Carla stood outside the condo.
Black hoodie. Dark glasses. A trembling hand in her jacket pocket, wrapped tightly around something sharp.
She had been there for thirty minutes.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLNaoryjy2t
Watching.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmsA6bJ8JC1
Waiting.
Watching her.
Jaimie.
The girl who took everything.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvn0diJNNK7
The man.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCdV53e02z
The boy.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn1SbHkSC54
The life Carla had built in her head and claimed as hers.
Now this girl had it all.
Even his baby.
Carla's chest rose and fell with uneven breaths.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7chZ7l7jWC
She had followed Jaimie from the OB-GYN clinic earlier.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPqfWsTrJz
She had watched her eat alone at the small café afterward.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6LAt4WAZQ
She had seen EJ laughing beside her.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89LpUxFTnG
Buying her soup.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3jFBuki8G
Touching her elbow like it belonged to him.
But it didn't.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qHq65yURZ
None of this did.
Carla smiled tightly.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMfhKztxSnx
They called her crazy.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxclY7Dxkqr
But she wasn't crazy.
She was the only one who saw the truth.
And now?
Now she would make the truth undeniable.
She started walking.
Each step toward the condo lobby was slow, deliberate.
She could hear her own heartbeat, fast and wild.
Her fingers gripped the cold steel in her pocket tighter.
She could already see it—
Jaimie's face.
That look of surprise.
The screams.
The blood.
"Now we're even," Carla whispered.
Tedd (Later that afternoon)
I was halfway through packing when something inside me froze.
A cold wave crept up the back of my neck. My hands stopped folding the shirt in my lap.
Something wasn't right.
The kind of not right you can't explain.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTnB13sJI7e
Only feel.
I grabbed my phone and called my father.
He answered on the third ring.
"Dad. Where's Jaimie?"
A pause.
"She's home, I think. Why?"
"Is Max with her?"
"No, he's still with us in Isabela."
"Call her. Right now."
"Tedd, what—"
"Something's wrong." My voice was louder now, frantic. "Carla. I haven't heard from her since yesterday. No threats. No messages. Nothing."
"So?"
"She always says something. When she's quiet—she's planning."
I was already grabbing my car keys.
I called the guard station next.
"Sir Tedd?" the security guard asked.
"Please tell me Ms. Jaimie hasn't had any strange visitors today."
Another pause.
"Well... there was one woman earlier."
I stopped cold. "Describe her."
"Didn't get her face. Hoodie. Sunglasses. She stood outside for a while, then walked toward the lobby, but then left before we could stop her."
My entire body clenched.
I slammed the phone shut and cursed out loud.
Too close. Way too close.
I threw my bag into the trunk and started the engine.
My heart thundered in my chest.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvTK4PfLMC
Images flooded my mind—Jaimie alone in the elevator.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7iywSn8EeU
A knock at the door.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMqH5JTGkt
A scream.
No.
No.
Not again.
"I'm coming, Jae," I whispered, accelerating. "Please—just hold on."
15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySVXpJgaCS
