Chapter 3Fake Memory, Real Insanity

Her eyes darted down to the little boy burning up in my arms.

Her brow furrowed, her voice laced with sudden panic. "Why does this kid look exactly like..."

"No, that is impossible. The doctors swore Sebastian was completely sterile."

I put on my most sincere face, opening my mouth to say it was just a misdiagnosis.

Before I could, heavy, authoritative footsteps echoed behind me.

Sebastian stepped up right next to Monica. "What is going on?"

I looked up, colliding straight into Sebastian's dark, bottomless eyes.

A phantom chill washed over the back of my neck.

A flash of pure malice sparked in Monica's eyes.

I didn't even get a chance to speak before she switched to a soft, trembling voice. "Sebastian, you probably do not remember her. She is the girl who used to bully me ruthlessly."

"She was just threatening me, saying she was going to ruin my life."

She shrank against his chest, her manicured fingers tightly gripping his tailored shirt. "I am so scared. Teach her a lesson, please? Just deport her and make her disappear."

Sebastian gently peeled Monica off his chest. He looked down at her, his voice entirely devoid of emotion. "She bullied you?"

Then he let go of her hand and took slow, deliberate steps toward me.

I instinctively backed up.

His gaze was scorching, his voice dropping into a dangerous, gravelly register.

"What is your name?"

My heart skipped a beat under that suffocating stare. "Stella."

The feeling was incredibly nostalgic. Every time he used to hunt me down, he had that exact same feral, obsessive look in his eyes.

After a long pause, he tilted his chin toward the triage nurse. "Let her go in first. The kid is burning up."

Behind us, Monica looked like she was about to snap her own teeth in half, glaring daggers at my back.

Thank god Oliver was fine. After an IV drip, we were cleared to go home.

Walking back, my slow brain finally processed the chaos of the day. We definitely had to pack up and move to a new city. Remaining here was a death wish.

I was deep in thought, wondering where we should relocate.

Suddenly, a strong arm snaked around me from behind, clamping a rag tightly over my nose and mouth.

Everything went black in a split second.

When my eyes fluttered open, I was trapped in a pitch black, suffocatingly small room.

Sebastian's crisp, cool voice brushed right against my ear.

"Stella. Be a good girl and be mine."

"I can give you anything you could ever want. Just do not try to run away."

I shifted my wrists and ankles. A sharp, metallic clinking echoed in the dark. I looked down and saw the heavy metal cuffs locking me to the bed.

The classic behavior. The classic dialogue. The classic Sebastian.

People say you can never step into the same river twice.

But Sebastian absolutely could.

I felt a little delirious, wondering if I had somehow time traveled. "Why did it take you so incredibly long to find me this time?"

I must have hit a nerve.

His pupils constricted violently. He brought a hand to his temple, pressing hard as if his skull was splitting open.

His entire body swayed. A second later, he collapsed, falling dead weight right on top of me.

His heavy frame pinned me to the mattress just as the door was violently kicked open.

Monica stood at the front of the pack, with Mr. and Mrs. Blackwood crowding behind her.

Monica's eyes swept over the room, landing on my chained wrists and ankles. She literally stumbled backward.

His mother grabbed the doorframe, looking like she was about to pass out. "Stella? Why is it always you? How on earth did you two end up tangled together again?"