Chapter 1 - The Echo of the Click
The morning light cut through the cheap blinds of my bedroom, laying pale, sharp stripes across the two black trash bags and the scuffed canvas suitcase that held my entire life. My jaw ached from clenching it through the night, but as I looked at the digital clock glowing 5:48 a.m., a cold, steady pulse of satisfaction drowned out the exhaustion.
Brandon stood in the doorway, barefoot and shivering in his gray sweatpants, his chest heaving under a thin t-shirt. The golden boy of the household looked like he had just seen a ghost. His eyes were wide, bloodshot, and completely devoid of their usual arrogant amusement.
"Please tell me you didn't send it," he whispered, his voice cracking on the final syllable.
Before I could answer, my father appeared in the hallway behind him, cinching the belt of his plaid flannel robe tightly around his waist, his face twisted in annoyance. "What is going on up here? What is all this screaming about? Send what?"
Downstairs, the front screen door banged against the siding, followed instantly by a sharp, piercing shriek from my mother that rattled the picture frames on the wall.
Dad stiffened, his annoyance instantly replaced by a flicker of genuine alarm. He shoved past Brandon, his bare feet slapping heavily against the hardwood floor as he bolted down the stairs toward the foyer.
Brandon didn't follow. He stayed frozen in my doorway, his hands trembling as he stared at my packed bags. "Ava," he choked out, taking a panicked step forward. "Tell me you didn't send the forensic packet to the district attorney. Tell me you didn't touch Ellison's financial compliance office."
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"I told you last night," I said, zipping the mouth of the second trash bag with a sharp, metallic hiss. "I don't lie. You do."
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