Jillian POV:
I woke up in my bed. My back throbbed.
"Pack your bags," Alex said from the doorway. "Grandmother wants you gone. We're going to the Winter Cabin until the heat dies down."
Exile. He was hiding me away so he could parade Charlotte around without his 'embarrassment' present.
"Okay," I croaked.
While packing, I heard him on the phone in the hall.
"Yeah, Charlotte. We're leaving... No, I'm not bringing her back. She stays at the cabin... Indefinitely. I'm tired of the drama. Once she's up there, the snow will keep her trapped. We can finally move on."
He wasn't planning to kill me. He was planning to bury me alive in isolation.
Perfect.
I texted the Delphi contact: Moving to Plan B. Location: Blackwater Cliff. Tonight.
The drive was silent. The blizzard was already howling when we arrived.
"I'm going to check the generator," Alex said. "Don't unpack. You're staying in the guest quarters."
He walked out into the storm.
I moved fast. I grabbed a kitchen knife and slashed my arm—superficial, but bloody. I dripped it on the porch snow. I overturned the furniture. I made it look like a Rogue raid.
I ran to the cliff edge. The Blackwater River raged below.
I didn't need the poison pill. The drop alone would convince them.
I stood on the precipice.
"Goodbye, Alex," I whispered into the wind. "I reject you."
I jumped.
The icy air rushed past me. I hit the water hard, the cold shock instant and paralyzing. I let the current take me, dragging me under, away from the life of Jillian Andrews.
Above me, through the roaring wind, I heard a howl. Not of grief, but of confusion.
