From Ashes: A Second Chance

s with a desperate eagerne

broad. A new life, a fresh start. She' ll be gone by

breakfast in bed, took her on quiet drives along the coast, and sat wi

ed. Her stepmother praised Dominic' s devotion. "See?" she' d said to Hazel

phone every few minutes. She noticed the gifts he brought her-a silk scarf in a shade of blue that Julia loved, a novel by a

nded on a Tue

or crashed open. Dominic stood there, his face a thunderou

" he snarled, sta

the jar of turpentine. "I have no

oice echoing in the large, airy spac

g into her skin. "She' s in the hospital, Hazel! Sh

them. Julia tried to kill herself.

hock, no pity. Just a pr

iving way to a raw, broken sound. "And it' s your fault. Yo

e once loved, his face contorted with

hatred. "How can you be so cold? She' s your sis

while he was the one who had left her t

asked, her voice a detached, clinical

enough. You' re going to atone. You will go to her, you wi

is grip tightened, his

of your life. You will be her servant. You will do

he love she used to feel. Why? Why, after everything, did his words still have the power to

he edges. She couldn' t find the words to defend herse

d to whisper, the words tasting like

ice ringing with absolute conviction. "Julia is pure.

ing-maybe awareness of his own cruelty-flashing in h

was t

nd grew into a full-blown, tear-streaked peal of laughter. The sound was wild a

ll blurred into a meaningless swirl. The last thing she saw was

world we