I walked to the window and pressed my forehead against the cold glass.

Outside, the rain poured over the manicured lawns of the Greenwich estate.

It was so clean here, so perfectly arranged, but it felt like a prison.

My mind drifted back to West Virginia, to the smell of damp pine and woodsmoke.

I thought of my siblings, Johnny, Paul, and Lily.

I had pulled them from the flames of our burning house when we were kids.

I had raised them in drafty rooms, working two jobs just to buy bread and milk.

That life was hard, but it was honest.

Here, every smile felt like a weapon, and every whisper held a threat.

I knew what I had to do.

I had to leave Greenwich before the storm broke.

If I disappeared, Eleanor would have no reason to dig into my past.

Nathan’s position would be safe, and his secret would remain hidden in the dark.

I walked quietly into our bedroom.

The king-sized bed was made with silk sheets that cost more than my mother’s old car.