Lucia's lips were smeared with blood, her pale face even more hollow. Her eyes—bloodshot.

Jared froze.

Then Eric, his assistant, showed up at the car. "Mr. Dawson," he said low, "Miss Alice Lynch is awake. She's crying... asking for you."

Reality crashed back.

Jared shoved down the weird twist in his chest and forced himself to lock it up.

He looked at Lucia, ice-cold. "There's a press conference this afternoon. You're showing up. Tell them Alice is your real sister. If you don't, I swear—I'll never touch you again."

He stepped out.

The door slammed shut behind him.

Lucia couldn't hold it in anymore. The tears came.

'Never again? Jared... there's no 'again' left for us.'

She pulled out her phone and typed:

[Mr. Wade, please head to the press conference and publicly announce my divorce from Jared Dawson.]

Sent the message to her attorney.

Then she looked at the chauffeur.

"To the airport."

***

An hour later, Lucia stepped onto the private jet Francesca had ready.

She checked her phone—over a dozen missed calls from Jared. Her inbox was a mess:

[Press conference starts in 30. Where are you?]

[Don't say I didn't warn you. If you skip this, I'll never touch you again!]

[Where the hell are you?!]

The more unhinged he got, the calmer she felt.

She powered off her phone, yanked out the SIM, and tossed it aside.

As the jet picked up speed on the runway, she closed her eyes.

'Goodbye, Jared.

'Goodbye, bio parents.'

Four years ago, their lives weren't tangled.

From now on, they never would be again.