Chapter 30

• Genna POV
• I sat on the bathroom floor with my back against the door while the velvet box lay open in my lap. I stared at the little vial for so long my eyes started to burn. Three drops meant he would be gone, Clinton would have justice, Denise would stay safe, I would finally be free. I kept repeating the plan in my head until the words felt thin. I closed the box, shoved it into the hidden space under the false bottom of my jewelry drawer, then pulled the drawer all the way out so no one would notice the seam. The scorpion pendant rested cold between my collarbones. Every time I moved I felt it shift, reminding me it was watching.
• The clock showed almost four. I knew sleep was not coming, so I opened my bedroom door to go downstairs for water, maybe sit in the kitchen until the house woke up. The hallway stayed dark except for the small night-light Denise insisted on. I walked slowly so my feet made no noise on the marble. When I turned the corner I almost ran straight into Leonardo.