Chapter 2

Kristal Gillespie POV:

Three years. That' s how long it takes to become someone else. Three years for the world to forget you. Three years for you to forget yourself.

The clang of those gates, rusted and heavy, still echoed in my mind, even after they swung open again. I stepped out, not into sunlight, but into a stark, gray afternoon. My eyes were fixed on the cracked pavement, a habit deeply ingrained. Don' t look up. Don' t draw attention.

A sleek black Mercedes idled by the curb, a jarring sight against the drab, institutional architecture. It gleamed, pristine and out of place, like a diamond left on a heap of ash. I almost walked past it, assuming it couldn' t possibly be for me. It was too... luxurious. Too much like the life I no longer belonged to.

Then a door opened.

"Kristal."

My name. It sounded foreign, almost like a command. I flinched, my shoulders tightening, a familiar tremor starting in my hands. I knew that voice. It was deeper now, with an edge of impatience I recognized, even after three years of silence.

I didn't lift my gaze past his polished shoes, then his expensive trousers. Dozier. He was still Dozier, but hardened, more formidable. His hair was shorter, his jawline sharper, etched with an authority that wasn't there before. The boy I had loved, the man who had despised my love, was now a titan. A stranger.

"Get in," he said, his voice clipped.

My feet moved before my brain could process the order. That' s how it worked now. Orders were obeyed. Immediately. Without question. I slid into the back seat, the soft leather cold against my thin frame. I kept my head down, staring at the seam of my ill-fitting, faded dress. This was the attire they deemed suitable for release. A uniform of anonymity.

He got in beside me. The scent of him, expensive cologne and something uniquely Mccarthy, filled the confined space. It was overwhelming. My breath hitched. I wanted to disappear.

"Kristal," he said again, his voice softer this time, but still hesitant. "Are you alright?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't. What was 'alright'? The word had no meaning anymore. It was a concept from a different world, a different me. I just focused on the thread on my dress, counting them, anything to keep my mind from the living, breathing presence beside me.

"Look at me," he commanded, a little sharper this time.

The conditioning kicked in. My head snapped up, my eyes meeting his for a fleeting second. His eyes, once so dismissive, now held a strange mix of curiosity and something else I couldn't name. It made my stomach clench. But the second I met his gaze, I remembered. Rule number one: Do not stare. Especially not at those you desire. It is a sign of your illness.

My eyes dropped instantly, finding my lap, my hands, anything but his face. The tremor in my hands became more pronounced.

Dozier sighed, a sound that carried a weight of frustration, but also, surprisingly, a hint of something akin to hurt. "Still playing games, Kristal?"

Games. I hadn't played a game in three years. I just survived.

The car started, the engine a low purr. It moved smoothly, gliding through the gates that had held me captive. I risked a glance out the window, the concrete walls giving way to busy streets, tall buildings, a world re-awakened. It was too bright, too loud, too fast. My senses, dulled by years of sterile sameness, were overloaded.

"We're going to my grandmother's estate," Dozier said, breaking the silence. "It's her 80th birthday. I figured you... didn't have anywhere else to go."

His words hung in the air, a thinly veiled accusation, a reminder of my utter destitution. He assumed I was still clinging to him, still desperate for his scraps of attention. He assumed wrong. The old Kristal, the one obsessed with Dozier Mccarthy, had died behind those gates. What emerged was... an echo.

We drove for what felt like an eternity, the city blurring into a kaleidoscope of colors I hadn't seen in years. My body was tense, rigid. Every turn, every stop, every sound was a jolt to my system. I was free, they said. But freedom felt like a cage I hadn't yet learned to navigate.

The car pulled up a long, winding driveway, past manicured lawns and ancient oak trees. The McCarthy estate. It stood, grand and imposing, just as I remembered it. A symbol of everything I had lost, everything I had once yearned for. And now, I was back. Not as the girl who wanted to be part of it, but as an unwanted guest, a ghost they couldn't quite shake. The unease in my stomach twisted into a knot. What fresh hell awaited me inside?