"Awoooo—!" The furious howl tore through the air behind her, echoing across the forest. Ashley's grip tightened on the wheel as she glanced at the rearview mirror, only to find the wolves gone, swallowed by the thick cloud of dust trailing in her path.
But she didn't dare relax. The silence felt too fragile, too deceptive, and she kept her guard high as the road stretched endlessly before her.
...
When Ashley finally reached the place where Maddison claimed her mother was being held, her breath caught, the sight before her cutting deeper than she expected. It was her own lakeside villa, the home that was meant to be her marital home with Nathan.
A bitter irony settled in her chest; after everything, after all the distance she had run across his territory, she had been led back to where it all began. But she couldn't bring herself to laugh right now; only a dull, tightening ache spread in her heart.
