I was supposed to disappear before the wedding.
Everything was ready. Clean IDs. Offshore account. Exit route.
But I couldn’t leave Aziel behind. Not now. Not when Margaret wanted him in that ceremony. Not when Hakeem was looking at her like she was part of some future he’d built with the woman who ruined my life.
So that night, I picked up the burner phone I kept under the loose floorboard.
Dialed the number.
The line clicked after one ring.
“It’s me,” I whispered. “I need the exit plan changed. I’m not leaving alone.”
“Understood, ma’am,” the voice replied. “We’ll move everything.”
This time, I wasn’t running.
This time, I was taking back what was mine.“The plan changed,” I whispered into the burner phone. My voice was tight. Quiet. “Aziel’s gonna be the ring bearer. I can’t leave without him.”
I paused, fingers shaking slightly. “And there’s one more problem. Eight years ago, after I faked my death... Hakeem had a tracker put inside me. He never told me where, just said it’s somewhere I wouldn’t be able to reach. He knew I’d try to run again.”
There was a long silence on the other end before the response came.