My heart filled 155

Chapter 155

ELIZA

There was one place in particular that Dominic would go to after work. It wasn’t flashy, but it had just the right balance of privacy and exclusiveness for him to meet clients, hold casual discussions, or simply unwind before heading home. More often than not, he would pick up something on his way our for his pathetic little wife, playing the role of doting husband.

I smiled to myself, my fingers drumming lightly against the steering wheel as I watched from across the street. The familiarity of his routine made him predictable. Easy to track. If Alex didn’t want me, then fine. I’d make Dominic want me. He was the bigger prize anyway–more money, more influence. And, unlike Alex, he wasn’t tangled up in some stupid emotional mess with Raina,

I leaned back in my seat, the reflections of the streetlights flickering across my face mask. It still smerted, that memory of Alex finding out the truth about Liam–about me poisoning that little, stubbom brat who simply would not die. I hadn’t expected Vanessa to betray me, not in the way she did. Stupid, dense girl. She had one job.

I gripped the steering wheel tighter, the leather erealding softly under my grip. Vanessa wasn’t my biggest problem anymore. I had other things to focus on, like getting to Dominic before he disappeared into his bubble of domestic bliss.

My mind wandered for a moment to the prison from which I had escaped. It was a cesspool of desperation and stupidity, the kind of place that could crush someone if they weren’t strong enough. Thankfully, I was.

The best part of the prison was that the women weren’t exactly bright. Most of them were too busy plotting against each other to pay attention to what i was doing. Then there was her. That Stud who thought I was hers the moment she saw me.

I closed my eyes for a moment, shaking my head as the memory clawed its way back.

Her hands were rough, her gap firm. The way she cornered me in the laundry room, her breath hot on my neck, made my stomach churn even now. You stick with me, protry girl, and no one will touch you,” she’d said, her voice low and laced with menace.

And I’d let her.

1 let her believe she owned me because it was the only way to live. Nights spent lying in her bunk, sleeping with her, feigning the fact that her touch didn’t disgust me were nights I wasn’t afraid of being stabbed in the dark.

She was useful, though. She had connections, and she was tough. Tough enough to forefend anyone who crossed me. Tough enough to help me escape.

1 shivered, the cool night air doing Ettle to numb the shame that memory carried

“It was about survival, It’s over“, I muttered to myself, my voice barely audible. “It’s done.”

it had been a few days since I broke out. The first flush of freedom had wom off, replaced by the gnawing realization that time was running out. Laying low wasn’t an option anymore. If I wanted to make my move, it had to be now.

I glanced at my reflection in the cracked mirror of the sun visor of the dingy car I’d had help getting. The woman staring back at me looked tired, worn down, but determined. I readjusted the face mask I had been wearing in public, making sure it covered enough to keep me unrecognizable. My hair was pulled back and tucked nearly under a dark cap my clothing was plain and blended into the crowd without drawing attention.

“No more waiting.” I told myself. “It’s time.”

The moment I stepped inside the bar, my eyes automatically locked onto the entrance as Dominic’s entourage began filing through. My pulse quickened when he came into view–he was everything I wanted in a man: money, power, influence, and the looks to stop traffic,

I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I watched him. Alex had been a mistake. No, scratch that. Alex had been a stepping stone. Dominic Graham? He was the main prize. Alex’s betrayal stung, sure, but Dominic was my way to take everything I deserved.

1 leaned back against the bar, my eyes never leaving his face as he greeted his clients with that easy charm of his. He looked effortless, like a king. holding court. There was this little voice Inside my head telling me, Forget Alex. This is your chance,

And it was, Dominic Graham wasn’t an upgrade. He was my revenge

Raina Even thinking her name made my stomach twist. For years, I’d lived in her shadow, always second–best to her perfect little halo. The memories played in my mind like a cruel film reel–the orphanage, where everyone flocked to her as if she were some kind of savior, college, where she excelled without even trying