
ting alarm c
sat up so fast her head spun. Cold sweat dr
bbed frantically over the skin. It was smo
per and leaking pipes. She looked around. The cramped space, th
Rust Belt. The place she l
. She gripped the edges of the cracked sink and stared into the mirr
ashed over her face. The freezing temperatur
before the Fernandez family would send a car to bring her back t
ed in her throat. Annette pulled back
istorted her reflection. Her dark eyes
r emergencies, and a small, metal lockbox. Inside the lockbox was a heavy black metal key engraved with a silver iris flower-the key to her mother's safety deposi
She gathered her long, dark hair and tied it into a tight, high ponytail. She shoved the cash, passport,
the smell of industrial exhaust. She
hone. She dropped a quarter into the s
to Manhattan," Annette said
a mechanical
three men stepped out from the alley. They
rl?" the tallest one asked. He
s his hand touched her jacket, she grabbed his wri
k echoed in
broken arm. The other two men froze, their eyes wide wi
She adjusted her ponytail and kept wa
in the back row of the waiting area. The bitter liquid
hat was why he brought her back. She had to get to th
and walked to the very back seat. She sat by the wind
roads of the Rust Belt tu
morning sun was reflecting off the glass skyscrap
bus. She looked up at the towering buildings
/1/116885/coverbig.jpg?v=0aafc35306756382d810f5f75d8d2258&imageMogr2/format/webp)