Ava's Echo: A Betrayed Heart Returns

t handle th

me stress. She spent the next two days in her room, attend

, reinforcing her image

was swift an

ng stone. He stood in the doorway of my room, a sentinel of his own makin

. You will have no contact with the outsid

o had embarrassed him. He needed to keep me

to a low threat. "If you so much as look at her, I will have you

king out the window at the perfectly mani

ctly,"

tside. The sound of the key turning i

a locked door

tle the

wn skills, honed in a past life they couldn't possibly imagine, were still sh

t, until the rhythm of the night

went

eeded. The old, expensive lock on my bedroom door was designed t

ys like a shadow, my bare feet maki

sk, a top-of-the-line machine. It was password protected, of cour

s "ChloeArchite

opied files, read emails, and examined financial records. I laid the groundwork, planting subtle backdoors

op was Chl

could hear the soft, even breathing of

n the lock, left there by my father. He probably thou

millimeter, until the latch dise

pped

her massive canopy bed, looking like a sleeping princess. Her face was ser

o a glass of water and a bot

silent. I picked up the phone. It was the la

alled on the house's Wi-Fi network from the study, was already at work

streamed, I

plotting. She muttere

rk.

hant smile play

Or perhaps, because of it. My violence had probably made hi

ultimate goal was to have me declared mentally incompetent, strippin

hone. Texts with Mark, drafts of letters to

o be more than just tak

to be a

ck on the table, exac

. Her eyes fluttered open. For a se

her eyes. Only a slee

ith sleep. "Locked away like a mad dog. It's

ame triumphant sm

ver good enough. Dad sees that now.

dismissing me, conf

I was trappe

ator watching its prey, and I felt no

over to

ll smiling

own close

" I whispered.

attress, just inches from her head. The fram

terror. The smugness was gone, replaced

aightened up and walked silently out o

got in. Let her wonde

re effective tool