Everly Zamora POV:
The door splintered, ripped from its hinges. A group of burly men stormed into the room, their faces grim. Hayes followed them, his eyes like chips of ice. He saw my laptop, the screen still open to my half-written statement.
"What do you think you're doing?" His voice was low, dangerous. "Still trying to make trouble?"
I stood frozen, my face pale. Fear, cold and sharp, pierced through me. The men were already fanning out, blocking every exit.
"Why are you doing this?" My voice was a hoarse whisper.
"Destroy everything," Hayes commanded, his gaze fixed on me, devoid of any warmth. "Every device. Every backup. Make sure there' s nothing left."
One of the men grabbed my laptop. I screamed, "No! Stop!" I lunged, but another man caught me, holding me tight against his chest. I watched, helpless, as my laptop was raised high and then slammed to the floor. The screen shattered, a spiderweb of cracks spreading across its surface. The sound echoed in the small room, a death knell for my work, for my mother's story, for any chance of justice.
"Hayes, how could you?" Tears streamed down my face. "What kind of monster are you?"
He didn't answer. He just watched as his men systematically smashed my tablet, my external hard drives, even my phone. Every piece of technology that held a fragment of my life, my memories, my truth, was reduced to rubble.
Then he was in front of me, his hand reaching out, his thumb gently wiping away a tear from my cheek. It was a gesture so tender, so unexpected, it made my skin crawl. "I've erased it all, Everly," he said, his voice surprisingly soft, yet chillingly devoid of remorse. "No one will ever know. No one can ever hurt Karmen like that again."
My breath hitched. "It was all for her, wasn't it?" The words were a bitter accusation. "This. All of it. To protect her."
He nodded, his eyes holding a strange, weary apology. "I'm sorry, Everly. I truly am."
Then he turned, the men following him out, leaving me alone in the wreckage. I sank to my knees amidst the shattered electronics, picking up the broken pieces of my laptop. I tried to fit them back together, a futile attempt to mend what was irrevocably broken. It was all gone. My thesis. My film. My memories.
A flicker of light caught my eye. A tiny, unbroken corner of the screen showed a pixelated image. It was a photo of us. Hayes and me. Laughing. Happy. A picture from the early days, before the lies, before Karmen. My hand trembled. I remembered the video I' d made him for our six-month anniversary, a montage of our moments, set to his favorite song. It was on that drive. Now, gone.
With a cry of raw anguish, I brought my fist down, smashing the last intact piece of the screen. No more. No more hope. No more us.
"It's over, Hayes," I whispered to the empty room. "We are officially over."
Days later, the department announced the cast for the graduation play. Karmen was the lead. I was cast as the villain, the ugly, jealous rival. My classmates snickered, "Perfect fit, Everly."
"I won't be here," I told them, my voice calm. "I'm leaving."
I packed my minimal belongings, a small suitcase filled with my disguise, my drab clothes, my broken dreams. I typed a brief message to Hayes, a final goodbye, and sent it to his old number, knowing it would probably go unread. My heart felt like a hollow drum.
The airport was a blur of noise and people. Just as I was about to check in, a sudden panic seized me. My grandmother' s locket. My mother' s locket. I had left it in my dorm room. I couldn' t leave without it.
Against my better judgment, I hailed a cab back to campus. The campus was quiet, deserted. Just as I reached my dorm, a sudden blow to the back of my head sent stars exploding behind my eyes. Darkness swallowed me whole.
