“I hate her, Vincent,’ Courtney whined, clinging to his arm. “She stole my boyfriend. And I want her to suffer—like really suffer—so I can finally feel better.”
Vincent hesitated. For a moment, silence stretched thin. Then, with a sigh, he gave in. “Fine. Stop crying. We’ll do it your way.”
From the shadows, Roxanne’s lips curled into a bitter smile. Whatever warmth she had left inside her felt like it froze over completely.
***
The next morning, Roxanne stepped out of her bedroom and Vincent greeted her with a cheery grin.
“Roxy! Courtney wants to visit her hometown today. Thought you might want to tag along.”
“Okay,” she said, too quickly.
She’d never even heard of Possum Hollow before last night, yet the name stirred something oddly familiar inside her. She decided to play along—and find out what secrets that town might be hiding.
Vincent quietly exhaled in relief. Maybe she was just acting out yesterday, he thought. Maybe things would settle down.
It was a long, bumpy ride. Several hours later, they arrived in Possum Hollow. The small town felt foreign and underwhelming—until Roxanne saw Courtney’s house.
The second she stepped inside, a wave of déjà vu hit her so hard it split her head with pain.
“Achoo!” Courtney sneezed violently a few times, clinging to Vincent. “I don’t feel good… Can you take me to a doctor?”
“Roxy, just go on in. I’ll be back as soon as I take Courtney to the clinic.”
Without another glance, he swept Courtney into his arms and hurried away, never noticing how pale Roxanne had gone.
Clutching her chest, Roxanne struggled to breathe. The asthma attack came fast and hard, but she managed to pull out her emergency inhaler just in time. She leaned against the doorway, gasping.
It took her a while to recover.
She was lucky she always came prepared—otherwise, she might’ve died right there.
Then came the voices.
“Well, well… So this is the girl Courtney's been going on about. Not bad—cute face. Kinda fragile-looking, though. Think she’ll sell? good”
“Who cares? Look at that body. Damn, those curves... If she doesn’t sell, I’m keeping her for myself.”
The filth in their voices made Roxanne’s skin crawl.
She spun around and saw two sleazy-looking men grinning at her, eyes glinting with something vile. Her heart jumped into her throat. With no time to think, she turned and bolted inside, slamming the door and locking it behind her.
Dust flew up around her as she dug out her phone and frantically dialed Vincent.
He answered immediately.
“Vincent, please come back! Courtney sent traffickers after me—they’re trying to abduct me!”
Before he could speak, Courtney’s voice broke through on the other end, trembling with fake sobs.
“Roxanne, how could you say that? I know you don’t like me, but accusing me of something like this? That’s over the line.”
Vincent’s tone turned sharp. “Courtney invited you here out of kindness. And this is how you thank her? You seriously need a wake-up call.”
Then he hung up—cutting off Roxanne’s only lifeline.
She stared at her phone, stunned. This town was way too isolated. By the time the cops arrived—if they ever did—it’d be too late.
Panic clawed at her throat. She turned and bolted up the stairs, heart pounding. If it came down to it, she would rather die than end up in a human trafficking ring.
From the third-floor window, she glanced down—just as the men started pounding on the door.
“Go on, keep running, little rabbit. We like a chase,” one of them sneered. “Come quietly, sweetheart. It'll be easier that way.”
Cornered, Roxanne steeled herself. She gripped the edge of the window, preparing to jump.
And then—everything shook.
The house collapsed beneath her with a deafening roar. She was thrown into the air, pain ripping through her body as she hit the ground.
She was so angry, she had to die without getting a chance to take revenge.
