Chapter 1
Elodie Sampson had never been anyone’s first choice.
She wasn’t the beautiful one, or the strong one, or even the clever one. She was the mistake, the afterthought. Born from a union that was never meant to happen, she was a reminder of a life her father had long since buried under layers of wealth, power, and violence.
The cold air bit at her skin as she pulled the hood of her worn-out jacket tighter around her face, ducking into the shadows of the alley. The muffled thump of footsteps echoed behind her. She didn’t need to look back to know they were following. They always followed. They’d been following since the night she’d left him.
Her father’s reach was long—too long. She’d learned that the hard way. Every time she thought she was free, a shadow from her past would crawl back into her life, pulling her back into the darkness she’d spent years trying to escape.
But not tonight. Tonight, she was running.
She could hear her pulse pounding in her ears as she moved through the backstreets of whatever city she’d landed in this time. It didn’t matter. What mattered was the fact that she’d survived the last three years—barely. She was still here, still breathing, still free.
It wasn’t much, but it was all she had.
As she rounded the corner, her boots crunching on the snow-covered sidewalk, she saw the black SUV parked ahead, just where she’d expected it to be. A beacon in the darkness, offering her an escape from the game her father had forced her to play.
She didn’t stop. She didn’t even hesitate. She walked straight up to the car, pulling the door open and sliding inside.
The moment she shut the door, the engine roared to life.
“Where to?” the driver asked.
She didn’t have an answer, not really. But there was only one place left to go, and even if it was a long shot, it was the only chance she had.
“Palmetto State University,” she said, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside her. “Find someone there. A team.”
The driver glanced at her from the rearview mirror, but there was no judgment in his eyes. There never was. He’d been in the business long enough to know how this worked.
It took everything in Elodie to not flinch when she heard the name of the place—Palmetto State University. The place that could mean safety. The place that had a reputation for harboring people who had as many enemies as she did. It was a gamble, but it was a risk she had to take.
She didn’t know exactly what she was expecting—maybe someone who would take her in, maybe someone who would throw her out. But she had to try.
They drove in silence for what felt like hours, the weight of her past pressing down on her chest with every mile that separated her from her old life.
And when the car finally pulled into the small town that housed Palmetto State, Elodie couldn’t shake the feeling that she was already too late.
She had a long road ahead of her.
But at least for now, she had one chance left to find someone who might help. To find the answers she needed. To make a life that didn’t belong to the darkness.
And maybe, just maybe, to finally leave her father’s shadow behind.