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Now, at the last second, it’s coming undone.

There’s no way I’ll slip their grasp this time.

My last name is a curse. It’s a tether and a hell. I know what I was born to be, and I never wanted it.

Now it’s all I’ll ever be.

Maybe Bass doesn’t realize it, but he’s damning me to my own worst nightmare.

10

MARI

Ithrow open my bedroom door, slam it behind me, and dive onto the floor.

Sara didn’t even question it when I told her I had to take off. She promised to cover my shift, which is great, but leaves her shorthanded. I’ll have to make it up to her later, but right now⁠—

I find the edge of my hidden drywall patch and my stomach drops.

It’s not fitted properly.

When I replace it, I make sure the seams are invisible. It’s a pain, but it’s better hidden that way.

Now though, it’s slightly askew.

Maybe I did that. Maybe I screwed up last time. Maybe it was me⁠—

I shove my arm into the wall.

Nothing.

I push hard, going deep. Nothing, nothing, nothing. I wave my hand around, scraping it badly against the wood.

Nothing.

Oh god, my duffel is gone.

I stay very still, breathing steady, trying to calm myself, but panic ripples down my spine.

Nobody knows about this spot. There’s no possible way Bass found out either. He might’ve investigated me using whatever illegal asshole means he can muster, but he didn’t break into my room.

There’s no way this was him.

Which leaves my mouth feeling dry and a sense of deep, horrible dread in my stomach.

Someone else took it. Someone with access to this space.

Meaning, my brothers, my parents, and⁠—

Ruben.

Oh, fuck. Oh, god.

If he knows about my plan—that means Don Nardo knows too—and that means⁠—

I curl into a ball in the darkness under my bed, my body wedged against the uncomfortable underside of the metal frame, and tuck my knees into my stomach to keep from sobbing.

Everything’s falling apart. Months and months of meticulous planning, evaporated in the worst possible way.