CHAPTER NINETEEN
Nora
My mother’s voice stayed with me for a long time after we finished talking on the phone. It was like her voice was echoing in my room. I could hear the fear in it. I tried to forget what she’d said, but I couldn’t. I sat on my bed, looking at my hands.
The house was very quiet. If Liam was home, I wouldn’t have been able to leave. He would have stopped me.
I’d been trying to forget my past for a long time, but Victor Hale still had control over my life. He was still scaring me from far away, and I was tired of running. I didn’t trust my mother completely, but I had to help her and face my fear.
I got up and opened my closet. I chose some clothes that wouldn’t stand out and I packed a few things: my purse, some money, my ID, and my phone. Each object felt heavy, like it knew I was going somewhere dangerous.
I looked around my room again. The lamp was still on. My book was open on the table. The room felt comfortable and safe, which made it hard for me to leave. I felt guilty when I closed my bag and put it on my shoulder.
My phone vibrated. It was Liam. My chest tightened so fast I could barely breathe.
His name glowed on the screen, familiar and impossible to ignore, and for one reckless second I almost pressed the green button and told him everything: where I was, where I was going, and why I had to go alone.
But then I watched as the call disconnected.
I powered it off before it could ring again and sighed as I dropped it on the table. I walked to the door, carrying my bag and my feelings. I felt guilty because I was leaving Liam, but I was determined to face my past.
I stepped into the cold night air and closed the door as quietly as I could, though the latch clicked louder than it should have and I froze, listening for footsteps, for my name, for any sign someone had noticed I was leaving. There was nothing.
The street ahead was quiet, though not empty, and a car passed at the far end, headlights sliding over the pavement before it turned the corner. Somewhere nearby, a dog barked once and then went silent.
I tightened my grip on my bag and started walking.
Every shadow looked wrong, and every parked car seemed like it might hide someone who was watching me.
Liam’s men were trained to notice what others missed, and the thought of one of them spotting me before I reached the bus station made my stomach knot.
I kept my head down and took the busiest route I could find, moving through streets where people still drifted in and out of restaurants, shops, and late-night cafés.
The normality of it all felt unreal as strangers laughed while they passed, couples argued softly on corners, and a group of students crossed the road with takeaway bags.
For them, it was an ordinary night. For me, every step felt like walking deeper into a storm I couldn’t see.
By the time I reached the bus station, my palms were damp despite the cold.
The building was bright and crowded, filled with low conversation, the hiss of buses arriving and leaving, and the sharp smell of coffee from a kiosk near the entrance.
I could already picture Liam’s reaction, the anger in his voice, the fear he would try to hide, and the way he’d stop me before I ever got on that bus.
I found a seat near the far wall and pulled my jacket tighter around me.
The announcement for my bus finally echoed through the station, sharp enough to make my heart jump. I stood before I could change my mind.
The crowd moved around me in slow, ordinary waves as I followed the line toward the platform.
I was heading toward the place I’d spent years trying to escape.
The bus doors opened with a hiss, and I climbed the steps without looking back.
The driver barely glanced at me as I handed over my ticket.
I murmured a thank-you and moved down the narrow aisle, my bag brushing against the seats as I searched for a place to sit.
I chose a window seat and pressed my forehead lightly against the cold glass. Outside, the station lights blurred. Strangers hurried across the platform, voices rising and falling beneath the rumble of engines.
Somewhere near the front of the bus, a child laughed at something I couldn’t hear, and the sound felt strangely distant, as though it belonged to another world. The engine started and a vibration ran through the floor beneath my feet.
I wrapped my arms around my bag and kept my eyes fixed on the city outside as the bus pulled away from the station.
Boston slid past in fragments: glowing shop windows, crowded sidewalks, traffic lights changing from red to green, people crossing streets with bags of groceries in their hands.
Everything looked familiar, almost comforting, and the sight of it made my chest ache.
I’d hidden myself from the one person who would have come with me without hesitation.
The guilt settled heavily in my stomach, but it couldn’t erase the reason I was doing this.
My mother had asked for help. Victor Hale was still somewhere ahead of me, still holding the same power over our lives that he’dd always had.
And if I kept running, he would keep following me. The bus reached the edge of the city, and the familiar streets began to fade behind us. Buildings gave way to darker roads, scattered lights, and the long stretch of highway waiting ahead. I watched the skyline disappear into the distance.
Fear sat beside me like an unwelcome passenger, quiet and persistent. But beneath it, stronger than the fear and heavier than the guilt, was a determination I couldn’t ignore.
I was walking into danger. I knew that. I was walking away from the safety Liam had tried to give me. I knew that, too. Still, as the city vanished completely behind me, I held onto one belief with steady certainty: this was something I had to face alone.