Chapter 4

Los Angeles greeted me with a sky so impossibly blue it seemed artificial after years of concrete ceilings. The taxi wound through palm-lined streets until it stopped before a sleek high-rise in the Arts District. My heart hammered against my ribs as I gathered my single suitcase—everything I now owned in the world.

Victoria's loft occupied the entire top floor. When the elevator doors opened, she was waiting, her elegant silhouette framed against floor-to-ceiling windows that showcased the city skyline. For a moment, we simply stared at each other. She looked different from prison—softer somehow, in silk loungewear instead of…