Chapter 101

Allison's POV

Back to square one. Back to my room—the place where it all began with Darius. The air is thick with nostalgia, but not the comforting kind. This feels twisted, surreal… almost repulsive. I'm here, yet I don't recognize it anymore. It's like I've aged a decade, though barely a handful of months have passed. And the worst part? Darius isn't here.

I'm still reeling, unable to process the storm that brought me back. The poisoning, the frantic call from my mother summoning me to the hospital… only to be ambushed by towering strangers. Shoved into a car, their rough hands binding me, blindfolding me, gagging me, dragging me back to this place. My home. My prison.

My mind spiraled with possibilities, Jessica, my father—anyone but my mother. But when the blindfold slipped away, there she was. My mother. Smiling as if we were sharing afternoon tea, not as if she had orchestrated my abduction.