Chapter 2

Luckily, Ethan didn't push it any further. He picked up the card and walked out.

I listened to his footsteps as he walked away, slumping to the floor with cold sweat soaking my back.

I couldn't stay in this house anymore. Not even for a single second.

I slipped out without alerting anyone.

At three in the morning, I slung my most valuable art supplies over my shoulder, dragged a suitcase stuffed with clothes and my piggy bank, and snuck out of the Callaway house like a thief in the night.

Standing at the front gate, I looked back at the house where I'd spent the last twenty years of my life.

There wasn't a hint of nostalgia, just the overwhelming relief of having escaped disaster.

But where should I go now?

I was just a broke art student with about a thousand dollars in my piggy bank. That wasn't even enough to rent a place.

As I crouched by the roadside, feeling utterly hopeless, a thought suddenly struck me.

Irene. The real heiress. Ethan's true sister!

At the party, I'd overheard the Callaway parents say they were letting Irene stay in a luxury apartment for a while, just so she could get used to things.

The most dangerous place was the safest. No matter how messed up Ethan was, he wouldn't dare do anything to me with his sister around, right?

I grabbed my phone and started digging through the Callaway family group chat for Irene's contact info.

Thankfully, she'd been added to the group and hadn't dropped out yet.

I sent her a message: [It's Aria Curtis. I need to talk to you ASAP. It's about Ethan!]

She replied with a question mark immediately.

I called her right away, not wasting a second.

"Hello?" Her voice sounded groggy, like she'd just woken up.

"Miss Irene Callaway, it's Aria." I kept my voice low and urgent. "I know it's rude to call so late, but this is life or death!"

"Go on," Irene said.

I blurted out, "Can I stay at your place for a few days? Don't worry. I'll just sleep on the couch. I'm really tidy!"

There was silence on the other end.

My heart dropped. I was about to say, "Forget it. Sorry for bothering you."

But Irene suddenly spoke up. "What happened to Ethan?"

She caught the key point.

I braced myself and decided to lay it all out. "Your brother is a total psycho! He wants to lock me up! He wants to kill me!"

The silence stretched on so long, I started to wonder if she'd hung up.

Then, I heard her voice, trying not to laugh. "Just sent you the address. Hurry up, I've got my popcorn ready for the show."

I scrambled into a cab and made my way to Irene's apartment, barely holding myself together.

She opened the door in pink strawberry pajamas, her curly hair a wild mess, hugging a bag of chips, her eyes bright and curious as she looked at me.

"Come on in," she said.

Her apartment was massive, with a playful vibe. It was like a giant playground for grown-ups.

I lingered awkwardly in the entryway, feeling totally out of place and not sure what to do with my hands.

"Take a seat, don't be shy," Irene said, pointing at a bean bag in the living room. "What do you want to drink? Coke or milk?"

"Water's fine, thanks," I replied.

I hugged my backpack tightly, quivering like a startled quail.

Irene handed me a glass of water, then sat down cross-legged on the carpet across from me and ripped open a fresh bag of chips.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "So, spill it. How is Ethan a psycho? Go on, I love this kind of stuff."

Watching Irene get all hyped up, I suddenly wondered if coming here was really the right move.

She seemed a little sketchy, not exactly someone you'd trust in a crisis. But at this point, there was no turning back.

I spilled everything Ethan had thought in his mind, adding some extra flair to make it sound even crazier.

Obviously, I kept the mind-reading part to myself and just claimed I'd overheard him mumbling to himself.

Irene was totally hooked, crunching her chips loud enough to echo through the room.

"Lock you up in a dark room? Put a collar on you? He is into some wild stuff now?" She rubbed her chin, looking all thoughtful. "That doesn't sound like him. He's never even held a girl's hand in his whole life."

I started to panic. "I'm serious! The way he looks at me, it's like I'm just a piece of meat ready to be sliced up!"

"Sounds pretty thrilling to me," Irene said with a mischievous smile.

I became speechless. I was at my wits' end. It seemed Irene was also kinda crazy.

Just then, Irene's phone rang.

She glanced at the caller ID and gave me a quick "shh" gesture.

"Hey, Ethan. Why are you calling so late?" she answered.

It was Ethan. My heart shot straight into my throat.

"Is Aria with you?" Ethan's voice was so cold it could cut glass.

Irene shot me a quick look, then lied with a straight face. "Nope, I barely know her. Why?"

I stared at Irene, my nerves on edge, praying she wouldn't slip up and blow my cover.

There was a long silence on the other end.

I couldn't hear what Ethan was saying, but I could hear his thoughts loud and clear even through the phone.

He thought, 'She really did go to Irene. Is she really that scared of me? Was I too tough on her yesterday? I just wanted her to realize that if she left the family, she still had me.

'I just want to give her everything, give her the best in the world. So why is she running away from me?'