A Promise Kept, A Heart Healed

use, the first thing I di

e' d ever given me, every little note and memento from

faces in the pictures curled and blackened, turning

g embers in the pit but didn't ask what I had

g to kiss my cheek. I

old stuff," I said, my

it, disappearing into his home office. The distance between us

my passport and important documents. I found the brochure for the immigration lawyer I' d spoken to m

ng. I opened it to find Ashley Peterson standing on the porch,

she announced, pushing

here," I s

antique console table. She wandered into the livi

Our housekeeper, Maria, a kind woman in

. Black. And be

and discomfort. Ashley had been Liam's assistant for

w, as all the staff did, how important Ashley was to Liam. He h

me snap into focus. It wasn't just a sick obsession. Liam was allowing this. He was enabling her. His "rev

mmigration lawyer's office and signed the papers. I was starting the proce

one rang. It was Mari

's Ms. Peterson. She's... she's throwi

e background. "Is that her? Is that the

ear, sharp and venomous. "So, you ran away? Smart gi

girls' locker room. They had held me down, cutting off chunks of my hair with a pair of s

d not let her terrori

I said, my voic

ng room was a disaster. A vase was shattered on the floor, and cushions were thrown everywhe

ide. "She called us peasants and said Mr. Harrison w

a smirk on her face, like a que

d in," she sneered. "Come

id, my voice shaking slightly despi

silly. Liam will give me anything I want. This house, his

owards the kitchen. "I'm

staff are done for th

fridge and pulling out the pot of soup Maria had made for di

she repeated, her eyes

e room so thick I could barely breathe. When it was bubbl

ent she was holding the bowl, the

st and arm. The pain was instantaneous and

ng back, clutching

s face. She was smiling, a look of pu

oice dripping with fake

in overwhelming me. My skin was

" she taunted, her smile widening. "A permanent r