POV: Evans Wilson

The weight of the secrets I carried was finally starting to crush my bones. Every step I took toward Valarie’s penthouse felt like walking deeper into a swamp. I was drowning, and the worst part was that I was dragging Hailey down with me while telling her I was saving her.

I gripped the steering wheel of the car, my breath coming in shallow hitches. The image of Hailey at dinner with David—looking so small and confused while my brother hovered over her like a vulture—burned in my mind. David was a shark, but Valarie was something worse. She was a ghost from my past that refused...