Chapter 180

Outside her bedroom door, she could hear Margaret's laughter and Elena's soft voice responding to something.

She thought about Stefan's words from that morning: We're supposed to be partners. We tell each other everything.

But how could she tell him this? How could she explain that the mother who she'd always thought was dead was being used as leverage against them? How could she ask him to choose between her past and their future?

The phone buzzed again, and with shaking hands, she opened the new message.

Unknown Number: You have two hours. Come alone, or she dies.

Attached was an address on the outskirts of the city,...