Chapter 6

The night exploded with screams and the roar of flames. The Allen mansion was being eaten alive by fire.

I stood frozen in the yard, a safe distance away, clutching the ring. I knew better than to run into the chaos; I would only be in the way.

Through the noise, I heard Kandy's frantic, crying voice. "She did this! Emely did this! She's trying to kill me! She's trying to kill you too, Grady!"

Her accusations were a sharp, clear thread in the tapestry of panic.

Then, another voice cut through the noise, a voice that made my heart stop.

"Emely!"

I looked up. Grady was standing at the window of my old bedroom on the second floor. His silhouette was framed by fire, his face a mask of pure terror.

"Emely, answer me!" he yelled, his voice raw with desperation.

I tried to call back, but my voice was a choked, scratchy thing. "I'm here!"

I stared up at him, at the frantic fear in his eyes, and for a dangerous moment, I felt a flicker of the old hope.

But a colder, clearer voice in my head cut through the feeling. It's just instinct, it said. He's been raised to protect you. It's not love. It's responsibility.

The answer was clear.

Just then, he jumped. He landed on the grass a few feet from me, his back scraped and bleeding from the impact.

Kandy ran to him, throwing her arms around him and immediately pointing a trembling finger at me. "She set the fire, Grady! I saw her!"

I looked away from her performance and met Grady's eyes. They were wild, confused, and full of a burning question.

"Do you believe her?" I asked, my voice eerily calm.

He stared at me, his gaze dark and unreadable. He didn't answer.

And in his silence, I had my answer. He didn't trust me.

"If you dare to lay a hand on Kandy," he said, his voice a low growl, "you will pay the price. I'm taking you to the police."

I remembered Kandy's words by the lotus pond, her desperate plea. I'll die if he leaves me. I finally understood her plan. She didn't just want me gone; she wanted me destroyed. She wanted Grady to see me as a monster.

Fine. I would give them all what they wanted. I would sever this final tie.

A laugh bubbled up from my chest, dry and humorless. "No one would dare take me to the police station," I said, a mocking lilt to my voice. "Mr. and Mrs. Allen would never allow it."

His eyes blazed with fury. My defiance had pushed him over the edge.

I took a step closer, my fingertips almost brushing his chest. "What's wrong, Grady?" I purred, my voice low and seductive. "Are you scared you'll miss me? Do you still have feelings for me?"

He slapped my hand away, the sound sharp in the night air. His other hand shot out, grabbing my arm and shoving me back against the garden wall. His face was inches from mine, his grip bruising.

"Stop playing these games," he hissed, his face contorted with rage and disgust. "I don't know what you were to me before, but now, you are nothing but trouble. You're poisoning everything."

He leaned in closer, his voice a venomous whisper. "But you are useful. You'll be the perfect backdrop to make Kandy shine even brighter at our engagement party."

The air left my lungs. My vision started to swim. I struggled against his grip, uselessly.

He let go abruptly, shoving me away. I stumbled, catching myself on the wall. He pulled Kandy close and stalked away.

"Be at the party in three days," he called over his shoulder. "Don't be late."

Before I went inside, I sent a quick text to Jeremiah: It's tonight. The engagement party.

His reply was almost instantaneous: Understood. I'm in the city. Call if you need anything. Anything at all.

A small measure of calm settled over me. I wasn't completely alone. I leaned against the cold bricks, my arm throbbing. I looked up and saw Kandy watching me, her expression a strange mix of triumph and fear.

I gave her a small, weak smile. "I'll be there," I whispered to the night.

After this, my task would be complete. He would be truly free.

The Allens, despite their reservations about Kandy, threw a lavish engagement party. Their love for their son, and his stubborn insistence, won out. The ballroom glittered with crystal and gold, filled with the most powerful people in New York.

Their whispers followed me as I moved through the room.

"Isn't that Emely Harrison? I thought she was engaged to Grady."

"He lost his memory, you know. Fell in love with this new girl, a nobody."

"Such a shame. He used to worship the ground Emely walked on."

An old family friend, a patriarch of another powerful family, shook his head. "What a tragedy. If I'd known this would happen, I would have had my granddaughter try her luck years ago."