"I'm telling you, Kendella, I overheard him!" Lena hissed into the receiver, her eyes darting toward the nursery door. "I think Aurielle is alive. Kieran is on his way to her now... if he hasn't already pulled her out of whatever hell she was in."
"That's impossible!" Kendella's voice was a sharp screech on the other end. "She's ash, Lena. The fire—"
"The fire was a lie!" Lena cut her off, her voice trembling. "If she comes back here, I'm dead. She'll remember my face from that night in the hospital. Kieran will skin me alive. He'll make my death an art piece." Lena's eyes drifted to the hallway. "I have to finish it. If I can't have the life I wanted, I'll leave them with nothing. I'll kill the boy. I'll kill Adrien."
"Lena, no! Don't—"
Lena slammed the phone down, cutting off Kendella's protest. She didn't have time for cold feet.
A soft, sharp intake of air came from the hallway.
